Challenges ahead for
new agriculture secretary
By Robert Pore
The Grand Island Independent
Posted Dec 17, 2008 @ 10:41 PM
GRAND ISLAND -
President-elect Barack Obama's selection of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as
the next secretary of agriculture couldn't come soon enough after the
eight-year dismal agricultural track record of the Bush administration,
said John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union.
"They (Bush administration) have thumbed their nose at both the
intent of
Congress and the letter of the law," Hansen said. "They have
simply refused
to do things that they didn't agree with politically and it has
side-tracked, in a multitude of ways, those policies and laws that it did
not agree with."
Hansen said agriculture is a "clear-cut example of the Bush
administration'sgeneral disdain of the will of
Congress."
"The last eight years have been extremely frustrating to get laws
implemented as Congress intended," Hansen said.
One example of what Hansen is talking about is the country-of-origin
labeling law that originally passed as part of the 2002 Farm Bill, but
was
never implemented by the Bush administration.
COOL was again passed as part of the 2008 Farm Bill and was put into law
in
October.
Another example of what frustrates Hansen was the Bush administration's
"enforcement of the loopholes for farm program payment
participation, while
at the same time getting on its high horse and lecturing us about the
evils
and the need for more stringent payment limits. Its own enforcement track
record was absolutely dismal."
"We (Farmers Union) believe that USDA, as an agency, is in need of
dramatic
reforms," he said.
He also said the Bush administration has been lax in its enforcement of
the
nation's antitrust laws as they impact the agricultural industry.
Hansen said Vilsack's top three priorities
should be implementation of the
2008 Farm Bill as Congress intended it, reform of the USDA bureaucracy
and
aggressive pursuit of implementing renewable energy policies.
"We need an honest, effective and appropriate administrative
enforcement of
the Farm Bill provisions," he said. "Vilsack
is a Midwestern governor who
should have some understanding of agriculture, but who will inherit a
very
tough -- both economic and fiscal situation -- agricultural economy as
input costs continue to rise and commodity prices continue to tumble. The
income
safety net in the last Farm Bill is not going to be adequate to the task
of
providing the same level of income support that the 2002 Farm Bill did
because of the 60 percent budget cut made in the commodity title of the
Farm Bill."
Keith Olsen, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, said his organization
is looking forward to working with Vilsack.
"We (Nebraska Farm Bureau) think it's appropriate that he picked
someone
from the
Olsen said.
Being from the nation's leading ethanol state, he said, Vilsack will also
bring support for renewable fuels.
"We look forward to working with Vilsack
on the many issues that we face in
agriculture," Olsen said.
Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., who is a member of the House Agriculture
Committee, said he appreciates the fact Vilsack
is from the
"someone who understands agriculture and our way of life."
"There are important issues -- such as the future of our rural
communities
and energy independence -- on the horizon which will require the
secretary
to reach out to members of both parties and both the Senate and the
House,"
Smith said.
As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, Smith said he will work
with the incoming Obama administration "to make sure the Farm Bill
passed
this last year continues to be enacted as expeditiously and fairly as
possible over the next few months."
A member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.,
said
as a former Midwestern governor, "Vilsack
knows agriculture from the field
to the fork to the future of improving
biofuels."
"He understands the issues, the industry and how to get
results," Nelson
said. "If confirmed, he won't need a lot of on-the-job training,
which is
critical at this time in American agriculture."
Nelson said farmers, ranchers, rural residents and consumers
nationwide need a strong advocate in
"From trade disputes to tight budgets, food safety to boosting
exports,
Vilsack will have his hands full," Nelson
said.
Former U.S. ag
secretary and now Sen.-elect Mike Johanns said he also
welcomes the opportunity to work with Vilsack.
Both Johanns and Vilsack
worked together as governors on a number of
agricultural-related issues.
"He knows agriculture and understands its importance to our
nation,"
Johanns said. "Our shared interest in renewable
fuels is one of many areas of
opportunity for bipartisan efforts to advance energy security."
states. During the campaign, Johanns said he would like a seat on the Senate's
Agricultural Committee.