Perdue
Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has been nominated as U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary. Southeast AgNet talked with Perdue a few years ago about his agriculture background and life experiences.
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Perdue, part of President Trump’s agricultural advisory team, was a veterinarian and served as governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011. Prior to that, he served in the Georgia Senate for 10 years. In an interview with Southeast AgNet four years ago, he told how his life experiences have helped him with his career. “Obviously, being governor for eight years was a great thrill. It broadened my perspective to a great degree. I have gone back into the ag business and we have experience from that perspective,” Perdue said.
Perdue grew up on a row crop farm in central Georgia and had his own agricultural businesses; so he is very familiar with the industry. “Agriculture is not one thing. It isn’t necessarily production; it’s processing and that real whole food chain that many people are discovering now from farm to table,” he said. “Farmers are great for the economy because they’ll ripple that money all the way through the economy.”
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall strongly endorses the nomination of Perdue. Duvall said Perdue will provide a strong voice that agriculture needs. “Sonny Perdue and I became friends when he was governor and I was president of the Georgia Farm Bureau. He told me and our farmers that ‘we don’t need to come in the back door anymore; you come in the front door,’” Duvall said. “He was very good in Georgia when it came to trade. I was on trade treaties with him, and he was always good about bringing industry to Georgia and he was always good about promoting agricultural products.”
Now it is up to the Senate to confirm Perdue as the 31st secretary of Agriculture.