R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America

“Fighting for the Independent U.S. Cattle Producer”

For Immediate Release:

March 2, 2017

Contact: R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard

Phone: 406-252-2516; r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com 

Cattle Groups Support a Sonny Perdue and Charles Herbster USDA Team

Billings, Mont. – In a joint letter sent today to President Donald J. Trump, several local, state and national cattle trade associations urge the appointment of Sonny Perdue as the nation’s next Agriculture Secretary and Charles W. Herbster as his Deputy Secretary.

Perdue, a former governor of Georgia, previously practiced veterinary medicine and started three agriculture-related small businesses.  Herbster, owner of Herbster Angus Farms in Falls City, Nebraska, is also a corn and soybean farmer as well as the owner of the manufacturing firm, Conklin Company, Inc. Herbster was appointed National Chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee for the Donald J. Trump campaign for President.

“The only way to improve upon the tremendous opportunity that Mr. Perdue will bring as your Secretary of Agriculture would be to include the entrepreneurial talents and production-agriculture knowledge of Charles W. Herbster on Mr. Perdue’s executive team – as Mr. Perdue’s Deputy Secretary,” the groups told the president in their letter.

Although they did not specify what changes they want to see at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the groups made it clear they want Perdue and Herbster to lead American agriculture in a new direction.

The groups state, “We strongly believe that a combination of Mr. Perdue’s leadership and Mr. Herbster’s direct assistance will afford American agriculture the best opportunity for it to unleash its tremendous potential, which will undoubtedly result in an immediate boost to Rural America’s ailing economy.”

Signatories to the joint letter include R-CALF USA, Buckeye Quality Beef (Ohio), Cattle Producers of Louisiana, Cattle Producers of Washington, Colorado Independent Cattle Growers Association, Independent Beef Association of North Dakota, Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska, Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming, Kansas Cattlemen’s Association, Missouri’s Best Beef Co-Op., Navajo County Cattlemen’s Association(Arizona), New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, Northern Wisconsin Beef Producers Association, South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, and Spokane County Cattlemen (Washington).

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is the largest producer-only cattle trade association in the United States. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.