Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue continues traveling this week as he will attend the Montana Ag Summit Thursday. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts is expected to join Perdue at the event that was organized by committee member Steve Daines, a Montana Republican. Also attending is a team of Mexican barley and malt importers, who are visiting the U.S. as part …
USDA Political Appointment Nominee’s Expected Soon
Nominee’s for The Department of Agriculture’s political post within the agency are expected within a month or so. Sources close to the Secretary have allegedly told Politico that Perdue has made his picks for key positions within USDA, and those picks could be announced in June. There are nearly a dozen political positions that require confirmation by the U.S. Senate, …
Perdue Looking at ‘Right-Sizing’ USDA Agencies
We’ve heard a lot the past few days about President Trump’s proposed budget and how if realized, would mean steep cuts for agriculture. One area of those proposed cuts is the U.S. Department of Agriculture staff, as the budget proposal calls for an estimated cut of 5,263 positions. Last week Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a House Appropriations Subcommittee that …
Proposed Budget Has More Money for Farm Loans
We’ve heard how President Trump’s proposed budget means steep cuts for agriculture, but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a House Appropriations Subcommittee that the proposed 2018 fiscal year budget has more money in the pot for farm loans. But Perdue also knows the FY 2018 budget proposal calls for an estimated cut of 5,263 staff positions. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester …
Perdue Echoes Vilsack on Cottonseed Declaration
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue this week echoed his predecessor, telling U.S. House lawmakers the Department of Agriculture does not have the authority to declare cottonseed as an oilseed. Perdue carried the same message former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack offered to lawmakers on the issue, as advised by USDA lawyers. Perdue was asked about the issue during a House Agriculture Appropriations …
Perdue on Promoting U.S. Ag Goods in Export Markets
Agriculture Secretary Perdue says even with proposed changes in trade programs, the emphasis remains on increasing sales of U.S. agricultural products overseas. Rod Bain has the story. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsNovember 1, 2024Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024
Trump Budget Proposal Puts Perdue in Awkward Position
The deep cuts to the nation’s agricultural support programs proposed by President Donald Trump have put Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in an awkward position with both lawmakers and farm groups. Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says a good example of this is the plan to cut funding for trade promotion programs and to eliminate more than 230 jobs geared toward …
Conaway, Peterson Host Agriculture Committee Roundtable with Sec. Perdue and Amb. Lighthizer on Trade
House Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway (TX-11) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (MN-7) joined U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Sec. Sonny Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer along with other members of the committee in an executive roundtable on U.S. agricultural trade policy. Following the roundtable, Chairman Conaway, Ranking Member Peterson, Sec. Perdue and Amb. Lighthizer released the …
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on the Proposed FY 2018 Budget
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue issued the following statement on the proposed FY 2018 budget: “President Trump promised he would realign government spending, attempt to eliminate duplication or redundancy and see that all government agencies are efficiently delivering services to the taxpayers of America. And that’s exactly what we are going to do at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “Having …
Perdue: U.S. Ag in Dire Straits
Sonny Perdue made his first appearance before the House Agriculture Committee this week as Secretary of Agriculture. He says the current U.S. agricultural economy is in “ dire straits ” but that could be helped by a stronger trade presence abroad. Perdue says he sees challenges ahead as President Trump’s initial budget cuts the USDA allocation by 21 percent. “We’ve …