AURORA, ILL. — Former U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Michael O. Johanns has been elected to the board of directors of OSI Group, L.L.C., a supplier of value-added protein items and other food products to leading food service and retail brands.

“Mike brings a wealth of experience in public service and expertise in agriculture, banking, commerce, trade and law — which will be great assets to OSI,” said Sheldon Lavin, chairman and chief executive officer of OSI. “We are pleased that Mike has agreed to join the OSI board.”

Mr. Johanns was governor of Nebraska from 1999 to 2005 and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 2005 until 2007. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008 and announced in 2013 that he would not seek a second term after more than three decades in public life.

A graduate of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and Creighton University School of Law, Mr. Johanns was chairman of the Midwest Governors Association in 2002. Before he was elected governor, he was on the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners and the Lincoln City Council, and he was mayor of Lincoln for two terms. He practiced law previously.