By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Editor
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) wants to let the agricultural community do what they do best. During a live town hall discussion in Iowa Friday, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said he wants to let farmers farm again and let ranchers ranch again.
“President (Donald) Trump wanted me out here to let you all know he understands American agriculture is vital to the U.S. economy,” Perdue said. “[He understands] that technology and science is vital.”
Perdue said the president understands how difficult it can be farming under strict regulations. That’s why President Trump has already begun rolling back unproductive and unnecessary regulations and will continue to do so.
“To some degree in the United States of America, we have begun taking our abundant, safe, affordable food supply for granted,” Perdue said. “The men and women of agriculture work very hard day in and day out.”
The new administration will make sound science, facts-based, data-driven decisions, according to Perdue, because that’s what works.
“I’ve told the president that American agriculture is absolutely the most productive, the most technologically advanced, productive manufacturing process we have in America today,” Perdue said.
The agricultural community owes it to consumers worldwide to discuss their concerns and talk about the safety, wholesomeness and nutrition of the food they consume, according to Perdue.
“They deserve to know, and we ought to be able to tell them,” Perdue said.
At the same time, animal agriculture should be unapologetic about how they care for livestock, he said.
“If our young people of America were as vaccinated, as healthy, as cared for, and as fed as well, we wouldn’t have a problem with health in America today,” Perdue said.
He noted the administration is working to promote trade and American products across the globe because American farmers are not afraid of competing. He said he wants to open up barriers to trade to allow American farmers and ranchers to sell their products worldwide.
“People do business with people. We want them to trust us that we’re sending them a wholesome, healthy product,” Perdue said.
To build that trust, Perdue said USDA will show buyers how American foods are produced, handled and inspected.
“We’re trustworthy because we tell the truth,” Perdue said.
He continued, “You grow it. We’ll sell it.”
Perdue told the crowd USDA has a new motto: Do right and feed everyone.
“We’ve got a hungry world out there. We’ve got to be more innovative and more creative than we’ve been in the past,” Perdue said.
Farm labor is a challenge the administration will also continue to work on.
“I’m proud to be called an agriculturalist. Think about the nobility of what you do worldwide whether it’s pork, soybeans, corn, ethanol.”
After Perdue’s speech, the secretary took questions from the crowd. He told an Iowa farmer concerned with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), “Ethanol is here to stay.”
Perdue’s entire speech can be found on the Iowa Farm Bureau Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/iowafarmbureau/.