The American Farm Bureau Federation honored former Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue with its annual Distinguished Service Award yesterday at the annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Perdue was honored for his seven decades of service to agriculture including serving as secretary of agriculture from 2017-2021, where he led USDA’s implementation of the 2018 farm bill. Under his leadership, the department’s notable accomplishments included launching the Market Facilitation Program to provide financial assistance to farmers during trade disputes, development of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program and the Farmers to Families Food Box Program during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the creation of ReConnect, a rural broadband initiative.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) sat down for a chat with the former Secretary Perdue Sunday on the Cultivation Center Stage at the convention trade show. Sen. Marshall discussed a number of topics with the former secretary, including one of his latest ventures as an investor and board member in the indoor vertical farming company Kalera. “Kalera is part of a new era of controlled-environment agriculture,” said Perdue. “This idea is to take industrial sites and do a controlled inside agriculture and grow lettuce and micro greens around metro areas.”

The two also discussed the Farm Bureau convention, farm bill implementation, and President Trump.
AFBF22 Sen. Roger Marshall and Sonny Perdue (21:49)