Tom Vilsack

(Getty Images illustration)

‘The internet is no longer a luxury’: $667M from USDA for rural broadband

BY: - August 21, 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend another $667 million on rural broadband loans and grants, the department said Monday, marking the fourth round of Biden administration funding under a program that the 2021 infrastructure law invigorated. Nearly three-quarters of the funding, $493 million, will go toward grants, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on a […]

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks at an event at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon, on July 31, 2023. (Jacob Fischler/StatesNewsroom)

U.S. ag secretary touts Biden climate agenda as boost for rural America

BY: - July 31, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sees the Biden administration’s climate agenda as a boon for rural economies, he said Monday during a visit to Portland’s World Forestry Center. The U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, will begin accepting applications for a second round of grants from its Community […]

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack testifies during a U.S. Senate Ag Committee oversight hearing March 16, 2023. (Committee video screenshot)

Members of U.S. Senate agriculture panel spar with Vilsack over USDA spending, response

BY: - March 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack bristled at complaints from both Democrats and Republicans of unchecked departmental spending and delayed support for farmers during a Thursday U.S. Senate oversight hearing. He also lobbied Congress to provide a farm bill that will balance large-scale productivity with the needs of small and mid-sized producers, a theme the […]

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speaks March 6, 2023, at the National Farmers Union conference in San Francisco. (Courtesy of National Farmers Union)

U.S. agriculture secretary unveils initiatives aimed at small and midsized operations

BY: - March 6, 2023

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday announced new steps the Department of Agriculture is taking to recenter U.S. agriculture and benefit small and midsized operations, including a proposed new “Product of USA” labeling rule and an $89 million expansion of the USDA intermediary lending program.  At the National Farmers Union conference in San Francisco, […]

Tom Vilsack, who at the time was U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Department of Agriculture, delivers remarks at the Queen Theater on Dec. 11, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Market innovation a path to economic equity in farming, Vilsack tells ag conference

BY: - February 23, 2023

WASHINGTON – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urged the private sector and government officials to address inequity and promote innovation in what he called a “pivotal moment” in the nation’s history at an industry conference Thursday. In the opening session of the 99th USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum, Vilsack said new income streams and markets will […]