Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack gave the keynote address today to an audience of more than 4,500 farmers and commodity group representatives during the General Session of the 16th Annual Commodity Classic in Tampa, Florida. In his remarks, Vilsack commended American farmers, ranchers and producers for helping to lead the United States’ economic recovery by shattering agricultural trade records, creating jobs at home and ensuring affordable food for U.S. families.

“We are all fortunate to be living through one of the most productive eras in history for U.S. agriculture,” said Vilsack. “American farmers and ranchers are seeing record sales of farm goods abroad and looking forward to some of the best net incomes in decades. U.S. agricultural exports for fiscal 2011 are on course to shatter previous records and enjoy a record $47.5 billion trade surplus. This record productivity is creating employment across a variety of sectors, including transportation and storage. Moreover, because American agriculture produces 86 percent of the food we consume, our families spend less at the grocery store compared to consumers in much of the rest of the world. As producers of high-quality products and conscientious stewards of our lands, American farmers and ranchers deserve our gratitude.”

Best Vilsack comment that I heard was “OPEC has more to do with food prices than farmers.” He got loud applause for that!

Listen to or download Vilsack’s address here: 2011 Commodity Classic Vilsack Address

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