The National Corn Growers Association gathered at the Capital Hilton in Washington this morning for its semi-annual Corn Congress. (NCGA)


In what amounted to a lobbying pep talk, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told several hundred corn growers gathered in Washington today that they should get over their rural politeness and tell House Republicans that “the nation needs a farm bill,” and National Corn Growers Association President Pam Johnson responded that her members would tell Congress, “We are mad as hell. We are not going to take this anymore. We are going to hold you accountable.”

Vilsack recalled that earlier, when farm leaders said they were “extremely disappointed” that the House did not pass legislation, he had said they should express outrage. But he said rural people were too willing to be understanding when members of Congress said that a job is hard, and then asked them if Microsoft owner Bill Gates would be so understanding or if baseball fans would be understanding if a player who performed badly said the job is too hard.

“This is one president who is no longer saying ‘We are extremely disappointed,’ ” Johnson said, adding that the corn growers have her permission to use swear words with the House members if necessary to get the point across.

National Corn Growers Association President Pam Johnson, left, presented Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack with the NCGA President’s Award this morning. (Jeffrey O'Connor/NCGA)

Johnson also presented Vilsack with an award.

“Secretary Vilsack is a perfect recipient for the NCGA President’s Award,” Johnson said. “He has been a steadfast supporter and advocate for American agriculture and I am proud to call him a friend of corn. During his tenure we have seen him work tirelessly to promote agricultural exports, create a more vibrant rural economy and strengthen the role of farmers.”

Vilsack said he was as proud to receive the NCGA award as he had been to receive the National Guard Patriot’s Award when he was governor of Iowa.

Noting that he has been reading books about the “greatest generation” from World War II, Vilsack told the corn growers that, because of American farmers’ productivity increases in recent decades, “You’re the great generation of American agriculture.”

“It does no honor to you for our political leaders not to provide the certainty of a five-year bill and demagogue” the issue, Vilsack said, urging the corn growers to remind members of Congress that farmers contribute to agricultural productivity and the economy and that rural Americans serve in disproportionate numbers in the military.

Vilsack started off his speech with polite words about the need for a comprehensive farm bill, but seemed inspired by questions from the audience to give the corn growers lobbying and political advice.

In his opening remarks, the secretary pointed out that U.S. agricultural productivity has been helped by certainty in farm policy and that the five-year farm bill would provide for increased research to deal with climate change and how to feed a population that will grow to 9 billion people “in the lifetime of people in this room.”

The Senate bill, he noted, creates a foundation that would attract private sector dollars to agricultural research.

The bill must also be comprehensive, he said, and the House’s attempt to “magically divide” the bill into a farm-only bill and a nutrition bill will not work.

He added that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP or food stamps, “is a part of the safety net. If people can buy more at the grocery store, they will.”

The House passed a farm-bill only bill last week

“We as a country, as a people need a farm bill,” Vilsack said.

But when a member asked for advice on what to tell members of Congress, Vilsack said to tell them, “You can’t have a bill that represents the extreme on either side, right or left. You can’t overreach.” The farm bill, he said, “is not about placating primary voters in your district,” adding that the nation needs to recognize that “struggling Americans” need food.

Vilsack also told the corn growers to be firm about their unwillingness to accept another extension of the 2008 farm bill.

Extending the existing bill “is not a solution” but “an act of failure,” he said. Vilsack also urged them to tell Congress, “We gave you a shot” with last year’s extension, and to remind them that the extension did not include specialty crops, research, the energy title or establish the new research foundation.

“Say, ‘Don’t talk to me about extending the farm bill,’ ” he added.

If they argue that they can do the farm bill next year, Vilsack said, “Do you really think in an election year we’re going to get it done?”

Members of Congress said last year that they might finish the bill in a lame-duck session, but that did not happen, he emphasized.

In 2015, he noted, there will be a new Congress, the process would have to start again and the focus would be on the 2016 presidential race.

With an extension, Vilsack added, there would be no reform, no deficit reduction and the direct payments program would continue.

When he travels around the country, Vilsack said, he has a hard time explaining why farmers get direct payments when prices are high, but “I can explain crop insurance [and] the new program that provides help when people need help.”

Tell Congress, he said, that “you see an extension as failure and we’re tired of failure.”

Vilsack also told the corn growers they should tell Congress “don’t mess with the RFS” — a reference to the Renewable Fuels Standard. He also reminded the corn growers that the current campaign against the RFS with legislation introduced and advertising on television “is part of a concerted effort on the part of the oil industry to undermine renewable fuels. Make no mistake about it.”

If oil prices go up to $147 per barrel, the OPEC countries would have 50 percent of the wealth in the world.

“Does that make you feel comfortable? It doesn’t make me feel comfortable. That’s why we need a renewable fuels industry,” he said.

Renewable fuels advocates will never have as much money as the oil industry, he said, but that means “we have to outsmart them and be aggressive.”

Asked about delays in USDA approvals of biotech products with herbicide tolerant traits, Vilsack said it is not a delay but an effort to make sure the approvals of “extraordinarily new technology” can withstand scrutiny and law suits. USDA is accelerating the approvals of “add on” technologies to current products, he said.

Vilsack also noted that he is sure that incoming Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy “understands the need to preserve the RFS” and that he will urge her to meet regularly with commodity leaders.

He also said farmers will also have the ear of Sarah Bittleman, his former renewable fuels adviser, who is now the agriculture adviser at EPA, although he mentioned that allowing her to change agencies had been “an extraordinary sacrifice.”