WIFE CALLS FOR REMOVAL OF AG SECRETARY

Women Involved in Farm Economics (WIFE) is urging the immediate removal of Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.  At a Tuesday meeting in Wisconsin at the World Dairy Expo, Perdue supported the idea of inevitable bigness in agriculture with this statement, “In America, the big get bigger and the small go out.”

 WIFE has called on President Donald Trump to replace Perdue with a Secretary of Agriculture who understands and sympathizes with small and average farmers and ranchers and not big packers and processors (see the link to the letter below).

 Perdue went on to state, “I don’t think in America we, for any small business, have a guaranteed income or a guaranteed probability of survival.” 

 National WIFE President Diane McDonald stated, “WIFE is not purposing a profit guarantee but is asking for a level playing field that would allow a profit”. 

 The share of U.S. farms operated by women nearly tripled over the past three decades. Using Census of Agriculture data from 1978 through 2007.  “Secretary Perdue’s Big Farm Inevitability thinking would harm women,” McDonald added.

 The USDA is called “The Peoples’ Department”.  It is not the department for big businesses.  Secretary Perdue seems to be pushing a factory farm model of agriculture rather than supporting smaller farmers who are the life blood of Rural America.  This attitude is contrary to President Donald Trump’s promise to support our farmers and ranchers.

 McDonald continued, “With fewer and fewer places to sell our products and no support from our government to stop concentration in the agriculture market, farmers and ranchers are squeezed.”  The farmer’s share of retail prices for our products is the lowest in history. 

 WIFE believes the opening of foreign markets to agricultural commodities is not, by itself, working to promote prosperity in agriculture.  “Opening foreign markets is great for international companies but the added value to our products does not trickle down to the farmers and ranchers,” said McDonald.  “Export trade needs to be coupled with adequate oversight by using the Packers and Stockyards Act to prevent a few companies reaping all the profits through monopolistic practices.  This is something Secretary Perdue does not seem to want to do.”

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For more information contact Pam Potthoff, 35807 Drive 714, Trenton, NE  69044, or 308-737-7840, or coyotepp@bwtelcom.net