Release No. 0267.98 Remarks of Secretary Dan Glickman Second International Conference of Women in Agriculture Washington, D.C. -- July 1, 1998 "Thank you, Jill. Jill, it wasn't too long ago when you and I were in the Congress, working to pass your legislation to recognize women as farmers who deserved equal access to government resources. That was a proud day when we got that legislation passed. "I am proud to stand here with you on another important day. I'd ask that we all thank Jill, Leanne Powell and the folks at USDA who worked so hard on this conference. I'd also like to thank Mary Salce, and her team from Australia, for their pioneering efforts in Melbourne in 1994. I'd like to thank the dignitaries from around the world who are joining us. Most of all, I'd like to thank the more than 1,000 women of agriculture who have truly made this an historic gathering. "It reminds me of one of the great women from America's own history books -- Margaret Chase Smith, of Maine. She was the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. She was the first Senator to stand up to Joe McCarthy and his House Committee on Un-American Activities. She didn't mind going out on a limb for what was right, and America loved her for it. "At one point, she was so wildly popular that a news reporter asked her what she'd do if one day she woke up and found herself at the White House. Senator Smith, who had a sharp wit, feigned shock and said, Why, I'd go straight to Mrs. Truman and apologize, and then I would go home.' "I think it's a good sign of just how much times have changed that there are so many strong women leaders today -- some in this room -- who could answer that question with a straight face. "In fact, just yesterday, Mrs. Clinton who was visiting an all-female high school in Shanghai was asked if one day she would run for President. She gracefully declined, but expressed her hope that some time in the next century there will be a meeting between a woman president of the United States, and a woman president of China.' "I was not able to be at the opening of this conference because I was with President Clinton on his trip to China. It was an historic trip that pointed to the promise of the next century: countries having stronger, mutually beneficial ties in a global economy, ties that bring our nations closer together, and help us better understand our differences and, hopefully, have a positive influence on one another, so we can grow together instead of grow apart. "I've watched China for many years, and, every time I go back to visit -- this was my fourth trip -- it's like another revolution has occurred. I'll give you just one food-related example. Today, there are about 3,000 restaurants in Beijing. In 1980, there were less than 100, and they were really only for the very elite. Last week, I stopped in at an A&W root beer store in Beijing that very well could have been in my home town of Wichita, Kansas. "It's hard for the news reports here at home to capture the seismic shifts that occurred as a result of this visit. A televised, public debate on human rights, including frank talk on Tiananmen Square ... the leader of the free world appearing on a call-in radio show ... and speaking freely to students at Beijing University. These kinds of events are commonplace here. In China, they are utterly remarkable. One night, I was eating in a Beijing restaurant, and a man came up to me and said, I saw your president on television today. He was really very good.' No formal agreement, no deliverable, could have taught me more about the change underway in China today than that one encounter. Time will show that this was a visit steeped in history. It is a visit that will reap both human rights and trade and economic dividends. "One in five people on this earth live in China. How the world's strongest economy, and the world's most populous nation reach across our differences and forge a common destiny will say a lot about the prospects for our world in the 21st century. And, agricultural trade -- trade in the basic fuel of life -- will be an issue at the heart of our relationship. "The President made clear our shared stake in a global economy, but he also made plain his belief that certain rights are universal -- not American rights or European rights or rights for developed nations, but the birthrights of people everywhere.' Human rights. "Mrs. Clinton, too, had a good visit. No doubt, the highlight was her meeting with many of the women from the Beijing conference. She was genuinely impressed by the change of just one year. Chinese women were speaking up loudly and frankly for their rights, and particularly those of rural women. In fact, I hear that the Chinese women did so much talking that Mrs. Clinton barely had a chance to speak. But I think that was fine with her. Hundreds and thousands of voices raised together are far more powerful than one. That is the strength of this conference, too. "This certainly is the most unique gathering of agriculture that I've ever addressed. But I have the distinct feeling that it will become more common in the years ahead. "Unlike many of your speakers, I didn't grow up on a farm. I rode my first tractor the first time I ran for Congress, and I've worked closely with farmers for the more than 20 years since. But I don't credit those farmers who taught me to drive a tractor with starting my training for this job. That training began as a boy, sitting at my mother's table, with her telling me to eat, eat, eat.' "We in agriculture engage in the most important work on this earth for a simple reason: everybody eats. We are responsible for