Scott Marlow is the founder of Long Rows Consulting, providing expert analysis on agricultural risk management, credit, and disaster assistance programs. He has led successful legislative, regulatory, and administrative policy reform efforts, drawing on direct experience serving farm families in financial distress, systems-level analysis of farm financial infrastructure, grassroots engagement and coalition building. 

Scott served as Senior Advisor to the Administrator and Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs at USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), overseeing over $20 billion in farmer assistance programs. He led high-stakes initiatives including implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act Section 22006, which provided $3.1 billion in relief for distressed farm borrowers, and development of innovative models for delivering nearly $10 billion in disaster assistance under the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act. 

Marlow spent a decade operating farm crisis hotlines, providing financial counseling and referrals to farm families in distress. He served as Executive Director and Director of the Farm Sustainability Program at the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) in Pittsboro, North Carolina, and has served on multiple Boards of Directors.

Marlow holds a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University and an M.S. in Crop Science from North Carolina State University, and shares basketball loyalties with both.

Competencies: Farm safety net, conservation, and crop insurance programs, systems analysis of farm risk and resilience, program design and implementation, understanding the farm bill, campaign design and planning, high-stakes initiatives & special projects, executive transitions, strategic planning, meeting facilitation, public speaking