Vilsack wants an expanded farm bill conversation

Farm and Ranch May 10, 2010 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he gets irritated by people who ask about what the Administration wants to see in the Commodity Title of the next farm bill. Here is what Vilsack told farm broadcasters meeting in Washington D.C. last week about the safety net issue.

Vilsack: “We always talk about that. And that often times is the only thing we talk about in terms of the farm bill. And the result is what we see, a decline in rural America. You got to expand the conversation. There is gonna be conversation about the safety net and how we manage risk. I mean Chairman Peterson has a very clear idea on where he wants to go in terms of risk and we want to be supportive of him and provide technical assistance. But the reality is that if that is all you talk about then you are going to get a very narrowly defined bill, which focuses on the 2.2 million people who farm but doesn‘t focus on the opportunity for the other 48 to 48 million people who live in rural America.”

The Secretary believes improving rural economies is important to provide farmers’ off-farm income.

Vilsack: “If you are getting a four-thousand dollar check from a direct payment, that is not going to keep your operation. That is not going to pay your health care bill. But if you got a job that 30-thousand dollars, 40-thousand dollars and it‘s got benefits. Now all of the sudden you can hang on to that 100 and 200 acre operation. You can actually make ends meet.”

I’m Bob Hoff on Northwest Aginfo Net.