MONEY

Trump's Southern ag secretary pick makes Iowans uncomfortable

Donnelle Eller
deller@dmreg.com

Some Iowa farm leaders wish President-elect Donald Trump's agriculture secretary pick was from the Midwest — and a staunch proponent of renewable fuels.

Still, they're keeping an open mind about former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, a 70-year-old veterinarian whom Trump nominated for the post late Wednesday.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, tweeted earlier this month that he hoped the nominee would be from a state north of the Mason-Dixon line.

"It’s more of a regional thing," Grassley said. "I’ve had California and Southern secretaries of agriculture, and I never feel as comfortable with them as I do when we have someone from the Midwest, Republican or Democrat.

Sonny Perdue, former Georgia governor, was nominated by Donald Trump to be Secretary of Agriculture.

"I just feel that the institution of the family farm from New York through the Plains states is a form of agriculture that tends to be different than what it is in California and the South. But how do I know until I talk to him?" Grassley told the Register.

Perdue is "a veterinarian so he knows something about agriculture, unless he’s one of these cat — is he a cat veterinarian?”

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said Perdue will face tough questioning as he moves through confirmation hearings.

“Of course I’d prefer someone from the Midwest, certainly," she said. "I think all of us, I don’t care what state you’re from, those of us involved heavily in agriculture, we all hope it’s going to be someone from our own state."

But "the fact that he does come from a state that grows important crops — whether it’s cotton, peanuts, peaches, whatever it might be — he has a strong background” in ag, she said.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack was the U.S. ag secretary for the past eight years. He stepped down last week, taking a job leading the U.S. Dairy Export Council, a Washington, D.C. area industry group.

Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey said Perdue, who grew up on a farm and worked in the ag industry, has a "very good reputation within the ag industry."

The federal agency, with a $155 billion budget and about 100,000 employees, influences everything from crop insurance to conservation spending, animal health and food inspections. The agency also provides critical food assistance for low-income families.

Sen. Chuck Grassley speaks Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, during the Republican Election Night Party in downtown Des Moines.

Monte Shaw, president of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said the southern U.S. tends to align more closely with oil and livestock producers.

Those groups, along with food manufacturers and others, complained about spiking corn and soybean prices, beginning in 2008, when a series of adverse growing conditions pushed commodity prices to record highs by 2012. Many blamed higher costs on ethanol production, which uses corn to produce fuel.

Iowa is the nation's largest producer of ethanol and biodiesel. It also leads the nation in corn, pork and egg production and ranks second in soybean production.

The oil industry strongly opposes the Renewable Fuel Standard, the federal mandate that requires ethanol and biodiesel be blended into the nation's fuel supply, displacing fossil fuels.

Shaw said he doesn't see evidence that Perdue was among those who sought a waiver from the mandate.

But he said he would be more comfortable with an agriculture secretary that was staunchly on the side of renewable fuels, especially with a Cabinet lineup that leans heavily toward oil.

Former governor of Texas, Rick Perry campaigns for presidential hopeful, Ted Cruz in Fairfield at 7:14 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016.

Trump nominated former Texas Gov. Rick Perry for energy secretary and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Both have opposed the renewable fuel mandate.

"Trump has been very clear about his support for the RFS … but it would be nice if there was someone around that leadership table that shared the president's pro-RFS views," said Shaw, hoping that some other agency leaders — undersecretaries, deputies or department leaders — support renewable fuel.

Chad Hart, an Iowa State University agricultural economist, said it's natural to want an ag secretary nominee that represents the Midwest.

"Especially in agriculture, you want a nominee that most closely aligns with the issues that affect farmers in your area," Hart said.

But, he added, "mostly what you want is an agriculture secretary who knows something about ag," he said.

Sen. Joni Ernst speaks during her Roast and Ride event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Saturday, August 27, 2016 in Des Moines.

Northey, Hart and others like Perdue's experience as Georgia's chief executive.

Hart said Perdue should have a keen understanding of trade, which is critical to Iowa and other ag-producing states. U.S. ag exports are projected to reach $134 billion this fiscal year.

"When you think of Georgia, you think peanuts, cotton and poultry," he said. "Roughly 70 percent of all the cotton produced in the U.S. is exported. And 20 to 25 percent of poultry is exported.

"He understands exporting products out of the state and country," Hart said. "I think we get someone who will defend agricultural trade."

That advocacy will be important as Trump discusses trade with China, Mexico and Canada, important U.S. trade partners that Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on.

"Everything we've heard about trade over the past year and a half has been negative," he said. "But ag relies on our ability to export. … We have a lot of supply that we need to match up with good demand, and right now, it's those international markets."

Craig Hill

Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, likes that Perdue is "a man of science. That’s an attribute that’s important in that position," with agency issues that range from biotechnology to food nutrition, and weed, insect and disease control.

Northey and others are unsure what Perdue’s positions are on conservation and water quality.

Iowa, along with other ag-heavy states, is under pressure to cut nitrogen and phosphorus losses that make their way to the Gulf of Mexico and contribute to the dead zone, an area the size of Connecticut that’s unable to support aquatic life each summer.

Craig Cox, a senior vice president for agriculture at Environmental Working Group, said he’s worried that USDA spending on conservation — efforts that prevent soil erosion, improve water quality — could get gutted as Republicans seek to pare back government spending and oversight.

“There could be severe, even crippling cuts to conservation programs and at USDA, if you listen to the rhetoric about shrinking the size of the government," Cox said.

“At the moment, it doesn’t look very good for water quality or soil health in Iowa or the United States.”

Reporter Jason Noble contributed to this story.

Jack Shere, a U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinary administrator, left, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey look on during a news conference on the Moline family turkey farm Monday, Aug. 10, 2015, in Manson, Iowa.