Perdue's Final Days Pt 1
With today’s Fruit Grower Report, I’m Bob Larson. With a new Administration on the way, Sonny Perdue’s days as Secretary of Agriculture are numbered as well. And, he says 2020, his final year, has been a challenge on many fronts dealing with the pandemic.
For one, Perdue says keeping ag workers safe has not been easy …
PERDUE … “It was rather anxious back in the Spring as we saw the infection ravaging our processing employees. You had a dual threat, obviously, keeping employees safe. You know that any processing plant is typically side by side and very close and juxtaposition with one another. So, they had to make serious and quick arrangements in that way.”
In keeping the world fed, Perdue believes they caught it in time …
PERDUE … “We did see limitations in various places and a lack of choices, but for the most part we were able to avoid a total empty case in most of the areas in that way. And, I give credit to the companies who worked and really spent a lot of money trying to protect their employees while continuing to do a very essential job of the food supply chain.”
And, Perdue says they avoided more drastic moves like the Defense Production Act…
PERDUE … “We never had to implement that. We never had to execute the Defense Production Act, but it gave everyone an idea of how serious it was and how we all needed to work together.”
Listen tomorrow for more on Sonny Perdue’s final days as Ag Secretary as he reflects on his time in office.
