The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) welcomes former Georgia Governor, Sonny Perdue, as the new Secretary of Agriculture. In a favorable vote of 87 to 11, Perdue will take over the Department of Agriculture and oversee the nation’s food and farm programs, to include agriculture subsidies, public land and forests, and conservation efforts, among others.
Secretary Perdue grew up on a dairy farm in rural Georgia and earned a doctorate in medicine from the University of Georgia. Following his service as a Captain in the United States Air Force, he started several small businesses related to agriculture and transportation that have since grown to include several locations across the Southeast. An avid sportsman, he served two terms as Governor to Georgia where he was a member of the bipartisan Governors Sportsman’s Caucus.
Co-founder of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus and good friend of Perdue, the Honorable Lindsay Thomas, is encouraged by the nomination, “As a current farm owner and someone who grew up in a small agriculture community in Georgia, I know first-hand the difficulties farmers are facing these days and I feel confident our new Secretary of Agriculture will have a strong voice at the table.”
“We look forward to working with Secretary Perdue on a number of issues that are of great importance to America’s sportsmen and women; especially with the reauthorization of a strong conservation title of the Farm Bill” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) President Jeff Crane. “His background and ability to work across both sides of the aisle will be crucial as negotiations for the 2018 Farm Bill reauthorization are underway.”
In a recent statement from Perdue, he stated, “Making sure Americans who make their livelihood in the agriculture industry are thriving is near and dear to my heart and I’m going to champion the concerns of American agriculture and work tirelessly to solve the issues facing our farm families in this new role.”
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
