Tom Vilsack on Feeding the World

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Nov 11, 2011 at 11:20:39 AM PST

Vilsack, Lucas, Peterson, and Johanns Speak About Ag Policy

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Mar 09, 2011 at 15:26:01 PM PST

See below for more.  

Coexistence and GE Alfalfa

by: Jill Richardson

Sun Jan 23, 2011 at 18:32:38 PM PST

Some Thoughts on the Political Environment in 2011

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Jan 04, 2011 at 23:27:24 PM PST

Over in the White House, Obama's looking for a new Chief of Staff, and one name that has been floated is Tom Vilsack, although most people think he's going to pick a Wall Street crony instead. If, for whatever reason, Vilsack leaves USDA, the name I've heard floated to replace him is Blanche Lincoln. Obviously, neither of these scenarios are good.

Getting back to Congress, we're now really getting close to the 2012 farm bill debate. It's here. Congress actually began working on the 2012 farm bill in 2010, but now that we've all got food safety and child nutrition behind us, we can all begin focusing on the farm bill as well. However, Frank Lucas (R-OK), the new House Ag committee chair, says he wants to put off really working on the 2012 farm bill for a while so he can first engage in oversight hearings.

I'm pretty sure that the EPA is going to be a target of those hearings. For whatever reason, Big Ag suddenly thinks that the EPA is going crazy and overstepping its bounds. The likely reason they say this is the EPA's action on carbon emissions. Big Ag has a major tendency to say "A (which doesn't bother me) leads to B (which I don't like), so I'm going to fight A." In this case, they are worried that if the EPA goes after emissions from power plants now, they might go after ag in the future

Another bit of bad news I've heard is the proposal to decrease the acreage enrolled in conservation programs. Several conservation programs involve paying farmers to NOT plant on areas with grasslands or wetlands, etc, to preserve wildlife habitat and to protect waterways from farm chemical runoff. Traditionally, conservation programs are underfunded, so planning to cut them seems absolutely insane.

The basis for their logic is an ongoing fight we've seen between sellers of commodities like corn, wheat, and soy, who benefit from increased commodity prices, and buyers of those commodities (like factory farms), who hate when commodity prices go up. I've watched this fight - which often centers around ethanol, the assumed cause of commodity price increases - for a few years with amusement. But it won't be funny if they settle their differences by taking acres out of conservation programs, which means plowing up grasslands and wetlands and planting them in MORE CORN.

Meanwhile, over at USDA, Vilsack has called for "coexistence" between conventional, biotech, and organic farmers. He doesn't like to see farmers suing one another, nor does he like one farmer dictating to another how to farm. And those are nice sentiments, really, but how do you propose to "coexist" when one farmer's GE corn blows pollen into all of the neighboring fields, some of which might be organic? Or when pesticide from a "conventional" farmer drifts onto a neighbor's organic crop? There's no easy way out here if you're looking for a way to coexist.

If you're hoping to reform the food system, here's what I think needs to be done now. I would expect roughly NOTHING from Congress. Nothing good that is. I think we need to keep our eye on Congress and make noise if they try to prevent the Obama administration from implementing any good policies. We also need to make noise if Congress puts forward very bad ideas in any upcoming legislation. I doubt we'll get much change for the positive in the farm bill, but we should advocate loudly for conservation programs.

I think we need to focus on making positive change in two areas. First, let's concentrate on the Obama administration and see if we can push USDA, the FDA, and EPA in good directions. You might also work within your own state for political change. And second, let's work on non-political reforms to the food system because that's probably where we'll make the most progress right now. Volunteer in your kid's school garden or in a local gardening group. Get involved in your community. Even just inviting friends over for a meal of fresh, ethically produced food is a great way to take action. Before people get active politically, often they need to get involved by falling in love with fresh food, or their farmers' market, or gardening. We need to engage more people like that, so that more people have a real stake in our movement. Then, when the political situation changes, we'll have more people on our side to speak out.

CropLife Celebrates Biodiversity... in Iowa

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Oct 29, 2010 at 17:06:23 PM PDT

• Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture
  
• Rajesh Kumar, Indian Farmer
  
• Pam Johnson, Iowa Farmer
  
• Camila Illich, Brazilian Farmer
  
• Gary Munkvold, Iowa State University
  
• Judy Chambers, IFPRI
  
• Moderator: Orion Samuelson, National Farm Report

This post covers the remarks of Tom Vilsack, before the other panelists spoke. You can watch this event here. I was planning to do a post on the remainder of the panel but it does not seem terribly worthwhile. Everyone said exactly what you would expect people in a forum hosted by a pesticide/biotech industry group to say. The Brazilian farmer said she works on an 8000 hectare (19,768 acre) farm, 5000 hectares (12,355 acres) of which are cultivated as farmland growing commodity grains and soybeans.

Biotech/Pesticide Industry Celebrates Biodiversity... With Tom Vilsack

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Oct 02, 2010 at 00:56:47 AM PDT

The invite reads, in part:

The United Nations (UN) has declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity - a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. Today, more than ever, sustainable agricultural practices are essential to maintaining our world's natural resources and biodiversity as well as supporting an increasing population.

