Fire, Fuel and Food: Secretary Vilsack Outlines How USDA Is Helping Producers, Combatting Climate Change

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has been on the job, for a second time, for just over six months. In that time, USDA has made it clear: the priority is not just COVID-19 assistance, but finding ways to combat climate change.

Vilsack joined Farm Journal editor and AgDay host Clinton Griffiths on Thursday for a Farm Journal Farm Country Update, during which they discussed recent weather disasters, climate, CFAP and renewable fuels. The “Town Hall” type setting allowed for live Q&A, in which there were plenty.

Focused on Intensifying Wildfires

With the West beaten black by months of drought and fire, it’s difficult to see a clearing in the smoke to the dawn of a new horizon. For years, devastating fires have plagued the western states, leaving behind charred crops and a miniscule amount of hope for the following crop season.

Blaze losses, according to Vilsack, could have easily been prevented.  Vilsack says the infrastructure bill entails literature specific to the prevention of future devastation.

“The fact is that over the course of many, many years, we have attempted to do forest management on the cheap,” says Vilsack. “We have invested some money, but not enough money in terms of hazardous fuel reduction – getting that wood out of the forest so that when there is a fire, it’s not as catastrophic as we are currently experiencing.”

Details of Disaster Assistance

Vilsack’s team intends to look at disaster assistance programs with a fine-tooth comb to determine each programs level of support.

“It’s going to take time. We didn’t get into this mess overnight, and we’re not going to get out of it overnight,” says Vilsack. “We need to look for ways in which we can provide help and assistance to producers that are negatively impacted by the fires and draught.”

Special attention in the impact of program support isn’t only reserved for relief efforts. Secretary Vilsack seeks to also amplify incentives in climate smart agriculture.

“We need to be serious about this [climate], but we need to do it in a way the creates new opportunities for farmers, as opposed to shutting doors or limiting opportunities,” says Secretary Vilsack. “We’ve begun that process and have recently announced a small commitment on the part of NRCS to focus on funneling resources into climate smart agricultural practices.”

Livestock and Net-Zero Emissions

With the marketplace beginning to put a premium on the market value of being able to tell customers that the food they’re consuming has been sustainably produced, Vilsack says farmers should be able to maximize their profits.

“What we want is the ability for more farmers to meet that threshold of value added and capture that additional value from the marketplace. Then, as they do, it puts them in a position to be able to qualify for existing carbon markets and reward them.”

Payments for Pork Producers

Similarly, the highly anticipated top-up payments to hog producers, initially promised at $17 per head, are, according to Vilsack, well on their way.

“We just recently announced those payments that are going to be forthcoming very soon,” says Vilsack. “There were livestock payments that were made early in a pandemic, early in the process early the administration, which is part of the $11 billion that's been announced. An obligated portions of those resources have been provided to producers.”

Labor Shortages Plaguing USDA

Secretary Vilsack says staffing shortages in the USDA were a large part of the delay in top-up payments.

“We had significantly fewer people in the USDA than we had last time I was Secretary. I think it's 3,000 to 4,000 fewer people. So, at the same time we're trying to get these resources out the door and do all this work that's important to people, we're also trying to step up to deal with the pandemic, says Vilsack. “It's been, I think, a pretty amazing effort on the part of our team to get as much money as was possible out the door.”

Assistance for Biofuels May Be Forthcoming

One of the biggest issues being voiced by agriculture the past two months, is President Biden's lack of attention to renewable fuels. From outlining lofty electric vehicle goals, to reports that show EPA is set to lower the ethanol mandates for 2021, it's an issue on which agriculture is pressing the Biden Administration. 

However, biofuels are not completely lost to the minds of those on the Hill, says Secretary Vilsack.