Source: National Pork Producers Council
Calling him “very good for America’s farmers and ranchers,” the National Pork Producers Council congratulated former Georgia Gov. George “Sonny” Perdue on his confirmation today by the U.S. Senate as the new secretary of agriculture.
“Sonny Perdue is the kind of leader the pork industry, and the entire livestock industry, needs at the USDA,” says NPPC President Ken Maschhoff, a pork producer from Carlyle, Ill. “He’ll be very good for America’s farmers and ranchers.”
At his March 23 confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Perdue pledged to be a “tenacious” advocate for agriculture. “Agriculture needs a strong advocate,” he told the committee. He also vowed to work with the administration “to establish a strong trade policy that benefits agriculture” and to identify unintended consequences of regulations and address them “before they create challenges for agriculture.”
A veterinarian and agribusinessman who grew up on a dairy and row-crop farm in central Georgia, Perdue served as the state’s governor from 2003-11. Prior to that, he was in the Georgia Senate for 10 years.
“Secretary Perdue knows agriculture; I think he’ll do well as agriculture secretary,” Maschhoff says. “Also, he takes over at a critical time for agriculture, with work starting on a new farm bill and possibly on free trade agreements that would open new markets to U.S. pork and other agricultural products.
“NPPC and America’s pork producers look forward to working with Secretary Perdue.”
