Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack leaves a job this week that he has held for 12 of the past 16 years, and as he goes, he says it has been both an honor and a privilege to serve.

“Only one other person in the history of the country has had this job longer than I have and only five other people in the history of this country have had a cabinet position longer than I have,” said Vilsack during his final press conference this week. “I will tell you that I am very proud of the work that’s been done by the folks at USDA.”

“The fact we’ve seen rural populations begin to increase again. The fact that we’ve seen persistent poverty decline. The fact that we’ve seen job growth increase, the fact that we have had cumulatively four of the best years in farm income in history. We’ve had record exports. We’ve opened up new opportunities for farmers to benefit and to profit regardless of the size of their operation or the commodities that they’re producing. And that we’ve created the opportunity through climate smart agriculture and local and regional food systems for farms and farm families to be able to say to the next generation there’s real opportunity here.”

Sec. Vilsack farewell comments (1:53)

Vilsack, who turned 74 last month, said he is “excited for the next chapter” of his life. Besides his tenure as agriculture secretary, Vilsack served as governor of Iowa, a member of the Iowa Senate, and mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. During the four years between the Obama and Biden administrations, he was president and CEO of the US Dairy Export Council.

Watch this week’s episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers for an in-depth exit interview with him.