USDA's Perdue expects aid package from Congress

Lawmakers are being urged to approve another hefty package of disaster aid for farmers in the Southeast in the aftermath of the recent hurricanes.“Current safety net programs we have for farms in the farm bill are not going to be adequate for this kind of devastation,” USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue told reporters Thursday. “We just want to make them where they can continue to farm and feed their families.”Perdue said USDA will need a supplemental appropriation similar to the $2.4 billion in agricultural disaster aid that Congress funded following the 2017 hurricanes.