Perdue talks about future of USDA

GREAT FALLS - The recently appointed U.S. Agriculture secretary said Thursday in Great Falls that he wants to concentrate on improving customer service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at one point comparing his vision to Georgia-based restaurant chains Waffle House and Chick-fil-A.

"When you have dealings with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, I want to put a smile on your face and you'll say 'if that is the kind of service I get, I don't mind paying my taxes because I feel like I am getting value back," Secretary of Agriculture George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III said.

Perdue gave the keynote address at the Montana Ag Summit 2017 in Great Falls.

Perdue said he commended Trump for proposing budget cuts in order to reduce the deficit.

Trump's budget proposes a cut of $4.6 billion - 20.5 percent - to the Department of Agriculture.

Perdue said Trump might not know the right places to cut, but U.S. Senate Committee on Nutrition, Agriculture and Forestry Chair Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Montana Republican, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., a member of the committee, and the House Appropriations Committee will help the president understand where to cut.

"We're going to make sure it is a budget we can live with, but also one that contributes to the vitality and the economic prosperity of not only our generation but generations to come," Perdue said.

He added that spending reductions are needed to cut the $20 billion federal budget deficit.

Perdue said a significant portion of the USDA budget goes toward nutrition assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which was formerly known as food stamps.

Though it is not in the heart of the American people to see anybody go hungry and he will continue to administer the program, Perdue said, SNAP benefits are something that should not be a permanent lifestyle.

He also discussed the importance of crop insurance for farmers.

Perdue said farm insurance is important because even when agriculture producers do everything right, they can still face losses from unforeseen weather disasters such as floods or droughts.

"We have people in America who do not understand the amount of equity you put into the ground each and every year with the optimistic hope for a better crop," Perdue said.

Though agriculture producers should use crop insurance, Perdue said, people should not be dependent on it.

He said crop insurance is to compensate farmers whose crops are affected by weather disasters, and they shouldn't buy crop insurance with the hope to use it.

"We have to get out of the mindset that if I invest a dollar in crop insurance I am going to make sure I get a $1.10 or plus out of that," he said.

Perdue said he is proud of the administration's efforts to curb regulations. He said the USDA is now in the process of cataloging regulations and hopes to eliminate some of them.

In April, Trump signed an executive order establishing the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity. The task force, which will be chaired by Perdue, is meant to identify regulatory and policy changes with the aim of improving economic development and quality of life in rural areas.

Perdue said it is important to find new markets abroad to sell American agriculture products.

In May, Perdue moved to create an undersecretary of trade at the USDA. The person should wake up each day ready to sell American agriculture products abroad.

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See Wednesday's Farm and Ranch page for more coverage of the Montana Ag Summit 2017