Secretary Ann M. Veneman

In late January, I had the pleasure of meeting with USDA employees gathered together for a training workshop in Savannah, Ga. In mid-February I met with USDA employees at our consolidated offices in Kansas City, Mo. During the meetings, we talked about many issues facing USDA, including the importance of preparing to implement a new farm bill.

As you know, Congress is currently crafting this important legislation, which will impact virtually all mission areas of the Department. As the Congress works in conference to complete the farm bill, it is critical that all of us at USDA continue to do what is necessary so we are ready to implement the measure once it is signed into law.

It will be important that all our agencies work together so we can implement the new farm and food programs as quickly and efficiently as possible. Whether it is commodity, food safety, nutrition, conservation, rural development, research or trade programs, our work here at USDA will be critical to successful implementation.

We all know the importance of early planning during this time and I applaud the efforts of many of our agencies for their work and preparation. Working together, there is no doubt that we can and will be successful in these efforts to deliver programs to our farmers, ranchers and other customers.

USDA employees have a strong record when it comes to getting the job done. Let me point out one example. Just this last year, Farm Service Agency employees worked tirelessly to implement last year’s $5.5 billion supplemental assistance bill. One day after President George W. Bush signed the bill, FSA initiated the first payments to 1.4 million producers across the country. This required a lot of hard work, ingenuity and dedication from employees all across the country.

It is through this type of spirit and effort that we were able to deliver last year’s assistance in such a timely and efficient manner. And, it is the reason why I have no doubt that as a team and working together, we will be able to implement a new farm bill quickly, efficiently and responsibly.

Thank you again for all your efforts and continued work in delivering the best services to our customers each and every day. And, thank you in advance for all your farm bill preparations.