What’s in it for You?

I saw USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack speak in Charlotte, Mich., July 13. He stopped at Country Mill Farms, an orchard and cider mill, as part of his national Rural Tour.

Hundreds of people packed a large building to hear the secretary speak, and a handful got to ask questions. Vilsack touched on several issues, from Michigan’s economy to food safety to buy-local trends, but probably the longest part of his speech was devoted to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal economic stimulus package made law earlier this year.

So, what does that act have to offer agriculture?

According to Vilsack, the act has three main thrusts. The first is to give people a cushion as they transition from bad times to better times. As part of that, USDA increased food assistance benefits to needy families, giving them more buying power at the grocery store – hopefully, they’ll use that power to buy more fruits and vegetables.

The second part of the act is focused on rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure. According to Vilsack, millions of dollars are being invested in America’s rural communities, used to improve things like wastewater treatment facilities and floodplain easements, for example.

The third purpose of the act is to build a foundation for a new, 21st century economy, he said. That updated economy includes environmental initiatives and an energy policy that could help reverse rural America’s population and income declines.

“We want to provide these young people who are here … a real opportunity to live, work and raise their families in rural communities,” Vilsack told his audience.

The secretary also discussed the federal broadband initiative. About $9 billion is available to help rural areas get access to broadband technology, he said.

“That’s going to create jobs,” he said. “It’s also going to operate as an opportunity to expand access to markets.”

Vilsack mentioned assistance for fruit and vegetable growers. USDA is looking into commodity purchases of fruits and vegetables that could help stabilize those markets.

The agriculture department has caught on to the buy-local trend, as well.

“USDA is going to make a very concerted effort to draw a more direct and brighter line between local production and local consumption,” Vilsack said.

As part of that effort, USDA has created a program called Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food. The purpose of the program “is to address everything from food deserts to how we might be able to build the infrastructure that would allow us to have the warehousing and the cooling and the processing operations that would enable us to have local purchases of that which is grown locally,” he said.

So, there you have it. The federal government is sending lots of that stimulus money agriculture’s way. Hopefully, some of it will trickle down to you.