News

NFU and AFBF support a potential Vilsack nomination

The leaders of the two biggest farmer member groups welcome reports that former US Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack will likely be named as the new Ag Secretary nominee in the Biden administration. National Farmers Union President Rob Larew says there have been a lot of good potential candidates named, but, “We really need someone who can hit the ground running, and isn’t going to need to be shown or given a tour of the facilities, right? He’s going to be able to get to work on day one.”

Larew says Vilsack has a good track record as a former governor of Iowa and as ag secretary for eight years, “We know that a lot of these concerns that rural America and agriculture is facing right now and the hunger community are all very much on the forefront of President-Elect Biden’s agenda. So, it would be our expectation that whoever becomes secretary is going to be in charge of making it happen.”

American Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall says Vilsack understands that the ag sector is far more complex than most people understand and that Visack supports all types of production and respects farmers and ranchers. Duvall says he built a good relationship with Vilsack during his first term as Ag Secretary and they’ve built on that relationship in his current role with the U.S. Dairy Export Council.