Trump Puts Agriculture in the Spotlight

Cindy Zimmerman

President Trump holds farmers roundtable with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue (USDA photo)

President Trump welcomed new Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on his first day in office for a White House “Farmers Roundtable” and the signing of an Executive Order establishing an Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity.

During the signing, President Trump commented on the current trade dispute with Canada over dairy product pricing. “(w)here the dairy farmers up in Wisconsin, Upstate New York, different places — a lot of border states in particular — are not able to sell their dairy products into Canada. And this has been going on for a while, and we’re not going to put up with it,” said Trump. “And we’re going to take care of our dairy farmers in Wisconsin, and Upstate New York, and lots of other places.”

The president also reiterated his commitment to building a wall. “We’re already preparing. We’re doing plans. We’re doing specifications. We’re doing a lot of work on the wall, and the wall gets built. The wall is very, very important.”

Listen to Trump’s comments here: President Trump at White House farmers roundtable

Among the 14 farmers and ranchers invited to the White House session was American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. “Not only was President Trump receptive to our concerns, but he pledged action,” Duvall said. “He even looked toward Secretary Perdue and said, ‘Let’s get these problems fixed.’”

Others at the roundtable included Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and farmer Bill Northey, NC Commissioner of Agriculture and farmer Steve Troxler and former California Secretary of Agriculture and farmer A.G. Kawamura.

AFBF, Audio, USDA