IDFA recently joined more than 600 other food and agriculture organizations across the country in expressing support for the nomination of former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue for Secretary of Agriculture. In a letter sent last Thursday to Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, respectively, the group highlighted Perdue’s extensive experience in agriculture and said he was “eminently qualified to lead” the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

“Given his background of growing up on a diversified row crop and dairy operation in Central Georgia, his service in the United States Air Force and his background in founding three agribusiness firms supplying services to farmers, Gov. Perdue is eminently qualified to lead USDA,” the organizations said. Perdue also knows the important role agriculture plays in powering the nation’s economy and providing jobs, they added.

The next secretary will play a vital role for the U.S. dairy industry in areas including the disclosure language for foods made with bioengineered ingredients, the child nutrition program and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and IDFA believes the governor will be effective in his new position. Michael Dykes, IDFA president and CEO, said he is “confident that Secretary Perdue will bring the necessary knowledge and insight to keep American agriculture, food production and nutrition programs strong and vibrant.”

The full letter to the Senate Committee on Agriculture is posted here.

IDFA’s statement on Governor Perdue’s nomination is available here.

For more information, contact Dave Carlin, IDFA senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy, at dcarlin@idfa.org.