{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bost.house.gov/2018/10/bost-usda-secretary-perdue-tour-eckert-s-and-host-farmers-forum", "Bost, USDA Secretary Perdue Tour Eckert\u2019s and Host Farmers Forum", "2018-10-24", "2018", "2018-10", "Republican", "House", "IL", "Mike Bost", "B001295", "bost.house.gov", "bost", "https://bost.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Belleville, IL - U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) today held a forum with farmers after a tour of Eckert\u2019s Orchard in Belleville, IL along with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue. They discussed agriculture issues and ways to improve the farming industry in Southern Illinois.\n\n\u201cAgriculture is vitally important to the economy of Southern Illinois and to our entire country,\u201d said Bost. \u201cMaking sure our farmers\u2019 needs are being met is vital to their success. Today\u2019s forum was an opportunity for the most influential person in American agriculture policy to hear directly from Southern Illinois\u2019 farmers. I will continue to work alongside Secretary Perdue and the Trump administration to make sure we move forward to help our farmers succeed. When America\u2019s farmers succeed, the country succeeds.\u201d\n\n\u201c(Mike) can bring the perspective of working folks in Illinois to D.C. and we need that very much so,\u201d said USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. \u201cIt\u2019s good to have him in there fighting for your interests. He is elected to listen to the people and communicate that to me. It is important for me to hear what he hears \u2013 plus I love farmers and to get out of DC to the rural countryside, to see production agriculture and great places like Eckert\u2019s here with farm to table education opportunities.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-27T23:08:35Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bost.house.gov/2018/10/bost-usda-secretary-perdue-tour-eckert-s-and-host-farmers-forum"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0752617381513119, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}