#m

In 2011, agricultural exports hit a record high and producers saw their best incomes in nearly 40 years. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#best #exports #high #hit #incomes

It is critical to develop a biofuel industry powered by feedstocks produced in every corner of the country, in addition to the Midwest. That is why USDA has established five regional research centers working on science necessary to ensure profitable biofuels can be produced from a diverse range of feedstocks. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#centers #corner #country #critical #develop

Let us build a 21st-century rural economy of cutting-edge companies and technologies that lead us to energy and food security. Such an investment will revitalize rural America, re-establish our moral leadership on climate security and eliminate our addiction to foreign oil. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#america #build #climate #companies #cutting-edge

Local and regional food systems are about opportunity. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#food #local #opportunity #regional #systems

Many young and beginning farmers start out in local markets. Some stay there, and some scale up. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#farmers #local #many #markets #out

More than half of America's rural counties are losing population and with it, political representation. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#counties #half #losing #more #political

Over the past two years, the Obama Administration and USDA have worked to build a foundation for sustainable economic growth in rural America. At the center of our vision is an effort to increase domestic production and use of renewable energy. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#america #build #center #domestic #economic

People don't understand rural America. Sixteen percent of our population is rural, but 40 percent of our military is rural. I don't believe that's because of a lack of opportunity in rural America. I believe that's because if you grow up in rural America, you know you can't just keep taking from the land. You've got to give something back. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#back #because #believe #give #got

President Obama has expressed his commitment to responsible stewardship of our land, water, and other natural resources. And one way of restoring the land to its natural condition is what we are doing here today - breaking pavement for the People's Garden. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#commitment #condition #doing #expressed #garden

President Obama's fight for rural America is personal. He was raised by a single mom and grandparents from Kansas. He hails from a farming state, Illinois. ↗

— Tom Vilsack

#farming #fight #grandparents #illinois #kansas