Top 35 Tom Vilsack Quotes

Proper school nutrition must be complemented by activities outside of the cafeteria. The decisions parents make to keep their kids healthy are critical in fighting this battle on the home front.

There are a lot of farmers and ranchers who are struggling. I get on my knees every day. If I had a rain prayer or a rain dance I could do, I would do it.

We’re going to move from a commodity economy where you basically grow the same kind of crops – where a kernel of corn is a kernel of corn is a kernel of corn – to an ingredient economy where there will be a kernel of corn that will be designed for fuel, there will be a kernel of corn designed for livestock.

There are ways we can go do a better job of educating young moms and dads about the vital role they have as the child’s first teacher. I think there are ways in which we can partner with local school districts and states to do a better job to provide nutrition options at school.

The Obama administration will continue to fight for a comprehensive immigration solution that includes AgJobs and a stable workforce for our farms.

Today, President Obama is making smart investments in clean energy – wind, solar, biofuels – as part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy that supports thousands of jobs, not in the Middle East, but in the Midwest.

And sometimes people don’t realize that 90 percent of the persistent poverty counties are located in rural America.

Local and regional food systems are about opportunity.

If we can get people to focus on fruits and vegetables and more healthy foods, we’ll be better in terms of our healthcare situation.

In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only nine percent of family farm income comes from farming, and more and more of our farmers are looking elsewhere for their primary source of income.

Let us tackle the big issues with bold ideas that transform Iowa to accomplish our shared mission to grow Iowa, and realize our shared vision of Iowa as the best place to live, work and raise a family.

One out of every 12 jobs in the economy is connected in some way, shape or form to what happens on the farm.

The rise of childhood obesity has placed the health of an entire generation at risk.

I don’t know if there is a Democrat who necessarily doesn’t believe health care is a right instead of privilege. There is a significant between us and the Republican Party on that issue.

I don’t care what anybody says: Nothing is better than a tomato you grow. There’s something about it that’s different than a tomato you can buy. It’s a great thing.

This is an exciting time for farmers and ranchers of all types and sizes as agriculture is a bright spot in the American economy. In 2011, agricultural exports hit a record high and producers saw their best incomes in nearly 40 years.

We know that there are significant health benefits from consuming more fruits and vegetables, and that’s an opportunity for us to sort of move away from some of the meals that we’ve been preparing in the past.

My friends, history, history calls us to this time and to this place. A solemn choice rests with us – where do we go from here? Do we move slowly and incrementally? Or do we seize the challenge of our time and tackle the great issues of our day.

More than half of America’s rural counties are losing population and with it, political representation.

It is critical to develop a biofuel industry powered by feedstocks produced in every corner of the country, in addition to the Midwest. That is why USDA has established five regional research centers working on science necessary to ensure profitable biofuels can be produced from a diverse range of feedstocks.

The lack of access to proper nutrition is not only fueling obesity, it is leading to food insecurity and hunger among our children.

To help producers serve larger institutional customers like schools and hospitals, USDA has helped fund new regional infrastructure like cold storage warehouses, commercial kitchens and local slaughter facilities.

I think we all share the same goal, which is a United States of America that inspires people and leads.

Let us build a 21st-century rural economy of cutting-edge companies and technologies that lead us to energy and food security. Such an investment will revitalize rural America, re-establish our moral leadership on climate security and eliminate our addiction to foreign oil.

Rural Americans want leaders who help middle-class communities to plan and prosper over the long-term – not opportunists who reap the rewards for themselves, leaving nothing for the people who do the sowing.

Although they are some of the hardest working folks I know, rural Americans earn, on average, $11,000 less than their urban counterparts each year. And they are more likely to live in poverty.

I grew up in a city. My parents would think there was something wrong with America if they knew I was secretary of agriculture.

President Obama’s fight for rural America is personal. He was raised by a single mom and grandparents from Kansas. He hails from a farming state, Illinois.

If I had a rain prayer or a rain dance I could do, I would do it.

USDA is committed to keeping pace with the needs and progress of American agriculture by supporting new markets and movements that will keep farmers profitable and help create middle class jobs across the country.

To keep farmers on the farm we must maintain a strong farm safety net, but we will also have to build a thriving companion economy to compliment production agriculture in rural America.

We have a long tradition in this state of caring for our neighbors – it is truly an Iowa value.

What Republicans have done in my view is that they are systematically dismantling a sense of community in America.

The future of healthcare security should include flexibility from the federal government to allow us to serve the state’s most vulnerable citizens.

Technology has allowed us to have more drought-resistant crops. The spotty nature of drought, the spotty nature of rains can sometimes result in better yields than anticipated.