In this spirit, Iowa State University, CropLife International, CropLife America, and Truth about Trade and Technology have partnered together to bring together farmers around the world to discuss what they are doing on a daily basis to preserve our planet and how they see these practices improving in the future. Interacting with the panel and taking questions from both the in-person and online audience will also be United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Wow. Adding to the irony, they are having a corn and soy farmer on their panel, discussing biodiversity. If that sounds enticing, then I have good news for you: You can participate online! The full invite, complete with misspellings, is below.

Buckle Up for Farm Bill 2012!

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Apr 23, 2010 at 21:46:26 PM PDT

"I've told people we should put everything on the table," said Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson. "My interest is in providing the best, most rational, safety net for the average commercial farmer in this country."

With a two-year lead time, the House Agriculture Committee chairman is opening a review on Wednesday of the U.S. farm subsidies that date from the Depression era and are subject to myriad calls for reform -- or total replacement.

A number of political headaches from farm supports to trade issues, should be treated in the new bill.

Cotton subsidies must be revised to settle a trade dispute with Brazil. Dairy farmers say milk supports failed to stop a ruinous price plunge. Crop insurance costs are exploding. The Obama administration wants to cut subsidies to big farms.

To get there, Peterson invited a debate whether crop supports should be remolded, perhaps into a system that assures overall revenue for a farm. Supports now are paid mostly on the basis of past production of subsidized crops and whether farm-gate prices for them are below targets set by Congress.

Calling the subsidies "Depression-era" makes them sound outdated, but they are really about as outdated as financial regulations. That is, we ought to go back to something much more similar to what FDR gave us, rules that have been changed and dismantled beyond the point of recognition in the past several decades. I'm glad Peterson thinks that everything's on the table, but I am also positive that whatever Peterson thinks the outcome of the 2012 farm bill debate should be is nowhere near what I think it should be. Ditto to Blanche Lincoln, who will hopefully no longer be a sitting U.S. Senator by the time the bill ultimately passes.

If you'd like to make a statement about the hearing on May 3, you can do so by emailing your thoughts to agriculture at mail.house.gov during the 30 days FOLLOWING the hearing (i.e. until June 2).

Vilsack's Child Nutrition Priorities

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Feb 15, 2010 at 15:13:48 PM PST

Message to President Obama: Why Trade Will Not Save Rural America

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Feb 04, 2010 at 06:00:00 AM PST

Message to President Obama: Why Trade Will Not Save Rural America

February 3rd, 2010  By Paula Crossfield

In Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack's op-ed this week in the Des Moines Register, he recognized that hunger could not be solved by raising production, because production is in fact at record highs. Grappling with how these increases in productivity have not led to increases in profit, he explained that even though we've lost a million farmers in the last 40 years, "income from farming operations declined as a percentage of total farm family income by half." He continued, "Today, only 11 percent of family farm income comes from farming, which may explain why fewer young people go into farming and why many families rely on off-farm income opportunities to keep their farms." Vilsack gets the situation right, but his remedy is wrong. Instead of encouraging diversity and altering the pattern of overproduction which pits large farm owners against small by shrinking margins, the Obama administration's way of dealing with the discrepancy in rural America is through increasing trade.

More below...

Vilsack's new chief of staff is one of the "sustainable dozen"

by: desmoinesdem

Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 15:37:20 PM PST

It's encouraging to know that a voice for family farmers and sustainable practices will be running Vilsack's office. In recommending Ross for an under-secretary position at the USDA, Michael Dimock of Roots of Change wrote more than a year ago,

Karen will represent well the diverse crops of our nation's largest agricultural state. We know she will be a voice of innovation and adaptation that will support full expression of a sustainable agriculture over time. She did a great job shepherding the State Board's recent visioning process for agriculture that rendered what we see as a very constructive vision for our future. Karen has also been a defining and constructive voice in the [Roots of Change]-funded California Roundtable for Agriculture and the Environment.

The visioning process Dimock mentions was California Ag Vision, an "effort to develop a broad consensus on how California might arrive at a farming and food system that can be sustained by the year 2030."

Ross will replace Iowa native John Norris, who did not come from an agriculture background but had worked closely with Governor Vilsack for years. Norris agreed to be Vilsack's chief of staff at USDA with the understanding that it would be a temporary position. Norris was pursuing a spot on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, to which the Senate confirmed him in December. Having completed his work as Vilsack's chief of staff, Norris will start work next week at the FERC.

Here's a novel idea

by: desmoinesdem

Thu Dec 03, 2009 at 11:16:15 AM PST

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is using our tax dollars to make loans to hog and poultry factory farms at a time when we have too many factory farms, too much pork and poultry on the market, and record-low pork and poultry prices.

To make matters worse, USDA is also using our tax dollars (about $150 million so far) to buy overproduced pork and poultry off the market in an effort to stabilize prices. [...]

Based on its own data, USDA has provided over $264 million in loans to build new factory farms in the past two years. [...]

