Former Secretary Tom Vilsack Calls for Support for Small and Mid-Sized Farms

This week, former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack continues to call for Congress to consider a small-farmer farm bill, according to the Des Moines Register. Secretary Vilsack’s proposal echoes the sentiment that the farm bill programs we are working with today were not developed for today’s industry.

The farm economy has been in a precarious situation for years. Plagued with years of natural disasters, yields that don’t match demand, and increasing input prices, farmers find themselves in crisis. Under the Trump Administration’s promises to put “farmers first” the farm economy is showing anything but a farmer focused economy. The University of Florida has collected data showing the month-by-month difference in the prices paid for crop production and the prices received. Essentially, since November 2024, prices have struggled to rebound and input costs have remained near record highs.

In his interview with the Des Moines Register, Vilsack outlines that the bulk of the farm income and support go to the largest producers. Built on a system of “get big or get out” mentality, about 10% of the 1.9 million operations get about 85% of the nation’s net cash farm income. Furthermore, this same group earns about 75% of all federal program payments. This leaves the majority of operations fighting for a small portion (about 15%) of our nation’s farm income.

This is incredibly unbalanced.

https://onecountryproject.substack.com/p/former-secretary-tom-vilsack-calls