USDA secretary to continue three-day California swing with tour of valley farms, roundtable talk on fire resilience.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will continue a three-day swing through California today and Wednesday by touring farms and talking to growers in the San Joaquin Valley and holding a roundtable discussion on fire resilience, readiness and recovery.
Perdue will be joined by California Reps. Jim Costa, a Democrat, and David Valadao and Jeff Denham, both Republicans, at various stops throughout the valley today, according to an itinerary provided by his office.
He will start his day with a town-hall meeting with local producers at Wenger Farms in Modesto, then tour Brichetto Ranch in Oakdale and hold a working lunch roundtable on agricultural issues at Joseph Gallo Farms in Atwater. He will then tour HMC Farms in Kingsburg and hold another roundtable discussion and then tour Sunview Vineyards in McFarland.
On Wednesday, he and Rep. Steve Knight, R-Calif., will host a roundtable talk on wildfires at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif.
Perdue and U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke visited the Redding area on Monday to view devastation caused by the Carr Fire and meet with residents, local officials and fire crews.
Zinke arrived in the area on Sunday, touring damaged areas of the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and near Keswick, Calif., with Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman and meeting affected residents.