With large farm operations dominating agriculture and small, family farms growing ever smaller in number, Tom Vilsack, the former national ag secretary and Iowa governor, is proposing more sustainable farming practices and partnerships between agriculture and the public and private sectors.
Vilsack spoke April 29 to a gathering of roughly two dozen people at an event hosted by the Iowa Democratic Party and billed as a discussion with Iowa farmers.
Iowa Democratic Party officials said they hope to hold similar events and discussions with farmers across the state in the future.
Vilsack was the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary during all eight years of former President Barack Obama’s administration and during former President Joe Biden’s single term in the White House. Before that, Vilsack was Iowa’s governor for two terms, from 2003 to 2010.