Farmers, ranchers have ‘unprecedented’ meeting with Ag, Interior secretaries

Capital Press ^ | June 5, 2017 | Sean Ellis

[Twotone]

Ten Idaho and farmers and ranchers spent an hour meeting with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke June 2. They covered a wide range of topics important to the state’s and nation’s farming industries.

Farmers and ranchers described a private meeting with two of President Donald Trump’s cabinet members June 2 as unprecedented and historic.

Instead of addressing the group, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke listened and took notes, according to those who were there.

“They just didn’t have an agenda. They truly wanted to listen to us,” said Aberdeen potato farmer Ritchey Toevs. “It was a pro-producer meeting. It was a completely different experience than I’ve ever had.”

“They didn’t really say much. They let us do the talking,” said Jerome dairyman Mike Roth. “I feel like I witnessed a little bit of history today.”

[Paul R.]

Secretaries Perdue and Ryan would do well to repeat this effort many times throughout the country, with their underlings tasked to not only dig further into the issues raised, but to also push for media coverage, and follow up coverage, on every local media outlet possible...

Gov’t can’t solve every problem, but it CAN help in a few areas, and get out of the way in many others.