Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack (end table, red tie) addresses the U.S. Conference of Mayors Food Policy session today in Washington. (USDA/Lance Cheung)

R.T. Ryback
Mayors from cities in two of the nation’s most productive agricultural areas told Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today that they are working hard to provide locally-produced, healthy food to their constituents, but that the connection is hard and that they would appreciate more help from the Agriculture Department.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryback said, “Having cities connected to farms is really hard to do. It’s not sinking in. We are at the forefront of a local food movement.”

Chris Koos
Chris Koos, mayor of Normal, Ill., noted that his city is surrounded by some of the most productive farm land in the country, but that much of the corn grown nearby is used for ethanol and the soybeans for biodiesel.

Koos said he is trying to help farmers who want to produce for local consumption, but they have told him they are not producing to capacity because they don’t have a market for their production.

He said he has worked with hospitals and other institutions that want locally produced fresh fruits and vegetables, but that they cannot take the produce in the volumes produced from individual farmers.

Koos also told The Hagstrom Report that he has been disturbed by the “hostility” that large-scale, commercial farmers have shown toward the local food movement. The local Farm Bureau chapter has been trying to bring the two sides together but the big farmers seem to feel threatened by the growing trend in favor of consuming locally grown food.

Vilsack said that the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative at USDA has given out mostly small grants, but that he has directed people involved in that program to work on market development in the coming year.

Mayors also told Vilsack that they want to create more links between local farmers and urban residents, but that they have found it difficult to work with USDA programs. The secretary told them there are many programs they can use to help with farmers’ markets and other food programs, but acknowledged that USDA is constrained by law to use certain programs only for smaller towns, usually those under 50,000 in population.

But he also noted that there is more interest in urban agriculture and that farmers have the right to assistance, no matter what their ZIP code.