Farm Bill Call To Action

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently spoke to a forum sponsored by the Farm Journal. The Secretary used the opportunity to criticized the country’s farmers for not finding an active voice in the political landscape, blaming a lack of vision and leadership in the agricultural world on the ongoing struggles to pass a new farm bill in the current legislative session.

“It’s the fact that rural America, with a shrinking population, is becoming less and less relevant to the politics of this country,” Vilsack said. “We had better recognize that and we better begin to reverse it.”

Ron Sparks, the former Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, said Vilsack’s comments shouldn’t serve as an offense to a farm community, but a rallying call to ensure that industries in rural America continue to have a voice. “California’s farmers’ priorities should be partnered with farmers in the Corn Belt, who should be partnered with farmers in the Southeast, who should be partnered with farmers in the Northeast,” Sparks said. “If you’re going to be effective, you need to stand together and be stronger.”