Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited the 2012 Farm Progress Show in his home state of Iowa on Thursday to announce new USDA grants to support beginning farmers and discuss why Congress should pass a new farm bill next month.

He gave three reasons why agriculture needs a farm bill now. “One, because it includes the disaster programs vital to livestock producers,” he said. “Second reason is certainty. You’re a producer and trying to figure out what you’re going to do next year, how are you going to figure it out.” The third reason Vilsack said is momentum in rural America. “We’ve got farm income, record exports, record enrollment in conservation practices … why would we want to stop that momentum by creating all this uncertainty?”

Listen to or download Sec. Vilsack’s remarks and question/answer session here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/farm-progress/fps-12-vilsack.mp3″ text=”Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Remarks”]

2012 Farm Progress Show Photo Album