While the outgoing administration dumped a last-minute organic animal welfare rule on agriculture, Congress seems poised to block the new regulation, according to Politico. Bipartisan leadership from both the House and Senate agriculture committees condemned the rule following its announcement by the Department of Agriculture. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service administrator said the new standards “allow producers to compete on a level playing field.” However, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts said the costs of complying with requirements that livestock and poultry have outdoor access could put some producers out of business.” The Kansas Republican promised to work with USDA under the new administration to “ease this overregulation.” Ranking Democrat from the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow expressed disappointment in the rule, saying USDA “missed an opportunity” to set standards that did not risk unintended consequences. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway blasted the outdoor access requirements under the rule. The Texas Republican linked the requirement to susceptibility to highly pathogenic avian influenza, saying the rule was “particularly concerning” given the detection of the virus in a wild duck in Montana earlier this month.

By now, agriculture is familiar with his name, but what about the history behind Donald Trump’s nominee for Agriculture Secretary? Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is set to become the next Agriculture Secretary if confirmed by the U.S. Senate. After switching parties, the now 70-year old was first elected as Georgia’s governor in 2003 and was the state’s first Republican Governor in nearly a century. In his two terms as governor, Perdue presided over the state’s top-ranked agricultural economy. Perdue is a trained veterinarian but is more familiar with crop production. He is a founding partner for AGrow Star, a grain business with 11 elevator locations across Georgia and South Carolina, according to DTN. At the time of the announcement, he was serving on several boards, including the National Grain and Feed Association and the Georgia Agribusiness Council. Perdue also served as president of the Southeastern Grain and Feed Association in 1988. He will be taking over for former Secretary Vilsack after he left office early last Friday.

Agriculture groups in droves announced support for Agriculture Secretary Nominee Sonny Perdue. The Trump administration transition team confirmed the selection of Perdue Thursday. The announcement this week drew immediate praise from general farm groups to livestock and grain organizations. Perdue first met with then President-elect Donald Trump in November after the election. Following that meeting, several candidates were considered for the job before Trump came back to Perdue. He must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, a Republican from Kansas, said he looks forward to the process. In a statement, Roberts said: “Everyone in farm country is having a hard time. We need a Secretary who can recall the 1980’s and will do everything within their power to make sure we do not return to those conditions.” In regards to Perdue, Roberts added: “together, we must get to work addressing these immediate and future challenges.”

Buyers in China have canceled up to seven ethanol import shipments due to arrive by April, the first sign a likely hike in import duties is threatening to stall demand. The import tariff is likely to rise to 30 percent from five percent and would shut imports out of the market based on current prices, according to Reuters. Seven cargoes could equate to between 266,000 and 443,000 cubic meters of ethanol. Ethanol shipments to China in the first 11 months of 2016 hit 765,000 cubic meters, up 51 percent on the prior year, while 2015 imports of 686,000 cubic meters soared 2,741 percent from the year before. There has been some confusion over the 2017 tariff after the government said it would adjust the tax to “protect” the domestic industry but did not provide further details. If the tariff moves forward, U.S. ethanol shipments to China would stall due to a lack of profit margins.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to publish a proposed rule to amend country-of-origin labeling regulations adding venison under the labeling law. While Congress repealed COOL regulations for beef and pork in 2015, the regulations still require retailers to notify their customers with information regarding the source of other certain foods, including lamb, goat and chicken, farm-raised fish and fruits and vegetables. The Agricultural Act of 2014 directed USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service to add muscle cuts of venison and ground venison to the list of covered commodities subject to mandatory COOL requirements, according to meat industry publication Meatingplace. Comments on the proposal must be submitted by March 14.

Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stepped down a week early from his cabinet post to “save taxpayers a few bucks.” Vilsack told Reuters he and his family were taking a trip to Mexico this week and did not want the federal government to pay for a security detail to travel with him. Vilsack served as Ag Secretary for all eight years of President Barack Obama’s time in the White House. Following his exit, The U.S. Dairy Export Council confirmed Vilsack would be its next president and CEO, taking over the duties next month. Vilsack said he left extensive briefing books and electronic information about the agency for the Trump Administration. Vilsack said it would take the next Agriculture Secretary “some time” to absorb all the information Vilsack’s team has prepared. Trump’s reported pick, Sonny Perdue, toured the USDA offices Wednesday, according to Agri-Pulse.

President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly picked former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue to be Agriculture Secretary under the incoming administration. While the USDA landing team has yet to confirm the nominee, multiple media outlets attributed a senior transition official as saying Trump will nominate Perdue to the post. The American Farm Bureau strongly endorsed the nomination of Perdue following the news. AFBF President Zippy Duvall, also from Georgia, says Perdue would “provide the strong voice that agriculture needs.” Perdue was part of Trump’s agricultural advisory committee during the presidential campaign. As Governor of Georgia, the now 70-year-old Republican’s key agricultural issues included water management and making changes to the tax code that were beneficial to farmers. Perdue is a veterinarian-turned-politician who was Georgia’s first Republican governor in more than a century when he was first elected. If transition team officials confirm the nomination Thursday, Perdue will be poised to take the last remaining seat in Trump’s cabinet, and the long search for the next Agriculture Secretary would end just a day before Trump takes office. The search has included a handful of false reports of when and who Trump would pick. Perdue’s cousin, David Perdue, is a Republican U.S. Senator from Georgia. He said on Twitter Wednesday night he “could not be more proud of his cousin” as being named USDA Secretary.