Many in the ag sector were cheered by Donald Trump’s selection of former Georgia Governor sonny Perdue to head the USDA. But now, as The Guardian reports, there is growing concern that Perdue will focus on global agribusiness to the detriment of American family farms.
Perdue’s history suggests he will prioritize the exporting of commodity crops for global markets. But this presents a couple of questions.
First, how will the profits from those exports be distributed in the States? Will that money find its way to the little guy, or will the benefits be reaped purely by middlemen like commodity brokers and traders?
Second, will large corporate operations begin to push out smaller operations and organic farms? Perdue is expected to slash incentives for conservation on farms and push back against water protection legislation.