Ag lobbyists help forge farm bill in private
By Jon Collins |
10.25.11 | 6:00 am
The attempt to head off deeper cuts is drawing concern from farm bill critics, who say the process could benefit from more voices.
Tom Vilsack - Latest Stories
Two Minnesota groups concerned about Vilsack as ag secretary
By Paul Schmelzer |
12.17.08 | 3:18 pm
Our colleagues at the Iowa Independent hail Gov. Tom Vilsack, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for agriculture secretary, as a “consummate pragmatist” who has “endeared himself to both the left and the right.” But one group that’s not so fond of Obama’s selection is the Finland, Minn.–based Organic Consumers’ Association. It reacted to today’s announcement with a petition calling for organic producers and consumers to urge Obama to block the nomination, highlighting Vilsack’s support for factory farming and biotechnology. A tamer response came from Minneapolis’ Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy which contrasted Vilsack’s “fairly conventional perspective on agriculture” with the “unconventional times” we live in.
Obama to name Iowa Gov. Vilsack as ag secretary
By Paul Schmelzer |
12.16.08 | 6:38 pm
So much for dreams of a Secretary of Agriculture Mark Ritchie. Today, the AP confirms that Barack Obama will be naming Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to the top USDA post. Ritchie, currently Minnesota Secretary of…
The morning after: a conversation with former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack
By Paul Demko |
09.27.08 | 1:07 pm
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack is in Minnesota today campaigning for Barack Obama. The two-term Governor made a cameo in the Democratic presidential primary season, jumping into the contest in November 2006, but pulling out three months later. He then endorsed Hillary Clinton and served as a national co-chair of her campaign. I spoke to Vilsack by phone this morning as he traveled from an event in Mankato to a town-hall meeting in Willmar. What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation.
