Farm Bill

Farm Bill. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

Well now that the President has been reseated in the White House and the new Congress is getting comfortable, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has some suggestion on what a new farm bill should include.

VILSACK: We have a strong safety net built on a strong and viable crop insurance program. A safety net that is defensible and understandable and one that provides the help and assistance, not just to crop producers but to livestock and dairy producers.We need strong but streamline conservation programs. A five year bill must continue our commitment to trade.

He says a new Farm Bill has to embrace a sensible immigration message. 

VILSACK: Agriculture has a stake in the immigration debate. Agriculture wants and needs immigration reform. Agriculture must have a steady and stable supply of labor. And agriculture relies on immigrant labor for that steady supply. This is a wonderful opportunity for us in rural America to embrace diversity; to embrace immigration policy that makes sense; to embrace comprehensive immigration reform; to embrace the solving of this problem that has vexed us so long.

And he talked about inspiring young people in ag and bringing people back to rural America and what that would do.

VILSACK: And then it becomes a little easier to explain to members of Congress from urban and suburban areas why a five year bill is necessary and it becomes impossible for political leadership to stop its passage because too many people want it - too many people need it - and everybody understands the importance of it.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.