The Sonnyside of the Farm

Secretary Perdue talks tax reform, deregulation, and trade with White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow. The two discuss President Trump's historic tax cuts and their effects on American farmers and small business owners.

Secretary Perdue sits down over zoom with Guy Sorman, contributing editor at the City Journal and former French economics professor. Secretary Perdue and Guy Sorman discuss the way America's free market economic system has allowed American agriculture to thrive. The two also discuss what the future looks like and what we can do today to ensure we remain food independent.

On this month's episode of The Sonnyside of the Farm, Secretary Sonny sits down with Jon Entine, Founder and Executive Director of the Genetic Literacy Project, to talk about innovation in agriculture. If we as a society are going to continue doing our part to feed the growing world population, innovation is imperative in agriculture to produce more with less. While America's farmers and ranchers are up to the challenge, there is a narrative out there that's anti-science and against innovation, making consumers inaccurately fear their food. This episode will help educate and inform consumers that science and innovation in agriculture are safe and vital.

On this month's episode of The Sonnyside of the Farm, we're talking with Denton McLane, Chairman of McLane Global and Grace Norman, Chief of Staff at the Baylor University Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. We are talking about a heroic partnership that sprang up in March between Baylor, McLane Global, PepsiCo, and USDA to help feed kids in rural America who have been impacted by school closures due to the Coronavirus. When schools closed back in March, USDA issued waivers to ensure kids were still able to pick up their breakfast and lunches from school. However, there are many kids who live in rural America where it takes a long time and many miles to pick up their meals. Together we have delivered over 25.5 million meals to kids across America to ensure the millions of kids USDA feeds during the school year continue to have the nutritious food they depend on.

On this week's episode of The Sonnyside of the Farm, we're talking to Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas, and USDA's Under Secretary for Food Safety Mindy Brashears about the safety of America's food amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The coronavirus opened the eyes of many people in America as to where their food comes from. As the leaders of America's Food Safety regulations, Deputy Commissioner Yiannas and Under Secretary Brashears shed an interesting light on how we kept our food supply safe during the pandemic and what can be done moving forward.

This month, Secretary Sonny interviews a farmer and a processor to talk about USDA's Farmers to Families Food Box Program. The food supply chain as a whole has been hit hard by the coronavirus – from the farmers that grow the food, to the processors who move the food, to the families who need food now more than ever. To work through these challenges, USDA created innovative new program, called Farmers to Families Food Box, where we buy excess produce, dairy and meat from our farmers and processing companies box it and deliver it to those most in need. Programs like this are the best that America has to offer – it all comes down to Americans helping Americans.

This week's episode of The Sonnyside of the Farm is all about the food supply chain. Secretary Sonny will be talking to a producer and a grocer to help paint the picture of the American food supply chain from farm to table, truly from start to finish. These are extremely challenging times, but Secretary Sonny wants to be sure you have the facts and know what's going on with your food.

This week on the Sonnyside of the Farm, Secretary Perdue talks about the work USDA is doing during the Coronavirus pandemic. From feeding kids all across the country, to ensuring America's food supply chain remains safe and strong, and making certain our farmers have enough ag workers for harvest – USDA continues its mission to “Do Right and Feed Everyone.”

This week, Secretary Sonny is setting the record straight on how safe, affordable and nutritious the US Food Supply is. FSIS Administrator Carmen Rottenberg joined Secretary Sonny to explain the science and facts behind the US food system to let consumers all around the world know how safe and delicious our food is.

This week, Secretary Sonny sits down with the man the President hired to negotiate on behalf of America's farmers and ranchers – Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer. Ambassador Lighthizer tells Secretary Sonny what it's really like, to go out around the world negotiating on behalf of President Trump for better trade deals, with great success.

This week, Secretary Perdue sits down with American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall to talk about innovation in American agriculture. America's farmers and ranchers are some of the most innovative entrepreneurs in the world. Secretary Perdue and AFBF President Duvall have both traveled extensively around the country to see this innovation firsthand. In this episode, they talk about their personal experiences as farmers about how innovation and automation has impacted the agriculture industry and what the future holds.

This week, Secretary Perdue sits down with three different guests who all believe in the transformational power of work – but all have experienced it from different vantage points. First he hears from Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who was Speaker when the 1996 Welfare Reform was passed with bipartisan support from the House, Senate and President Clinton. He then hears from Jo Ann Mattson, who is Executive Director of The Light House, an organization whose mission is to help people rebuild their lives by providing shelter and services to empower them as they transition from homelessness to employment, housing, and self-sufficiency. Finally, he hears from Jeremy Cox, who is a student of Jo Ann's program, training in the Light House Bistro. Formerly incarcerated, then homeless, Jeremy has made a choice to change his life.

This week, Secretary Perdue sits down with Max Armstrong, the acclaimed farm broadcaster and host of “This Week in Agribusiness.” Max and Secretary Sonny talked about the USDA's informal motto, “Do Right and Feed Everyone” and how the work of USDA touches the lives of every American.

This week, Secretary Perdue sits down with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former White House Press Secretary, at Doe's Eat Place in Little Rock, Arkansas. Sarah and Sonny talk about President Trump and his affinity and affection for America's farmers and ranchers, Sarah's time at the White House, and what she's been up to since her departure.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue wants to welcome you to his very own podcast – “The Sonnyside of the Farm.” Born and raised on a family farm in middle Georgia, Secretary Perdue is an agriculturalist through and through – having worked as a veterinarian, owning his own grain business, serving as Governor of Georgia and now serving as a member of President Trump's cabinet as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He'll be talking to everyone – from Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Farm Bureau President Zippy Duval, Farm Broadcaster Max Armstrong and so many others – about the issues facing America's farmers, ranchers, producers and foresters today. From USDA or out in the country, tune in the first Friday of every month to hear from Secretary Perdue himself.