New Ag Secretary May Be Southern Says Strain

by Don Molino

Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain says it now appears the front runner to replace Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture is former Georgia governor Sonny Purdue. 

During his daily address on the Voice of Louisiana Agriculture Radio Network, Strain said Purdue seems to be emerging from a broad range of candidates including former Texas A&M President Elsa Moreno, Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller and former Texas Ag Commissioner Susan Combs.

“One of the big things coming up will be the 2018 farm bill,” said Strain, “And what I’m hearing from Congress is that we’re going to begin writing that farm bill immediately and we’ll be working very closely with members of congress including Louisiana Congressman Ralph Abraham, who sits on the House Ag Committee.”

Strain went to point out there is some financial instability going on in Brazil right now “and we need to look closely to see how that is going to affect agriculture.  Brazil is a major exporter of agriculture goods including soybeans and sugar.”

The commissioner will be speaking to the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association on Saturday before traveling to Scottsdale, Arizona, to address the delegates at the American Farm Bureau Convention.