As part of the Trump Administration goal to balance the budget, the USDA is facing a $24 billion cut for the 2018 fiscal year. Included in those cuts are cuts or elimination to several programs, a closure of 17 of the 90 Agricultural Research Service laboratories, and a reduction of 5,263 USDA employees — a reduction of 5.5 percent of the department’s workforce.
“As governor of Georgia from 2003 through 2011, I managed that state during probably not the best economic times, and I certainly had revenue estimates that I didn’t prefer. But we did whatever it took,” said USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue in a phone conference held on Tuesday, May 23. “I think that really comes from my growing up on a farm. I’ve known the thrill of a bumper crop and the heart break of drought and flood.