According to an executive order issued by the White House, the task force, to be led by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, will identify policy areas where executive branch agencies can take action to improve economic development, job growth, infrastructure improvements, technological innovation, energy security, and quality of life for rural America and USA farmers. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall was a part of the discussion as well on issues the White House believes are most pressing for American agriculture.
The executive order establishes an interagency task force to be chaired by Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to identify legislative, regulatory, or policy changes to promote American agriculture and economic development, job growth, infrastructure improvements, technological innovation, energy security and quality of life in rural America.
The Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity will consist of representatives of agencies across the federal government and is required to issue its recommendations within 180 days of the signing of the Executive Order. Perdue's cousin, Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., voted "present" but presided over the vote and announced the final tally.
The event is an historic occasion, as it is believed the last time a group of farmers met with a US president this early in an administration was prior to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.
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Almost 100 days since his nomination, former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has his first day as head of the USDA under his belt.
After months without a secretary of agriculture, the Senate voted Monday evening [April 24, 2017] to confirm former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to the post. He grew up on a dairy farm, raised row crops, and was an agri-business owner.
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"The only legacy that I seek is the only one that any grandparent or parent seeks-to be good stewards, and to hand off our nation, our home, our fields, our forests, and our farms to the next generation in better shape than we found it", Perdue said.
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