Washington, DC — US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is scheduled to testify before members of the Senate Ag Committee this week, including Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley.
Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, and a Democrat is pushing through policies at USDA that Grassley says will make it difficult to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill. Grassley, a Republican, says Vilsack discussed the continued consolidation of farming at the agency’s Ag Outlook Forum.
Grassley says he’s pursuing payment cap legislation which targets farm programs specifically to small- and medium-sized farmers.
Grassley says they need to find ways to make the farm safety net work for all farmers, not just the large ones. He says the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, a program championed by Vilsack, is a departure from the agency’s earlier efforts to focus on small farmers.
Grassley says Vilsack’s actions, which he says include increasing the price of SNAP by 250 billion dollars, will put hopes for swift passage of the Farm Bill in jeopardy. The Senate Ag Committee hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Central Time on Thursday.
