Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue met with members of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives earlier this week. He told their executives to talk to Congress about voting on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement on trade. Noting that he can’t directly encourage lobbying, Perdue told members they should follow their “hearts and minds” in talking with Congress.

Perdue told the executives in attendance that he’s very positive about the role of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, saying she’s “taking her deliberations on the USMCA very seriously.” He says there are some tweaks that are “doable” to satisfy Democrats who are critical of the bill. He covered a wide variety of topics, including the Market Facilitation Program.

He says details should be coming shortly, noting that the USDA has been “opaque” about the details because the administration didn’t want the aid program to influence planting decisions. As the planting season is all but wrapped up, it’ll be much more time appropriate to release more detailed information.