KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The U.S. agriculture secretary has issued a call to arms to the nation’s farmers.
“Stand up and say to our leaders in Washington, ‘forget about the party. Forget about the political leaders. Forget about the people who fund your campaign. For that matter, forget about the next campaign,’ ” Tom Vilsack told the more than ‘6,000 growers gathered at Commodity Classic 2013.
” ‘Think about us. Do your job. End the sequester. Get a budget passed. Give us a good, solid five-year farm bill.’ “
Vilsack said in today’s speech that growers have lost their political clout in Washington because rural America is shrinking along with the farm community.
“You’re less than one percent of the population. That’s (using) the most liberal definition of a farmer,” he said during his speech to the annual gathering of U.S. corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum growers.
The upshot is that agricultural issues don’t carry the same importance they once did in Washington.
That’s why farmers are still operating without a new five-year farm bill and it’s why the U.S. Department of Agriculture is operating without a new budget and shouldering more than its fair share of the $85 billion in sequester cuts that came into effect on March 1.
Read Also
Alberta Crop Report: Two sides of the same weather coin
Wet weather in the northern half of Alberta and dry weather in the south delayed harvest across the province during the week ended Aug. 19, 2025.
“Unfortunately, what’s happening in Washington is nobody is listening to all of you,” said Vilsack.
U.S. commodity groups took his comments to heart. Pam Johnson, president of the National Corn Growers Association, issued an impassioned plea to growers attending the general session portion of the conference.
“Everybody out there as an American and a farmer needs to call their congressman and say, ‘we’re mad as hell. We’re not going to take this anymore. Quit pointing fingers. Quit having blame and let’s get something responsibly done in Washington, D.C.’ “
