SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke with Illinois lawmakers and farmers in Kankakee Monday. While Vilsack stressed that he is concerned there are fewer farmers across the country, he is optimistic about the future.
The Agriculture Secretary visited Kankakee last year with President Joe Biden to announce the administration's commitment to new initiatives to boost production of soybean and wheat through double cropping.
Vilsack said he appreciated spending time with Matt Perreault Monday to learn about his family's dedication to agriculture in Illinois. While Perreault Farms has spanned four generations, many families have struggled to stay afloat in recent years.
The secretary said he is deeply concerned that the United States has lost 438,000 farms since 1981.
"When you lose that many farms, you don't lose just farms," Vilsack said. "You also lose the small business that depended on those farms, which is why many small towns in this country today in rural places have empty storefronts."
Vilsack said he is excited about the potential for a strong farm bill and budget financing for the next three years. He hopes Congress can agree on a plan quickly to help farmers across the country and reverse the trend of families shuttering their farms.
"There are tools including the budget, the Inflation Reduction Act, Commodity Credit Corporation, and the farm bill that you need to use in combination to not only support production agriculture, but also to support alternatives for small and mid-sized operations," Vilsack explained.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks during a visit to Perreault Farms in Kankakee on October 16, 2023.
State leaders noted that grant funding from those plans is critical to help strengthen and expand the local food economy. Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello said grants also lift up beginning farmers.
"I think we're all aware of the fact that there are a number of barriers of entry into farming now for somebody who wants to get into farming whether it's land costs, machinery costs, whatever the case may be," Costello said. "So, it's helping us with those beginning farmers and underserved farmers."
Local agriculture leaders and advocates told Vilsack and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-Matteson) that they are grateful to the USDA for keeping food security and clean energy as top priorities. Vilsack said the American Rescue Plan and several other recent laws are helping to build new and better markets.
"It's good to know that I was a part of passing things that people can get good use out of and that we've done some things that are consequential," Kelly said. "But we also want to hear what you need and what more we can do maybe where we haven't got it exactly right or we need to tweak something."
Secretary Vilsack said Congress needs to extend the farm bill by January in order to keep most agriculture assistance programs running.
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