Vilsack Focusing Attention On Rural America

“We’ve got to do something different.” – TOM VILSACK “Agriculture… is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.” – THOMAS JEFFERSON, Third President Of The United States WASHINGTON, D. C. Rural America needs attention, not just for rural America’s sake, but for the entire

Will Farmers Get “Generic” GM Crops?

WASHINGTON, D. C. Generic drugs keep drug prices down, could the same work for genetically modified crops when their patents expire? It’s an idea Tom Vilsack, the United States’ secretary of agriculture, wants to explore. “We have a generic drug industry in this country, the question is how do we create that kind of industry


Rural Growth Key To New Farm Bill

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack called for rural economic development as the key to a vibrant farm sector April 21, an unorthodox beginning for an overhaul of U. S. farm policy. Marking the start of a two-year process to forge a new Farm Bill, Vilsack told a House Agriculture Committee hearing that he wanted to “expand

U. S. Farm Subsidy Debate Rekindled

The U. S. farm program should be refined but does not need to be radically rewritten to replace crop supports with revenue guarantees or to make rural economic development the centrepiece, a key senator says. Saxby Chambl iss of Georgia, the Republican leader on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said he hoped “that we don’t talk


U. S. Black Farmers Eye Next Move In Bias Lawsuit

Black farmers engaged in a discrimination suit against the U. S. government will give Congress more time to approve funds to compensate them for years of mistreatment, but they have not set any hard deadlines, an advocate for the group said April 1. If the process drags on too long, the farmers could decide to

U. S. Panel Opposes Cuts For Wealthy Farmers

The House Agriculture Committee on Mar. 3 rejected President Barack Obama’s proposals to reduce crop subsidies to higher-income farmers and federal support for crop insurance. There was little discussion as the committee refused farm cuts requested by the president for the second year in a row. With elections in November, the committee approved a letter


Key U. S. Lawmaker Blasts New Livestock-Tracking Plan

Arevamped U. S. livestock-tracking system will fail as a safeguard against disease and may imperil $20 billion a year in meat exports, says a key House subcommittee chairman. The new system would rely on states, instead of the Agriculture Department, to keep track of cattle, hogs and poultry sold across state lines for meat production.

USDA To Boost Wildlife Habitat, Trim Cropland

The federal government will maximize enrolment in the land-idling Conservation Reserve, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a policy that would reduce U. S. cropland by 1.5 per cent if successful. The amount of land involved, around five million acres, could produce more than 150 million bushels of wheat, 200 million bushels of soybeans or 700


U. S. Will Narrow Scope Of Livestock-Tracking Plan

The government will redraft its moribund livestock-tracking program, attacked as a violation of privacy, so it covers only animals that cross state lines, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Feb. 5. In a speech to state agriculture directors, Vilsack said the revamped system would be run by states, with the Agriculture Department bearing much of the

U. S. Invests $1 Billion In Expanded Biofuel

Th e Agriculture Department will spend $1 billion in the next 12 months to underwrite U. S. biorefineries and in cost-sharing payments for biomass, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Feb. 5. Half of the money would go to the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, now focused on use of forest and sugar cane scrap. Large amounts