In the past, USDA has said it doesn't want to suspend these loans because it doesn't want to eliminate credit going to beginning farmers. We have to remember, though, that these loans - which are averaging about $500,000 each - are going solely for the construction of new and expanding hog and poultry factory farms. Why encourage beginning farmers to put up capital-intensive factory farms when there is already severe overproduction and record-low prices? USDA could provide much smaller loans to many more beginning family farmers if it stopped making factory farm loans, and directed the money elsewhere.

On the Des Moines Register's site you can read the whole op-ed by Hugh Espey, executive director of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. Unfortunately, it sounds as if Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has not been receptive to the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment, which has been pushing for the UDSA to change its loan policies. There is precedent for such action. Espey writes that the Clinton administration "ordered a halt to these loans in 1999 when similar oversupply conditions existed."  

Vilsack Lays Out Priorities for Child Nutrition But Says Very Little

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Oct 31, 2009 at 14:49:54 PM PDT

In general, he wants three things. First, better access to school nutrition programs for children. Second, healthier school lunches. Third, less errors made by the federal government in managing the school lunch program.

Vilsack Filibusters - Then Gets Booed and Hissed

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 07:11:02 AM PDT

I can't perfectly recall the first two questions, but one was whether the Obama administration and Vilsack's USDA stood behind our request for mandatory funding for Farm to School. Vilsack didn't answer. He talked. He talked quite a bit actually. But the basic answer was either "No," "Maybe," or "Not yet." It certainly wasn't yes and he didn't want to say it. Instead he talked about the importance of providing healthy school lunches to children and making sure children who receive free and reduced cost lunch don't feel stigmatized by it.

Then came the next question, asked by blogger Ashley Colpaart of the US Food Policy blog. She said she could see that the USDA was doing a lot to help small and mid-sized farmers, but much of their barriers to success come from large farms. She asked what he was doing to prevent large farms from keeping small and mid-sized farms from succeeding by harming the environment or preventing fair competition.

That's when the filibuster started. Vilsack did just about everything except for answer the question. He talked and talked and talked. Talked about Afghanistan. About feeding the world. About the trade balance. Honestly, I don't know what all he talked about. I tuned out after it became apparent that a real answer to the question wasn't coming.

Vilsack didn't like that question and he obviously didn't want any more questions like it. The easiest way to prevent more questions? Make your answers really, really long. After he finally wrapped up, he was given a notecard saying "Time for two one more questions."

That's when John Kinsman, a legendary dairy farmer from Wisconsin, stood up to ask about dairy. Vilsack gave him a much less longwinded answer, now that he knew he was soon off the hook.

I think the questions were supposed to be finished, but Jeffrey Smith piped up with a question about GMOs. Vilsack answered honestly, that he was for GMOs and he thinks they are needed to feed the world. And... he got booed and hissed. Not by everybody, but by some. It was audible. He heard it. He said he was willing to read any studies and he was willing to meet with anybody.

Then he thanked us and quickly got the hell out of the room. On his way out, I gave him a copy of my book.

USDA funds research on local food potential in northeast US

by: desmoinesdem

Fri Sep 18, 2009 at 05:00:00 AM PDT

These studies will be conducted as part of the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative launched this week by USDA to connect people more closely with the farmers who supply their food, and to increase the production, marketing and consumption of fresh, nutritious food that is grown locally in a sustainable manner.

"This research project will help identify and quantify the capacity to produce food locally that meets the needs of large urban populations in different seasons of the year," said Agriculture Secretary Vilsack. "The lessons that we learn and the information that we glean from this project also will give us important insights into how we build and sustain local production systems elsewhere in the United States and abroad."

Scientists in Maine and Maryland will "model and determine the suitability of East Coast soils for agricultural production, as well as land availability in the Northeast for local production of fruit and vegetables." Researchers at Tufts University will study "marketing and processing options for local food production, and also [...] how land-use policies could further encourage such production."

More details are in the full text of the press release, which I've posted after the jump. I wish the USDA had funded this kind of research two or three decades ago, but better late than never.

Vilsack declines pork industry request (for now)

by: desmoinesdem

Wed Aug 12, 2009 at 08:29:09 AM PDT

"We are down to our last $7 or 8 million because there's been such a demand for so many kinds of commodities, including pork. I think in the last fiscal year $62 million worth of pork purchases have been made," [Secretary of Agriculture Tom] Vilsack says. "...So we are trying to meet the demands of everyone."

Vilsack says there may be more money in the pipeline this fall. "When October 1 comes, when the new fiscal year starts, we have a little greater flexibility and at that time we are taking a look at all these requests," Vilsack says, "and we will make determinations at that point in time in terms of what is being requested of us and what we think makes sense." [...]

"We are very sensitive to the concerns of the pork industry. We have tried to respond by asking our institutional purchasers like the Department of Defense and others to purchase more pork products. We'll continue to do that," Vilsack says. "But I think we are stuck by virtue of the amount of money left in the account that we use to do this, but in October 1 it gets replenished and we'll be in a different position."

Meanwhile, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement makes it easy for Iowans to e-mail Governor Chet Culver to tell him they oppose taxpayer-funded bailouts of factory farms. Consider contacting your governor with a similar message if you live in Nebraska, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Illinois or Oklahoma.