Perdue's Final Days Pt 2
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. As Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue prepares to hand off the USDA leadership, he’s reflecting on his four years in office and the challenges this final year, brought by the pandemic.
Perdue says keeping workers safe and the supply chain running was the first major challenge that’s also taught them many lessons that should prove helpful down the road …
PERDUE … “I think so. We’ve gotten more resilience built into that. I think again what you will probably see is more automation, certainly, in processing.”
But, was it all preventable …?
PERDUE … “You know, who could have anticipated a pandemic of this kind? I think the Spanish Flu of 1918, a hundred years ago, this is just not something you prepare for. Many people like to blame people in power or authority in this kind of thing, but these were very different times.”
So far, Perdue believes we’ve reacted well …
PERDUE … “I think, again, America, the United States, even though we’ve had unfortunate deaths and infections, I think frankly the whole country, I’m not just talking about the government, but America as a whole has shown a resilience to this pandemic in an amazing way.”
As for farmers, Perdue is proud …
PERDUE … “I’m really proud! The farmers never stop, they never stop planting, they never stop harvesting, they never stop there. They kept on doing what they needed to do because when you think about essentiality, growers are pretty essential.”
Tune in tomorrow for more … on Perdue’s tenure as Ag Secretary.
