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Nebraska Commemorates the 150th Anniversary of USDA

President Abraham Lincoln’s Legacies of USDA, the Morrill Act and the Homestead Act were commemorated on May 20 at the Homestead National Monument of America in Beatrice, Nebraska.  More than 225 people attended a special panel presentation in the Education Center, moderated by Dr. Kenneth Winkle, Lincoln Scholar and Professor of History at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, who introduced the work of President Lincoln.

Panelists were, for USDA:  U.S. Senator Mike Johanns, former Secretary of Agriculture; the Morrill Act:  Dr. John Owens, Vice-Chancellor Emeritus, University of Nebraska Lincoln; and the Homestead Act:  Mark Engler, Superintendent, Homestead National Monument of America.   A dialogue with the audience took place after the presentations.

Eight Former Secretaries of Agriculture Speaking at 2012 Ag Outlook Forum

USDA’s 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum, Feb. 23-24, will commemorate the 150th anniversary of USDA’s founding in 1862.  Secretary Tom Vilsack will moderate a panel of former Secretaries of Agriculture ─ Ed Schafer, Senator Mike Johanns, Ann Veneman, Dan Glickman, Mike Espy,  Clayton Yeutter, John Block, and Bob Bergland.  This unprecedented gathering of former Ag Secretaries will discuss the topic “Agriculture: Visions of the Future.”