Vilsack calls for rural economic overhaul
A note caught my eye while I was reading today's news wire from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.
In a nutshell, U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack wrote a column in the Des Moines Register. After his first year in office, he's observed that "most Americans do not fully appreciate the work and sacrifice of the farmers and ranchers who produce the food and fiber that keeps all of us alive, and an overhaul of our approach to economic development in rural America is long overdue."
The "economic development" comment was especially interesting to me. As a reporter, I see all kind of news releases about economic development. I just got one this morning about Rock County 5.0.
Also, as a reporter, I've learned a lot about rural life that I didn't know before, even though I grew up as a 4-H kid.
I've learned about economic, social and medical disparities between urban and rural communities. I've learned about the increased chance for domestic violence in rural communities.
It's not for me to say whether an overhaul is overdue, but it is an interesting thought.
What do you think Vilsack's priorities should be? Is there a way our community can monopolize on these programs? What do we need to do first?
Let me know what you think.
Here's a link to the column Vilsack wrote in the DesMoines Register.
Feb 2, 2010 at 3:04 p.m.
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Vilsack is right about a few things, but unrealistic in others. We could increase exports to some degree but we are competing against a global market. The focus on family farms is politically positive but economically short-sighted. Rural America is emptying out, because farm productivity has soared, and with it the need for human labor has vanished. The point about localization is probably a very important one, as America will be healthier with fresher, less processed food, and communities will have more of a stake in their own farm economy.
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Rock County 5.0 may have some focus on agribusiness, but is ultimately largely about the manufacturing sector. More jobs there in the long run, even with productivity gains, because as they say, they ain't makin' more land.
Feb 2, 2010 at 2:22 p.m.
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do we want to monopolize on these "programs" or capitalize on these "programs"?
Anything from the Government removes capitalism out of the equation. The global ag. firms are doing more business in South America where they can make money and not worry about who they may make mad or who gets offended by a little smell of cattle or hog poo. If we keep it up, we will be importing our food from other countries and where would that leave us? If the government wants to do somthing they stay out of Agriculture.
Feb 2, 2010 at 12:31 p.m.
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Rock County 5.0 requires reformatting the entire county and is scheduled for 12/20/2012. Please back up any essential files before proceeding with installation.
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