Secretary of Ag visits Poet, Lennox farm

Drizzle greeted U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to South Dakota Oct. 25.

Perdue toured POET Biorefining-Chancellor for his first step where he toured the plant and discussed opportunities to grow U.S. grain demand and expand markets, as well as the recent announcement of year-round use of E15 around the country. Perdue was joined at POET by Sen. Mike Rounds and Rep. Kristi Noem.

“Secretary Perdue quarterbacked a big win, not only for South Dakota farmers and biofuel producers, but also for our nation,” said Jeff Broin, POET CEO. “Thanks to Secretary Perdue, and the strong leadership of Sen. Rounds, Sen. (John) Thune and Rep. Noem, more Americans will have the freedom to choose cleaner, more affordable E15 fuel year-round. POET looks forward to working with Secretary Perdue and our congressional leaders to enact the president’s directive in time for the next summer driving season.”

Following the tour of POET, Perdue, Rounds and Noem, along with Sen. John Thune met with producers and representatives from agricultural organizations at the Poppens farm near Lennox. They answered questions about trade, financial issues farmers face, labeling lab-grown protein, new biotechnology rules, traceability and restructuring parts of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.