The Senate Ag Appropriations Committee held a hearing Tuesday to examine the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack detailed several priorities for agriculture in the President’s budget request.
“Clearly, we need to continue to look at ways in which we can focus on things like PFAS, HPAI and some of the other challenges that are faced out in the countryside. I appreciate the opportunity to acquaint the committee with the challenges of our ARS facilities, particularly in Beltsville. The need for significant investment there and improvement,” he said. “And the importance of containing and retaining the flexibility within the CCC in order to allow us to respond to situations that crop up from time to time. The most recent example [is] fertilizer. We’re now in the process of funding at least forty-two projects that are helping to tamp down the cost increase in fertilizer.”
Vilsack made a commitment to lawmakers regarding the CCC – or Commodity Credit Corporation – which is a government-owned and operated entity that was created to stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices.
“We will never, ever, ever drain the account. We’ll never just for one thing, as has happened in the past, drain the account and force you to replenish it. We are very sensitive to the importance of maintaining some set of responsibility, fiscal responsibility and the utilization of those tools,” he said.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.