Fortunately, when it comes to meat and poultry, I have the really wonderful situation of having producers and processors that produce and process a very high-quality product.

The meat and poultry industries are outstanding industries, and it's going to be a very natural fit for me.

There is a tremendous amount of support for the approach we have taken, which again is to base our decisions on risk analysis and thoughtful scientific process.

Blaming your faults on your nature does not change the nature of your faults. After growing up on a dairy farm, everything in life seemed easy

In beef trade issues, we base our decisions upon science.

On the professional side, those 18 years on the farm instilled my love for agriculture.

We asked ourselves and the world to base decisions on good science, and I really believe the United States can be the leader in delivering that message to our international trading partners.