Perdue Touches on Trade Policy, Ethanol in Iowa Remarks

Ethanol | Farm labor | NAFTA | US beef to China | Conservation programs | FMD vaccine | Regulations

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue’s speech was not the “first major farm policy address” of his tenure leading USDA, as he spoke mostly “from the heart” and not from the 17 pages he said some staff had written for him.

Highlights of Perdue’s remarks on a cattle farm in Nevada, Iowa, and comments about his speech:

• Confirmed his and the Trump administration’s support for ethanol and its production. “You have nothing to worry about” regarding the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and President Donald Trump’s commitment to support the industry,” Perdue said. “Did you hear what he said during the campaign? Renewable energy, ethanol, is here to stay, and we’re going to work for new technologies to be more efficient,” Perdue said, later sporting a “Don’t Mess with the RFS” pin. Nevada, Iowa, is home to an ethanol production plant run by Lincolnway Energy and a cellulosic ethanol production plant run by DuPont. Perdue lauded the state’s ethanol industry and technological advancements in renewable energy, like wind and solar.
• Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, hailed Perdue’s comments. “We fully expect he will continue the USDA’s legacy in this area and continue to aggressively pursue greater access to renewable fuels at the pump,” Shaw said in a statement.
• Perdue listed trade, support for farm labor and working as the nation’s chief agriculture salesman as his priorities. “I’m going to be the unapologetic chief advocate, chief salesman for American agriculture products around the world,” he said. “You grow ’em, we’re going to sell ’em.”
• Between NAFTA, expected USDA budget cuts, the construction of a new farm bill, and naming new subcabinet members, Perdue added that he is focused on the building blocks of a better USDA. “We want facts-based, data-driven, customer-focused, ethics, transparency, and integrity in this agency. I’m focused on making the USDA the best managed and most effective agency for the American taxpayer in all of the US government,” Perdue said.
• Perdue said, “President Trump wanted me out here to let you all know that he understands American agriculture and that it is vital to the US economy. And he understands that Iowa is vital to US agriculture.” He added that, “As farmers, we need to be better communicators, but farmers are definitely part of our national security.” He stressed that no longer can farmers just be good producers; they have to tell the nation that the food is safe and their animals are treated well. “We’re going to make sound science, fact-based, data-driven decisions. Because that is what works in agriculture,” said Perdue. “At the same time, we should be unapologetic in agriculture.”
• On trade policy, Perdue said the administration is looking at about a six-month long renegotiation period for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). When asked how long it will take to settle the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) disputes with Mexico and Canada, Secretary Perdue reiterated that President Trump has a plan and that he’s working it. “Like President Trump said last week, we are going to give these countries involved in NAFTA time to figure out a way to make this trade agreement more fair and balanced for all countries involved,” said Perdue.
• On China trade, Perdue said that he and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, the nominee for Ambassador to China, will visit China and “sell all the American beef we can.” He added that, “These are technical discussions that are tough, but people do business with people.” He noted Branstad has a long-standing relationship with China’s President Xi Jinping. When President Donald Trump and Xi met last month for the first time, the Chinese leader agreed to provide US beef access to China’s market, which requires removing a ban that has been in place since 2003. “The Chinese want Iowa beef and the US is going to sell it to them,” Perdue pledged. He added that President Trump instructed him “to send him a letter about getting beef into China and Japan. He will put a personal note on these letters and get them to the leaders of those countries. He has my back,” Perdue said. “We have built trust and we’re going to convince people around the world about the quality of our beef. So, you grow it (beef) and we’ll sell it,” Perdue said.
• On conservation programs, Iowa farmers asked Perdue if he plans to make it easier for them to participate in conservation programs. “I’m on it,” Perdue said. “When you go in to meet with the Farm Service Agency office, NRCS office, crop insurance folks, we shouldn’t put you under an interrogation at every point. It ought to be a stop-shop so you can go home and put that seed in the ground.”
• Perdue took questions from those in attendance. Dave Struthers, an Iowa pork producer and former president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, told Perdue that the livestock industry needs a Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine bank to deal with an outbreak. The secretary acknowledged the devastation FMD could have on the US economy. He also pledged to make sure federal regulations aren’t too burdensome. “We want to let farmers farm,” he said.