“Sonny Perdue has a well-rounded background in agriculture as well as in public service,” said Montana Farm Bureau Federation President Hans McPherson. “His experience as a large animal veterinarian as well as being a farmer and involved in agribusiness speaks well of his ability to understand the trials and tribulations of farming and ranching. The fact that he was a governor shows his ability to work with constituents and have good leadership skills.”

McPherson noted that Perdue has challenges ahead with a new farm bill looming and low commodity prices hurting farmers’ and ranchers’ bottom line. “Farm Bureau members have confidence that Sonny Perdue is the man for this tough job. In addition, the fact that he and American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall work well together certainly shows a bright future for Farm Bureau and American agriculture. Sonny Perdue has been a personal friend of Farm Bureau for a long time. Farm Bureau members everywhere should be very excited to have him as Secretary of Agriculture.”

“We’ve agonized with this long confirmation period but we appreciate our political system and how it works. Now that we have a new secretary, it’s time to move forward with trade issues and trade policy. Trade is very important to agriculture,” concluded McPherson.