Farm Bill

The economy its affect on agriculture was a common theme among leaders of the (former) Future Farmers of America who met with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack as part of the National FFA State President’s Conference.

On Wednesday, USDA Rural Development (RD) Indiana convened a stakeholder outreach meeting to discuss Rural Development priorities for President Obama’s 2013 budget and 2012 Farm Bill. The meeting was held to provide our agency with valuable input as it develops mission area priorities for the...

On July 11, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and I traveled to Richmond, Virginia to represent USDA at the annual Chesapeake Bay Executive Council (CBEC) meeting. The CBEC is the governing body of Bay restoration and protection efforts, and it includes leaders from federal agencies and states...

A new report titled Measuring Up: Synchronizing Biodiversity Measurement Systems for Markets and Other Incentive Programs was just released by the Willamette Partnership with funding and support from USDA’s Office of Environmental Markets (OEM). The report analyzes 25 existing biodiversity...

Just recently, the wildlife conservation organization Ducks Unlimited presented me with their 2011 Wetland Conservation Achievement Award—Special Achievement category for the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI) and our record signup for the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). It was an honor to...

In the two years that President Obama and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack have been in office, those involved in production agriculture have participated in driving a sustained economic recovery. That’s the message I delivered earlier this week to farmers, extension staff, local business leaders and...

“The safest bet in America is American agriculture!” That’s the way Secretary Tom Vilsack led off his remarks to the 2,000 farmers, ranchers, agriculture officials and industry leaders in attendance at today’s Agricultural Outlook Forum in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

As dozens of representatives from businesses and organizations that support the National Future Farmers of America (FFA) listened yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spent about 15 minutes in a Washington meeting room speaking directly to six college-age individuals. The six, from across...

In today’s market, consumers have high expectations for the products they purchase. Beyond performance and pricing, consumers like the opportunity to make educated purchasing decisions for their families, and increasingly, decisions that that have an impact. USDA’s new biobased product label will...

On January 10 and 11, 2011, USDA’s Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) visited Anchorage to conduct a consultation with Alaska Tribes on a wide range of subjects. At the Consultation, OTR staff, and local and national agency officials met with representatives of Alaska’s Tribes for a discussion of...