Pennsylania Gov Rendell backs Wolff to head USDA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Gov Ed Rendell said on Monday he backs his state agriculture secretary to head the U.S. Agriculture Department, with duties from school lunches to farm subsidies and the national forests.

A sixth-generation dairy farmer, Dennis Wolff has been Pennsylvania agriculture secretary since 2003 and has won approval of legislation to improve water quality and to settle conflicts between farmers and communities.

"Our secretary of agriculture has sent an application down to be U.S. secretary of agriculture," Rendell told reporters after delivering remarks at a Washington think tank. "I sent down my evaluation, which is a good one."

Pennsylvania is one of the top 10 U.S. farm states but gets less attention than California, the leader in high-value crops, wheat-growing Kansas or Iowa, No. 1 in corn and soybeans.

Also mentioned for USDA are Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, South Dakota Democrat.

(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe and Charles Abbott; Editing by Christian Wiessner)