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Perdue overhauls USDA, will create ag trade position
By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent
 
CINCINNATI, Ohio — A barge along the Ohio River at the foot of Consolidated Grain and Barge in Cincinnati served as backdrop for an announcement of sweeping changes in U.S. agricultural policy.
 
Standing in front of that barge, which was filled with soybeans likely headed to Southeast Asia, new USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue outlined the department’s overhaul, which addresses the ever-increasing importance of international trade to agriculture.

 First, Perdue said, is the creation of an undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs in the USDA. As part of this reorganization, he also announced a newly named Farm Production and Conservation mission area to have a customer focus and meet USDA constituents in the field. Finally, he said the department’s Rural Development agencies would be elevated to report directly to the secretary of agriculture, in recognition of the need to help promote rural prosperity.
 
Perdue issued a report to announce the changes, which address Congressional direction in the 2014 farm bill to create the new undersecretary for trade, and also adhere to President Trump’s request of his cabinet to deliver plans to improve the accountability and customer service provided by departments. During his stop in Cincinnati Thursday, Perdue watched as soybeans filled a barge at the edge of the Ohio River. “Food is a noble thing to trade,” he said. “This nation has a great story to tell, and we’ve got producers here who produce more than we can consume.
 
“And that’s good, because I’m a grow-it-and-sell-it kind of guy. Our people in American agriculture have shown they can grow it, and we’re here to sell it in markets all around the world.”
 
He stressed the importance of establishing an undersecretary for trade, saying it fits in line with his goal to “be American agriculture’s unapologetic advocate and chief salesman around the world. 
 
“By working side by side with our U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, the USDA undersecretary for trade will ensure that American producers are well equipped to sell their products and feed the world,” he said.
 
According to Perdue, U.S. agricultural and food exports account for 20 percent of the value of production, and every dollar of these creates another $1.27 in business activity.  Additionally, every $1 billion in U.S. agricultural exports supports roughly 8,000 American jobs across the entire economy.
 
“As the global marketplace becomes even more competitive every day, the U.S. must position itself in the best way possible to retain its standing as a world leader,” Perdue noted. He said the reorganization seeks to place agencies in more logical order. Under the existing structure, the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), which deals with overseas markets, and the Farm Service Agency (FSA), which handles domestic issues, were housed under one mission area, along with the Risk Management Agency (RMA).
 
“It makes much more sense to situate FAS under the new undersecretary for trade, where staff can sharpen their focus on foreign markets,” Perdue said. “Locating FSA, RMA and the Natural Resources Conservation Service under this domestically oriented undersecretary will provide a simplified one-stop shop for USDA’s primary customers, the men and women farming, ranching and foresting across America.” 
 
The undersecretary for national resources and environment will retain supervision of the U.S. Forest Service. A reduction in USDA workforce is not part of the reorganization plan, he said.
 
Perdue said the USDA will evaluate the Rural Development agencies to report directly to him, to ensure that rural America always has a seat at the table. “Fighting poverty wherever it exists is a challenge facing the U.S.,” he said, “and the reality is that nearly 85 percent of America’s persistently impoverished counties are in rural areas. Rural childhood poverty rates are at their highest point since 1986. The vitality of small towns across our nation is crucial to the future of the agricultural economy, and USDA must always argue for the needs of rural America.”
 
The American Soybean Assoc. expressed strong support for the new undersecretary position.
 
“The U.S. exports well over half of the soybeans we produce and agriculture is one of only a handful of business sectors in the country with a positive trade balance,” said ASA President Ron Moore. “That success abroad leads to success here at home, returning billions to the economy and supporting more than a million jobs.”
 
“The establishment of this undersecretary position emphasizes the mutual importance of agriculture and trade to the American economy,” added National Assoc. of Wheat Growers President David Schemm. “NAWG applauds the USDA for emphasizing the importance of trade by creating a specific mission area devoted to the Department’s trade programs.”
 
“We believe the restructuring of the USDA makes sense for cattlemen and women, providing a one-stop shop for producers who utilize the many services of the FSA, the Risk Management Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. President Craig Uden.
 
“Secretary Perdue’s announcement signals to farm country that the Trump administration is listening to America’s farmers and ranchers,” said Wesley Spurlock, president of the National Corn Growers Assoc. “Overseas markets represent 73 percent of the world’s purchasing power, 87 percent of economic growth and 95 percent of the world’s customers. Now is the time for U.S. agriculture to fully capitalize on growing global demand for our products.” 
5/17/2017