This is a historical Q&A with Sonny Perdue from 2017, not a current interview or statement of USDA policy. Perdue became the 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture on April 25, 2017; the interview gathered his remarks at appearances in Kansas City and a video town hall with National FFA students.
What was this Q&A, and when did Perdue take office?
Successful Farming published the ten-question interview on May 4, 2017, shortly after Perdue became secretary. The archived White House biography described his background as a farmer, agribusinessman, veterinarian, state legislator, and governor of Georgia. USDA recorded his swearing-in on April 25, 2017, in its announcement.
The interview’s answers reflect Perdue’s views at that time. They should not be read as current USDA policy or as a report on what later happened to the proposals he discussed.
What topics did the interview cover?
The Q&A ranged from Perdue’s work for President Trump to farm policy and the practical pressures facing agriculture. Its ten questions addressed:
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- Talk the talk of the country with Julia Rothman's entertaining and informative visual tour of life on the farm.
- Working for President Trump and trade deals
- The 2018 Farm Bill and proposed USDA funding cuts
- Rumors of divisiveness in the White House
- Perdue’s top priority at USDA
- Agriculture’s future and the role of STEM education
- The biggest problem in agribusiness
- Aging infrastructure
What did Perdue identify as his top priority?
Perdue framed his priority as improving USDA’s management and service to both producers and consumers. He said he wanted “to make the USDA the best managed, most efficient, most effective, proudest run, and most fun place to work in the United States government.” The remark connects internal agency management with the department’s ability to serve the people who rely on it.
What did he say about the Farm Bill, funding, and profitability?
Perdue linked farm policy to the challenge of keeping farms profitable through changing market conditions. In discussing agribusiness, he said: “Obviously the biggest problem is to sustain profitability, and that’s where the USDA comes in to a large part, that’s where the Farm Bill comes in to a large part.”
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He also reacted to a proposed budget reduction, saying, “Now, a 20% to 21% cut in agriculture, that’s tough.” That percentage was Perdue’s characterization of a proposed cut in his 2017 answer; the interview does not establish that the reduction was enacted. It is not a current budget figure.
How did Perdue connect education and agriculture’s future?
Perdue argued that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education mattered to agriculture. “STEM education is really a vital component of agricultural education,” he said, making the case that agricultural learning should include technical and scientific skills.
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Why did infrastructure matter to agricultural trade?
The interview connected trade not only to deals and policy but also to the systems that move agricultural goods. Perdue pointed to waterways and ports as important infrastructure for trade. In that framing, the ability to reach markets depends in part on transportation links as well as farm production and trade policy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should readers use this interview today?
Read it as a snapshot of what a newly appointed agriculture secretary emphasized in 2017: effective agency management, farm profitability, the Farm Bill, trade, education, and infrastructure. The remarks document Perdue’s positions in that interview; they do not establish present-day policy or the eventual outcome of the proposed budget reductions.
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