Vilsack urges attendees to sell farm bill
February 20, 2014 | 06:11 PM
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today urged the largely urban audience attending the USDA Agriculture Outlook Forum to promote the new U.S. farm bill.
The forum, a long-standing tradition at which the USDA reveals key forecasts for years into the future, attracted an audience of 1,800 people including government employees, industry officials and diplomats.
During his keynote address at noon, Vilsack asked the audience “to explain to your urban and suburban friends” that the bill creates a safety net that benefits the whole country, not just farmers, because it guarantees the food supply into the future.
The Agriculture Act of 2014 “is indeed a reform bill,” Vilsack said, a law that eliminates the direct payments that crop farmers have gotten whether prices are high or low and creates a safety net that will kick in when farmers experience troubles.
That safety net is needed, he said, in order to attract young people into agriculture. If those young people do not go into farming, Vilsack said, farm land will be used for other purposes and the United States will become reliant on imports, which could — like imported oil — come from countries where people “do not necessarily agree with us.”
The forum, a long-standing tradition at which the USDA reveals key forecasts for years into the future, attracted an audience of 1,800 people including government employees, industry officials and diplomats.
During his keynote address at noon, Vilsack asked the audience “to explain to your urban and suburban friends” that the bill creates a safety net that benefits the whole country, not just farmers, because it guarantees the food supply into the future.
The Agriculture Act of 2014 “is indeed a reform bill,” Vilsack said, a law that eliminates the direct payments that crop farmers have gotten whether prices are high or low and creates a safety net that will kick in when farmers experience troubles.
That safety net is needed, he said, in order to attract young people into agriculture. If those young people do not go into farming, Vilsack said, farm land will be used for other purposes and the United States will become reliant on imports, which could — like imported oil — come from countries where people “do not necessarily agree with us.”
