As President Donald Trump approaches the 200-day mark of his administration, more than a dozen prominent agriculture organizations are urging him to move quickly to fill vacancies within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“With a struggling rural economy—which has seen a 55 percent decrease in income over the last three years—we need leaders and decision makers in place to serve farmers, ranchers and consumers,” reads a letter sent to the White House by the National Corn Growers Association and 16 other agricultural groups.
The organizations praised the selection of Sonny Perdue to lead USDA but noted that the agency has more than 100,000 employees and needs a full leadership team.
“The absence of high-ranking officials at USDA puts our farmers and ranchers at a disadvantage. It is impossible to pilot such a large and complex agency without a team of powerful and talented people at the helm,” the letter reads.
“Secretary Perdue is an outstanding leader, but USDA is too large and too important to be a one-man show,” said NCGA President Wesley Spurlock. “It’s time to get a full leadership team in place.”
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