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Ag Secretary Vilsack on exports, COOL, RFS and more
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack called Brownfield Friday morning to announce that agricultural exports will set another new record when the 2014 fiscal year ends on September 30th.
Overall, the forecast for U.S. ag exports was raised to a record 152.5 billion dollars, up three billion dollars from last quarter’s forecast.
Secretary Vilsack was also asked about two important trade issues—efforts to convince China that it should synchronize its biotech approval process with that of the U.S.; and how USDA will respond if the WTO ruling on country-of-origin-labeling goes against the U.S., as is expected.
We also discussed the USDA’s progress on farm program implementation and whether the “safety net” will be strong enough to support row crop farmers through a period of low commodity prices. Finally, we asked the Secretary if he was able to provide input on the final Renewable Fuels Standard rule and how the volume requirements in that rule might impact future expansion of the biofuels industry.
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