Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue talks with reporters after meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016, in New York. | AP Photo Trump makes Perdue nomination official

President-elect Donald Trump has formally announced his nomination of former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to serve as agriculture secretary following word late Wednesday that he had been chosen for the job.

“Sonny Perdue is going to accomplish great things as secretary of Agriculture,” Trump said in a statement Thursday morning. “From growing up on a farm to being governor of a big agriculture state, he has spent his whole life understanding and solving the challenges our farmers face, and he is going to deliver big results for all Americans who earn their living off the land.”

Agriculture secretary was the last vacant Cabinet spot, and Perdue's selection puts an end to months of speculation about who would get the job.

Perdue, an agribusiness owner and veterinarian by training who was governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011, will likely need to draw on all of those experiences as he heads into his confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, the date of which is still to be announced. In a statement, Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said that the next secretary needs to understand the challenges farmers are facing because of low crop prices, poor access to credit and regulatory pressure from outside USDA.

"We need an advocate for agriculture," Roberts said.