By TIM ALEXANDER

Illinois Correspondent

DECATUR, Ill. — USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue’s August 28 visit to the Farm Progress Show (FPS) included a wide-ranging news conference and live interview with veteran farm broadcasters Orion Samuelson and Max Armstrong, highlighted by a surprise phone-in from President Donald Trump.

Topics he covered in his interaction with farmers and news media ranged from Chinese tariffs and counter-tariffs, the proposed U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA), and controversial Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) ethanol volume obligation waivers.

Trump’s unannounced, mid-interview phone call to Perdue, which was amplified via public address monitors, mostly served to assuage the fears of many farmers who, according to some polls, are losing confidence in the administration.

Perdue’s late-morning visit to the FPS Hospitality Tent stage began with a joke about his morning breakfast and town hall meeting at adjacent Richland College with Illinois lawmakers and ag officials. “There were a lot of good questions asked with no issues or problems whatsoever, because in agriculture everything is going great, you know,” he quipped.

From there, however, the discussion turned serious, including a lengthy discussion about the ongoing Chinese trade war, which dropped the value of U.S. ag exports from $19.5 billion to $9.2 billion – a 53 percent plunge – from 2017 to 2018, according to USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service.

Passage of the USMCA, another political hot potato facing the Trump administration, was also discussed at length.

“(Its passage is) the first thing we need to do once Congress gets back (from summer hiatus),” Perdue said. “I hope that the (House Majority) Speaker (Nancy Pelosi) will bring it forth. I don’t want it to get tied up in 2020 presidential politics, and all it will take is one presidential candidate or wannabe out here saying the USMCA is bad, and then the herd mentality takes over.

“But I do believe the Speaker wants to get this done and believes in what’s best for America, and this USMCA, line for line, is a better deal for agriculture, certainly, but also for manufacturing, for labor, and other areas.”

The importance of securing Congressional passage of USMCA goes beyond the immediate benefits for American industries, Perdue continued. “The world is watching. If we don’t get this done with our closest neighbors north and south, both of them political allies, then we can’t deal with confidence with China, Japan, Korea, or anywhere else.”

The U.S. EPA’s recent decision to support ethanol volume obligation waiver exceptions for small-oil refineries, which is drawing heat from the renewable fuel and ag industries, was another hot-button issue Perdue was queried about. Specifically, he was asked what USDA can do to influence a reversal of the decision.

“I know that EPA is facing a lot of heat on about small-refinery waivers. We’re working now to reclaim those gallons as much as we can, but the legal challenge of trying to rescind it will leave us in a quagmire,” he said.

Halfway into his scheduled 20-minute interview, Perdue plucked a ringing cell phone from his pocket and, after a little back-and-forth, brought his microphone to the phone to amplify Trump’s voice, who spoke first about the China tariff war.

“I could be a hero and sign a deal with China right now, and easily win the election, but make the wrong deal,” he told the crowd. “Or I could do what should have been done over the last 35 years. A quick deal and I’m a hero, or I could do it the right way, but it will take a little time. I think our farmers and everyone else understands.”

Trump said China may be holding out on a trade deal in the hope of swaying the 2020 presidential election to the left. “They might elect ‘Sleepy’ Joe Biden and the day after he’s elected, come up with the best deal ever,” he joked.

He also reminded farmers his USDA has granted $28 billion to them over the past two years in the form of Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments to compensate for export losses – a sum he claimed is generated by U.S. tariffs imposed on Chinese goods.

Later, in a media-only news conference, Perdue lashed out at journalists who are reporting, based on recent polls, that Trump’s support from farm country may be slowly eroding. He also took mild exception to a question about how closely Trump listens to what he and farm country is trying to tell him, and whether it causes Perdue frustration.

“No, it’s not frustrating. (Trump) is a very dynamic leader, and he knows where he wants to go. The essence of a good leader is someone who is forceful, dynamic, and knows what they want to do, but always has the back door open for other opinions,” he replied.

“If I continue to speak up and give him facts, he is a business guy who understands that sometimes he may need to change his mind. And that’s what happens.”

Questioned further about Chinese trade, Perdue said that Trump is ready to “come to the table’ as soon as Chinese officials are ready to make a deal: “I think if their goal is to wait (him) out, they’ve got a long time to wait.”