February 8, 2017
President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
As organizations representing rural America, we look forward to working with your Administration in the coming years to help ensure that all Americans face a brighter future. We also look forward to having Governor Perdue at the helm of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), working on behalf of rural America.
As you witnessed first-hand during the campaign, the issues facing rural America are no less significant than those facing urban parts of the country, but can more easily be overlooked because America’s small towns and rural areas make up just 15 percent of the nation’s population.
As you continue to develop the team that will assist you in leading the nation for the next four years, we respectfully request that you keep the needs of our nation’s farmers, ranchers, and residents of small communities high on the priority list for your administration. Multiple federal agencies have an impact on rural areas, and coordination among those agencies is essential to ensuring that the resources of the Federal government are efficiently and effectively used.
To help ensure a focused and coordinated effort to address the needs of rural areas, we suggest a designated senior member of the White House staff and/or an Office of Rural Policy within the Executive Office of the President to focus specifically on rural issues. Such an individual or office could become an added voice to ensure that the interests of rural Americans are addressed across the highest levels of your Administration.
Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to working with you in the years to come.
Sincerely,
AgFirst Farm Credit Bank
AgriBank, FCB
American Association of Community Colleges
American Association of Crop Insurers
American Sugar Alliance
America's SBDC
Center for Rural Affairs
CoBank
COSCDA
Crop Insurance Professionals Association
Fair Food Network
Farm Credit Bank of Texas
Farm Credit Council
Farmer Mac
Housing Assistance Council
National Association of Counties
National Association of Development Organizations (NADO)
National Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils (RC&D)
National Association of Towns and Townships
National Association of Wheat Growers
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
National Cooperative Business Association
National Cotton Council
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC)
National Farmers Union
National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association
National Milk Producers Federation
National Peach Council
National Pork Producers Council
National Rural Economic Developers (NREDA)
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (NRUCFC)
National Sorghum Producers
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
NTCA - The Rural Broadband Association
Panhandle Peanut Growers Association
Partners for Rural America
Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC)
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Inc. (RCAP)
Select Milk Producers
Southern Peanut Farmers Federation
Southwest Council of Agribusiness
USA Rice
Western Peanut Growers Association
cc: The Hon. Sonny Perdue
Reince Priebus, Chief of Staff
