Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says it’s premature to assume the worst with the recent downgrading of U.S. debt “I think we have to wait and see precisely what that’s going to do.”
Vilsack told reporters Monday that the biggest issue for agriculture is how Congress deals with the present fiscal challenges and how that will frame the next Farm Bill.
In the meantime, Vilsack says everyone needs to focus on the “Extraordinary role of agriculture in the U.S. economy. It is a success story. It is something that the United States’ does better than anybody else in the world. It’s something the rest of the world relies on. You know, some folks may lend money to operations in the United States but the United States provides food.”
Vilsack says one out of 12 jobs in the US is ag-related. Regardless of the current fiscal restraints, the Ag Secretary says producers must have the certainty of a safety net and risk management tools and the nation must be committed to rural development, including job growth.
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