Sonny Perdue
Perdue hits one-year mark at USDA as ethanol warrior
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue celebrated his first year in office by testifying at a Senate hearing on the rural economy on Tuesday, where he said he would defend the ethanol mandate. "We are very concerned about the waivers" that EPA has granted to some refiners from having to comply with the Renewable Fuel Standard," said Perdue. "We believe that is adequate compensation for the RIN prices."
Perdue: Too many states abandoned ‘goal of self-sufficiency’ for SNAP
The Trump administration will hold states accountable "for transitioning able-bodied [SNAP] recipients permanently into the workforce," said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in an essay that underlined the White House call for new or tougher work requirements in federal welfare programs. "Too many states have abandoned this goal of self-sufficiency."
Perdue names new head of Foreign Agricultural Service
On Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue appointed Ken Isley to be administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, which promotes U.S. farm exports, monitors food and agricultural issues worldwide, and has a role in U.S. food aid.
Perdue opens enrollment for ‘new and improved’ dairy insurance program
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Tuesday that enrollment is now open for the “new and improved” Dairy Margins Protection Program, a dairy insurance program run by USDA. The program has a poor reputation among many dairy farmers, who believe funds from an earlier iteration of the program were misallocated. <strong>No paywall</strong>
Forest Service chief resigns, Perdue names woman as interim leader
One of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s prominent appointees to USDA leadership, Tony Tooke, resigned on Wednesday as Forest Service chief amid allegations of sexual harassment. Perdue appointed Vicki Christiansen, a senior Forest Service official, as interim chief.
USDA executive Bill Northey to be sworn into office in Des Moines
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue plans to be at the Iowa Ag Leaders Dinner in Des Moines this evening to give the oath of office to Undersecretary Bill Northey, who will oversee the crop subsidy, crop insurance and land stewardship programs. He will be fifth Trump nominee to go to work at USDA out of 13 senior positions subject to presidential nomination and Senate confirmation. "I expect to see him on Wednesday," said Deputy Secretary Steve Censky during remarks at a school nutrition conference. Censky is in charge of day-to-day operation of the USDA.
Trump picks former EEOC chair as USDA civil rights chief
The chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the closing years of the George W Bush administration, Naomi Earp, is President Trump's choice for assistant secretary for civil rights at the USDA, announced the White House.
Ag outlook: Low prices, trade challenges in 2018, says Perdue
Many farmers will "face tight bottom lines, even negative returns in some cases," during 2018, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in describing the state of the rural economy as fragile. "We project continuing low commodity prices and trade challenges in the face of large global supplies and a relatively strong dollar in the coming year."
Perdue’s farm bill principles: Strong on crop insurance, link work with food assistance
The 2018 farm bill, while helping “those truly in need” to get enough food, should “support work as the pathway to self-sufficiency, well-being, and economic mobility,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Perdue to release farm bill principles in Pennsylvania
Two weeks after saying he would release guidelines for the 2018 farm bill "very soon," Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is expected to unveil farm bill principles while visiting Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Perdue had told American Farm Bureau Federation earlier this month to expect the outline shortly. President Trump told the group, "I support a bill that includes crop insurance," a change in tone from White House proposals last year for large cuts.
Trump selects a congressional lobbyist for a USDA short of executives
Nearly a year after taking office, President Trump tabbed farm group official Ken Barbic to be USDA's congressional liaison, rewarding Western growers who backed his campaign. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said he was "very excited by the nomination" while noting that two nominees for top-tier posts at USDA are bottled up in the Senate.
Rural task force report highlights Internet, GMOs, and a better H-2A visa
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue released a task force report, commissioned by President Trump on the day that Perdue took office, that makes 100 recommendations to improve rural prosperity, including universal access to high-speed internet, a smoother-functioning H-2A guestworker program and a federal initiative "to increase acceptance of biotech products and open and maintain markets for U.S. farmers abroad."
Just in case: USDA works on response to NAFTA withdrawal
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said he is “talking with the administration and Congress about some mitigation efforts” if President Trump withdraws the United States from NAFTA, said Politico.
USDA to extend ‘flexibilities’ for school food, maybe for years
In a Federal Register notice today, the USDA announced it will extend its “three flexibilities” for school menus — salt, whole grains, and flavored milk — into the 2018/19 school year. It will also invite comment on the “long-term availability of the flexibilities,” which Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue introduced at an elementary school on his sixth day in office.
Perdue’s grade after six months as agriculture secretary: A*
On his first day at work, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told employees, "I don't cage too well." So it was apt that the peripatetic Perdue was on the road this week, speaking at the FFA convention in Indianapolis and touring the prairie pothole region of the northern Plains, when he reached his six-month mark at USDA. Ag leaders rate Perdue highly as an ambassador for agriculture and agree with his policy decisions.
Senate confirms Ibach as USDA undersecretary for marketing
On a voice vote, the Senate confirmed Gregory Ibach, the state agriculture director in Nebraska, as agriculture undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. Ibach is the third member of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue's executive team approved to take office; five slots remain empty.
Senate bill includes $507 million in emergency funds for wildfires
Following the most expensive year ever for fighting wildfires, the Senate Appropriations Committee included $507 million in emergency wildfire funds in a funding bill for the Interior Department and related agencies.
A road bump, maybe a roadblock, for USDA reorganization
Some of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue's sweeping changes to USDA's organizational chart will need a congressional green light, the leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee said in a letter asserting the Senate's advise-and-consent role in federal appointments. The committee leaders said Perdue cannot change the duties of his senior policymakers until Congress passes a law that codifies their new titles and responsibilities.