In his last choice before his inauguration as president of the United States, Donald Trump confirmed the choice of former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue as the new secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Perdue was governor from 2003 to 2011 and has a diverse profile of work.
He grew up on a grain farm in rural Georgia, served in the United States Air Force and was part of several million-dollar businesses. It owns fertilizer distributor Houston Fertlizer and Georgia and South Carolina grain hauler AGrow Star. He is still a partner with his cousin, the senator and billionaire owner of Dollar General stores, David Perdue, in the company Perdue Parners, a consultancy dedicated to facilitating exports, partnerships and strategic acquisitions. Sonny Perdue was also a board member of rural associations such as the U.S. Grain and Food Association and president of the Georgia Grain and Food Association.
The choice was praised by representatives of the US agricultural sector. “He knows the business very well and all aspects of agriculture,” said James Lee Adams, former president of the American Soybean Growers Association.
