After a long awaited search, President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Sonny Perdue to serve as Secretary of Agriculture.

American Soybean Association (ASA) President and Illinois soybean farmer Ron Moore welcomed the forthcoming announcement of former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue as the nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the administration of President Donald Trump in a statement late Wednesday.

“Congratulations to Governor Perdue. USDA touches the lives of every American, and it is among the most crucial government functions for farmers across the United States. For soybean farmers, USDA serves us in so many ways. From working to implement a viable risk management framework to helping expand our markets overseas, to investing in agricultural research here at home, these are critical elements of the farm economy, and we look forward to working alongside USDA under Secretary Perdue to ensure that the department continues to serve American soybean farmers in the most effective manner possible.”

House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson has also made a comment today in regards to the appointment.

“Agriculture and rural America play such an important role in our economy. With the appointment of Perdue, who has a background in agriculture, I am hopeful we will get a better sense of the incoming administration’s policy plans for rural America. There is a lot of work ahead of us including reauthorizing the Farm Bill, maintaining the RFS and rolling back some of the regulations that are negatively impacting farmers. I look forward to sharing the concerns of Midwestern farmers with Perdue and getting to work.”

Perdue, a longtime rural agribusinessman who originally trained as a veterinarian, served two terms as governor, from 2003 to 2011, and was an original member of Trump’s agricultural advisory team, announced in August.