Dairy Advisory Committee announced during Rural Tour stops in Central Valley

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan continued President Obama’s Rural Tour across America with a stop in Modesto, California. The Rural Tour hosted a community forum at the Stanislaus County Agriculture Center in the heart of the Central Valley and one of the largest agricultural regions in the country.

In their first joint appearance on the Rural Tour, the Secretary Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Merrigan stressed the importance of helping California and made it clear that Administration was aware of the struggles facing the Central Valley. Also appearing on stage were Congressman Dennis Cardoza and California Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura.

The questions and comments from the audience focused on the obstacles facing the dairy industry. Secretary Vilsack announced the formation of the Dairy Industry Advisory Committee and urged forum attendees to nominate candidates from the Central Valley. Once appointed, the committee will review the issues of farm milk price volatility, and dairy farmer profitability.

Linda Lopes, local farmer and president of California Dairy Women called for dairy support prices to be higher and extended and asked that a price floor be put in place.

“I understand what you need and we are going to do everything we can to help out,” stated Vilsack.

In addition to dairy issues, invasive species concerns topped the agenda. Karen Ross, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers highlighted the vulnerability of local crops to invasive species and importance of border protection.

Over 400 attendees to the forum resulted in an over-flow room with a live two-way feed from the primary forum. Secretary Vilsack extended the forum by spending an additional 20 minutes addressing the over-flow crowd in person.

Permalink  |  Posted at: 01:36PM Aug 31, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA  |  Add Your Comment Here [0]

Vilsack tours biomass facility, holds Rural Tour forum in Sedalia

Over the course of the Rural Tour, innovation has emerged as a common theme in discussing a new energy economy. Farmers and rural businesses have been innovators since this country was founded; it's what sets us apart, and what will revitalize and rebuild rural America.

Innovation was also the focus of the Secretary's visit the Show Me Energy Co-Op in Centerview, Missouri, just before his Rural Tour forum in Sedalia. The cooperative is a cellulosic biomass facility owned by 400 area farmers who process biomass materials and agricultural residue -- corn stalks, plant fibers, etc. -- into fiber fuel pellets.

It has even worked out an arrangement with the Federal Reserve in Kansas City to recycle retired money into pellets, as paper money is a completely cellulosic and soy based product. The pellets are then used by utility companies as a renewable fuel source.



That innovation has opened up new markets for farm products that until recently would have been discarded for having no value. But today, the new economy is alive and well in Centerview as this enterprise took a vision, some assistance from USDA's Rural Develoment and other supporters, and turned it into success story.

Following his tour of the biomass facility, Secretary Vilsack hosted a forum for area producers and citizens at State Fair Community College in Sedalia. There were lots of questions about climate change and renewable energy, international trade in agricultural products, the importance of forest management and timber to Missouri's economy, and the nation's food safety and inspection practices.



For his part, the Secretary outlined for the crowd the efforts by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Food Safety and Inspection Service to keep the U.S. food supply safe; he also touched on producers being the vanguard for climate change efforts around the country, noting that farmers have always been very innovative and are looking at great new income opportunities in the 21st century. Vilsack also stressed we all have to work to inform more people of the link between farmers and food -- it benefits producers for the American public to understand the efforts put forward to get food from the farm to the fork.

This was another great Rural Tour forum packed with serious discussion on the problems facing the country; until the next forum (on Wednesday, August 26 in Modesto, California) be sure to catch up on the Rural Tour Twitter feed.

Permalink  |  Posted at: 04:51PM Aug 21, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA  |  Add Your Comment Here [0]

Rural Tour fostering a nationwide discussion on rural issues

Since the first event in June, we've been excited to see the Rural Tour generating really thoughtful conversation and debate on the issues facing rural America. At town hall forums across the nation, Secretary Vilsack and his counterparts across the government have met with large, sometimes overflow, crowds. They've been able to answer questions and engage in productive debate on the best ways to help rural America.

And, people are starting to notice:

Charlotte Observer: Civility and respect rule at bipartisan town hall meeting
Breaking a pattern of raucous encounters across the country, more than 600 people Monday attended a town hall meeting marked by civility, substance and even bipartisanship.

Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and Democratic U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell joined two Cabinet secretaries in fielding questions from an overflow audience at Richmond Community College.

PoliticsDaily: Tom Vilsack's Farm-Country Tour: A Different Kind of Town Hall
Health care town-hall meetings are certainly stealing the spotlight these days -- but they're not the only game in town. Mostly unnoticed, a quieter series of town halls is taking place on a different crisis: Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has embarked on a listening tour through rural America to hear about the problems facing farmers. And it's a good thing too, because back on the farm, all is not well.

On Wednesday at the Iowa State Fair, a group of farmers gathered from all over the state. Walking straight past the 1,000-pound squash, a 600-pound butter sculpture of a cow and the stand selling fried Milky Way bars, the farmers sat down to detail some of the problems they were facing to their former governor.

Quad City Times: Vilsack Returns To Iowa Fair, Talks About Rural Issues
Wednesday's rural issues forum at the Iowa State Fair featuring U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack lacked some of the fireworks that have accompanied health-care forums around the nation. This forum was more polite, with the former Iowa governor telling about the Obama administration's policies and farmers asking questions about specific programs, such as a recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it would give borrowers more leeway to restructure loans.

This forum was more polite, with the former Iowa governor telling about the Obama administration's policies and farmers asking questions about specific programs, such as a recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it would give borrowers more leeway to restructure loans.

Richmond County Daily Journal: Elected leaders touch on issues
The emerging green economy, school nutrition and healthcare were just some of the subjects discussed at a meeting that followed the White House’s Rural Tour event at Cole Auditorium Monday.

The four-person panel consisted of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell and two Obama cabinet members: Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The purpose of the Rural Tour is to listen to the concerns of individuals in rural areas, and share what the administration is putting in place to answer those concerns. The meeting at Cole was scheduled to focus on education and workforce development.

Permalink  |  Posted at: 03:16PM Aug 20, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA  |  Add Your Comment Here [0]

Growing Farms for the Future in Iowa

As we tour rural America gathering the thoughts and ideas on how we can help people revitalize and rebuild their communities, I am struck by the determination and optimism of the people we meet.

Take for example Ryan Hoksbergen of Pella, Iowa. As Hoksbergen introduced himself to Secretary Tom Vilsack the forum, he said, "despite the negative news and stories, there is hope for the industry and for young people to get into farming, it is not all negative, I'm living proof."

You see, Ryan is 31 years old and was determined to build a successful farm operation. Not to be dettered by slumping milk prices and high input costs, in 2001 he started his dairy operation. Today, Ryan's determination and passion for working the land has grown his operation into a respectable working farm. With 70 milking cows on site and another 70 replacements, Ryan sees the future of great opportunity. He has recently expanded his farm to include corn and alfalfa with his sights on further growth.

It is stories like this that drive home one of the key points of revitalizing rural America. We have to keep young people and future generations in rural America but in order to do so we must show them that there is hope and potential in rural areas. For this reason we must continue to invest in our rural areas through infrastructure enhancement, broadband access, education, and health services. If we can create the opportunity, younger generations will provide the determination and passion that Ryan displays.

Permalink  |  Posted at: 11:02AM Aug 20, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA  |  Add Your Comment Here [0]