Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited the 2012 Farm Progress Show in his home state of Iowa on Thursday to announce new USDA grants to support beginning farmers and call on Congress to pass a farm bill before the current one expires next month.
He gave three reasons why agriculture needs a farm bill now. “One, because it includes the disaster programs vital to livestock producers,” he said. “Dairy producers are under a lot of stress. We have to have a food, farm and jobs bill to help them out.”
“Second reason is certainty. You’re a producer and trying to figure out what you’re going to do next year, how are you going to figure it out.” The third reason Vilsack said is momentum in rural America. “We’ve got farm income, record exports, record enrollment in conservation practices … why would we want to stop that momentum by creating all this uncertainty?”
Listen to Sec. Vilsack’s Farm Progress Show press conference here: Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Remarks