feeding every person on this earth. I look at what agriculture has contributed to the values of so many of our societies -- be it a connection to the land, a strong work ethic, or tight-knit communities. I look back over agriculture's stunning history of keeping pace with a growing world population, and I am proud of all that it has accomplished. "But I look to agriculture's future, and I know that our greatest challenges are yet ahead. Some of the most important questions facing our world in the next century have to do with agriculture: How are we going to feed a rapidly growing world? How are we going to do so without destroying the environment for future generations? How can we steer the global economy in a fair direction, one that can build a community of nations united in peace and prosperity? And, how can we ensure that this new world benefits not just large corporations, but small family operations -- lifting up not just those who already are doing well, but also creating new opportunities for those who have been left for too long on the economic and social margins? "Without question, agriculture's and our world's greatest tests lie yet ahead. And, it should be equally obvious to all of us that we will fail these tests if the nations of the world do not recognize, appreciate and fully value all that women around the world, particularly women in agriculture, can contribute and have contributed throughout human history. "You know, we come from so many different countries here today, and I know we have our many differences. But I'd bet if you looked in a dictionary in any language spoken in this room, if there was a picture alongside the definition of a farmer, it would be a picture of a man. But if you go all the way back to the original hunter/gatherer division of labor among humankind, a strong case can be made that women were the original farmers. The men would go hunt. Sometimes, they'd come home with a wild boar ... sometimes they wouldn't. It was women, by and large, who grew and harvested the crops, ensuring the village had enough to eat. "Centuries later, Margaret Thatcher put it quite succinctly when she said, the cocks may crow, but it's the hen that lays the eggs.' "I am proud that in just two short years, USDA has increased Business and Industry loans to women by 500%. Last year, we guaranteed $50 million worth of loans to rural women to help them expand or start their own businesses. "Here at USDA we are working to do better -- not just for women, but minority and low-income farmers, and farmers of all backgrounds. We are in the midst of a civil rights revolution. Everyone who works at USDA now has to live by a simple rule: treat every customer and co-worker fairly and equitably with dignity and respect. That means, when it comes to women and farm loans, we have made it crystal clear: if you judge a woman by her gender -- it is against the law, it is unacceptable, and there are consequences. We will build a new day at USDA. "We need to see the day when more of agriculture's leaders don't just value women in agriculture, but are women in agriculture. I am proud of the many senior-level women who work for me. But I know that we can do better. I hope the day is not far off when our nation has its first female Secretary of Agriculture. We need more women leaders not just in government, but in the banks, in the agriculture organizations, in all the groups that have an impact on farming and rural life. "President Clinton has called the women of agriculture quiet heroes.' Now, I don't know how well that would sit for farm women like Mary Elizabeth Lease who, more than 100 years ago, coined the battle cry we still hear today: Farmers should raise less corn, and more Hell!' "But I know what the President was getting at. Later tonight, we will honor one of America's farm heroes, Marilyn Adams. Ten years ago, Marilyn lost her 11- year-old son Keith to a farm accident. He had stayed home from school that day, all excited to help with the harvest. When tragedy struck, Marilyn had every reason to give up right then and there, but she hung in, and eventually found a cause that has saved countless other families from her grief. She is the founder of Farm Safety 4 Just Kids,' a 3,000 strong network of farm safety advocates for children in the U.S. and Canada. Tonight, we honor her for a decade of life-saving service. "Marilyn's story reminds us why it's important to have women active in all aspects of farm and rural life, -- conservation, civil rights, farm safety, research, trade, credit. "One of the biggest issues facing women farmers today is the future of small farmers. One of the biggest issues before U.S. agriculture today is restitching the safety net, so it is there for farmers in hard times -- so one bad crop, one natural disaster, or one year of bad exports -- doesn't wipe out a family's farm heritage. "One of the most important farm issues before the Congress today is righting an extreme wrong of the 1996 Farm Bill which says that if someone had one bad year, and had to write-down their government farm debt, they can never again have a chance at a USDA farm loan ... no matter how many years of good credit they build back up. That is wrong. "I want to thank all of you for making your voices heard, not just on behalf of women in agriculture, but on behalf of agriculture's future. The more we make women's issues, agriculture's issues, and America's issues, and the world's, the brighter all our futures will be in the 21st century. Thank you." # NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet. Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov