NEWSBYTOM LASKAWY

USDA Chief Tom Vilsack gave the keynote address last Thursday at the USDA’s annual “Agricultural Outlook Forum.” During his speech, he laid out his priorities, including those given to him by his boss – President Obama. According to Vilsack:

[Obama had] three goals for this department in addition to all of the obvious goals. He wanted to make sure that America's children in particular had more nutritious food...

He wanted to make sure that we did everything we could at USDA to expand energy opportunities, the capacity of our land, our farms, and our ranches to produce alternative forms of energy and fuel. And he wanted to make sure that we worked hard at doing the research necessary to allow, over time, agriculture to transition away from its rather significant dependence today on fossil fuels.

In addition, Vilsack will focus on food safety, the decline of mid-sized farms and ways to lower the average age of farmers (now 57). But one apparent priority that didn't make it on his list was the one that consumed agriculture and food policy types last week – the fate of agricultural subsidies.