Potential Secretary of Agriculture Candidates

Potential Secretary of Agriculture Candidates: Ted McKinney, an appointee of Vice President-elect Mike Pence as governor of Indiana Another potential candidate for the ag secretary job is former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who also previously served as Texas agriculture commissioner. Perry said President-elect Trump's team has approached him about taking a job with the administration, and that could be agriculture secretary, according to a report on Texas Public Radio this weekend. "Just got the call from Trump team, saddle up and ride," Perry tweeted Nov. 9, according to the Texas Public Radio report. Perry did not mention any possible positions, but Texas Farm Bureau President Gene Hall told Texas Public Radio that Perry would make a great addition as Trump's agriculture secretary. "One thing that Rick Perry has always been good at is connecting with farmers and ranchers. He is one of us, he was involved in farming and ranching in Haskell before becoming commissioner," Hall said. Sid Miller, the current Texas agriculture commissioner, is also considered a candidate, but he is controversial for a number of reasons. He has proposed returning deep-fat fryers to school kitchens, a practice that the Obama administration has sought to eliminate. A tweet from his office also called Hillary Clinton the "c-word," although Miller has said that was a mistake committed by an aide and recalled it. Other candidates, mentioned by various media outlets including Politico, include: -- Chuck Conner, a Hoosier who is the president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, but has also served as agriculture deputy secretary and acting secretary and as staff director of the Senate Agriculture Committee when Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., chaired that committee. -- Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who is also a former state agriculture commissioner as well as a former U.S. representative and senator. -- Former Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman. -- Charles Herbster, a Nebraska rancher and businessman who chaired Trump's agriculture advisory committee. -- Mike McCloskey, who with his wife Sue, founded Fair Oaks Farm, an Indiana farm that invites the public to visit their operation. -- Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. -- Bruce Rastetter, an Iowa businessman, pork and ethanol producer who organized an agricultural summit in 2015 before the Iowa caucuses. -- Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts. -- Don Villwock, an Indiana farmer who is former president of the Indiana Farm Bureau and lost a race against Zippy Duvall of Georgia for president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.