Articles Tagged with ''Tom Vilsack''

Former USDA Chief of Staff and White House ag advisor Ray Starling, who served under President Trump, and Obama-era Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack engaged in a civil back-and-forth Wednesday to extoll the virtues of their particular candidates of choice.

President Donald Trump has relied on USDA's special spending authority to help farmers overcome slumping commodity prices, and Democratic nominee Joe Biden is promising a large boost in conservation spending to help producers cope with hard times.

Democrats have watched rural voters drift away for decades, but current and former top officeholders in the party argue some of that lost support can be won back this year by focusing on the ailing farm economy and gaps in health care and broadband.

With an eye on winning key battleground states, rural Democrats will be watching their party's national convention this week for a focus on concerns that could peel some voters away from President Donald Trump.

Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s pick as his Democratic running mate, has gone on record opposing new trade agreements, including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and has taken up the interest of farmworkers during her short tenure in the U.S. Senate.

Commodity, nutrition and health groups are gearing up for the last stretch of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, using public campaigns and scientific evidence in an attempt to shape the final product in a way that suits their members.

China, despite economic woes and its battle with COVID-19, is buying more foreign dairy this year, but the increased imports are doing far less for U.S. producers than the industry had hoped for after the “phase one” trade pact went into effect in February.

Two former secretaries of agriculture, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, a well-known chef and restaurant owner and Consumer Reports have joined Rep. Rosa DeLauro in releasing an “action plan” addressing food and worker safety during the coronavirus pandemic.

With unemployment spiking across the country as a result of the coronavirus, more and more people who never needed food assistance before are looking for help, forcing food banks, commodity groups and USDA to think creatively about how to meet the growing demand.

Chinese importers have been applying for — and getting — tariff exemptions to buy U.S. dairy products as a result of the “phase one” trade agreement, U.S. Dairy Export Council CEO Tom Vilsack tells Agri-Pulse.