Voyles on Vilsack

Voyles on Vilsack

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Back in the Obama administration, the Secretary of Agriculture was Tom Vilsack. At the time, I felt he was widely regarded with respect and with the feeling that he understood agriculture. He was particularly popular, if you allow that term, in Idaho because he was very much in the know about issues involving dairy. So much though that he, I believe, got a dairy related job when the Trump era began and instituted somebody else for the position of secretary of agriculture. Along came the Biden administration and Tom Vilsack is back. In a conversation with Norm Voyles Jr, Chair of the Cattlemen's Beef Board, I asked Norm about his thoughts on Mr. Vilsack.

Well, certainly he's got the experience. Previous administration, he served eight years, fully eight years. And there he has a good grasp coming from Iowa of agriculture and what's needed in agriculture. He has tried to institute some, make sure that all segments of the US society are represented on all health boards, not just the Beef Checkoff Board. And I think certainly with any physician person in those positions, you've got individual producers going to have positive and negative things to say about them. But for the most part, I am pleased with the receptiveness that he's had towards beef production and seems like he and his staff are certainly going to listen to our points of view. Speaker1: A politician who listens to his constituents. Amazing. Yes. Amazing. In a very good way.

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