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Secretary Perdue did not support sugar changes in House farm bill

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says he was not in favor of a farm bill amendment that would have changed U.S. sugar policy.  “I would hate to see that come into the farm bill at this time, which would disrupt, really, NAFTA negotiations as well as other previous agreements with Mexico.  I think that would be damning overall to the spirit of what we’ve done.”

The amendment to eliminate production limits and repeal a sugar-to-ethanol program was proposed by North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, but was soundly defeated by the House last week.  Perdue tells Brownfield any possible changes to the sugar program should be handled separately.  “If Congress wants to deal with the sugar industry as a whole, then I think that needs to be done separately from the farm bill.”

Perdue talked to Brownfield during his recent Back to Our Roots tour in Wyoming and Nebraska.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue speaks with Brownfield’s Larry Lee during recent Back to Our Roots tour.