U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed the 2011 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting this afternoon. He made a couple of comments that drew applause from the audience. One of those dealt with concerns over USDA’s pending decision on regulating GM alfalfa. He said, “We’re trying to figure out, as difficult as it might be, is there a way in which we can assure that we have less interference with the capacity for folks to do what they want to do on their land? If you want to grow GMO crops you ought to be able to do that. If you want to grow identity preserved conventional you ought to be able to do that. If you want to be an organic farmer you ought to be able to do that.”
Another dealt with estate tax reform when he said in regards to the tax legislation that recently passed, “That’s why it was important to have estate tax relief in this bill that assured all the members of this audience and your family members that you’re not going to have to worry about whether or not the farm is going to have to be sold or split up.”
You can listen to or download Secretary Vilsack’s speech here: Secretary Vilsack Speech