LOXLEY, Alabama — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue visited damaged areas affected by Hurricane Sally Monday afternoon before participating in a round-table discussion with local farmers and representatives from the state’s agricultural industry.
Perdue, along with Alabama’s U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne and Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate visited Underwood Pecan Farm in Summerdale with owners Gary and Billie Jo Underwood before taking a private tour of Flowerwood Nursery in Loxley.
Perdue, Pate and Byrne then participated in a round-table discussion at Flowerwood which included local farmers, including Underwood, Mark Kaiser, Hope Cassebaum, who is also president of the Baldwin County Farmers Federation; Ray Bertolla and Joel Sirmon.
Also participating were Ellis Ollinger, CEO and general manager at Flowerwood; Bill Bailey, regional coordinator with the USDA; Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s Chief of Staff Jo Bonner; David McCurdy, Alabama executive director for the Farm Service Agency; Larry Reeves, president of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association; and Jimmy Parnell, president of the Alabama Farmers Federation.
From there, Perdue went to tour a cotton farm in Jay, Florida.
“Our administration wants to be hands-on in order to meet the needs of our nation’s farmers,” Perdue said. “We are not perfect, but we are striving to listen to what farmers have to say and we are here to listen to you.”
