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Vilsack points to CCC as potential farm bill solution

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says funding continues to be a major holdup in farm bill negotiations.

“We’re still waiting for the House and Senate to put on the table what they are looking at, and I’ve continued to indicate a willingness to sit down with folks to be creative. The reality is they want to do a lot of good things, but they haven’t been able to figure out where the money comes from.”

Speaking to Brownfield during a visit to Clear Lake, Iowa Monday highlighting the Healthy Meals Incentive Program, he suggested the Commodity Credit Corporation is the solution.

“And I’m happy to sit down with folks and talk specifically about how that could potentially be structured, they haven’t been willing to do that yet. But as long as the conversation is about taking money from the nutrition program or conservation programs, they’re just talking past each other.”

Vilsack says in the interim USDA is doing everything it can to maintain and expand key risk management tools under the current farm bill.