Charles Wesley Herbster (born 1954)[1][2] is an American agribusiness executive, cattle producer, political donor, and politician.

[5] Herbster stated his farming practice was inspired in part by champion grower Francis Childs, known for his heavy use of chemicals and deep plowing methods.

[9][10] Conklin sells agricultural products including pesticide additives, farm fertilizers, probiotics for livestock, industrial roof coatings, and motor oils.

Herbster also owns the cattle breeding firm North American Breeders, which is located in Berryville, Virginia.

This, along with Herbster's activity in high cost cattle breeding operations led to his being inducted into The Showtimes Magazine Hall of Fame in November 2017.

[7][17][18] Herbster also hinted to the Omaha World-Herald that he funded dark money ads promoting McCoy and attacking other candidates.

[21] Sonny Perdue was announced to that position in January 2017, after which the Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska and 13 other trade groups requested that U.S. President Donald Trump select Herbster as the United States deputy secretary of agriculture.

[24][25] The group discussed how to pressure more members of Congress to object to the Electoral College results that made Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election.

Until September 2021, Corey Lewandowski served as a senior advisor before he was let go amid sexual harassment allegations.

"[23] Herbster is opposed to the estate tax in the United States, and his opposition to critical race theory was a central part of his gubernatorial campaign.

Herbster responded that the funds were used for payroll; however, he gave personal donations totaling millions to political campaigns during this same time period.

[34] Reid Epstein of the New York Times characterized the Trump endorsement as the "entire rationale" for the campaign.

Her lawyer called Herbster's lawsuit "a frivolous and bad faith attempt to bully a sexual assault victim into silence.

"[44][45] In court papers, Slama gave specific and graphic details on how Herbster assaulted her in public and requested a jury trial.