Andy Jordan, a long-time employee in the National Cotton Council Technical Services Department who now works as an agricultural engineering consultant, received the 2022 Harry S. Baker Distinguished Service Award.
Jordan was recognized during the National Cotton Council’s recent 2023 annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.
The award, named for the late California industry leader and past NCC President Harry S. Baker, is presented annually to a deserving individual who has provided extraordinary service, leadership and dedication to the U.S. cotton industry.
In presenting the award, outgoing NCC Chairman Ted Schneider said Jordan served 31 years in the Council’s Technical Services department, first as manager of Marketing and Processing Technology before being named as that department’s director and later its vice president.
Schneider said that while serving in these positions, “Dr. Jordan provided exceptional leadership in managing a diversity of technical issues affecting the industry. Much of his success resulted from his skillful direction of a Council staff that included professional experts in safety and health environmental sciences, engineering, textile processing, plant physiology/agronomy and plant breeding.”
Jordan, who earned engineering degrees from the University of Georgia and Clemson University, joined the NCC in 1976 after working for Western Electric and Lockheed Georgia Aerospace and serving a previous stint as an instructor at Clemson.
During his time at the NCC, Jordan also served several years as executive director for The Cotton Foundation where he directed program development. That included raising funds from the private sector and the administration of Foundation research and education programs valued at more than $1.5 million annually.
Today, Jordan is an advisor to Cotton Council International, Cotton Incorporated and the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, the cotton industry’s sustainability initiative. He works with agricultural research scientists, conservation groups, and food and trade organizations to develop sustainability metrics for agriculture.
Jordan also currently serves as executive director of the Cotton Growers Warehouse Association, is co-owner and science director for Secure Food Solutions, an advisor to AgLaunch, an agribusiness technology accelerator, and a director for Agricenter International, a 1,000-acre agricultural research, conservation, and education center in Cordova, Tennessee.
He and his wife, Susan, are active in design and installation of drinking water treatment systems for the underserved in five countries.
