Tom Vilsack

President Barack Obama will be meeting today with a group of top Senators—including Sen. Jeff Bingaman—to discuss energy and climate legislation, according to The Hill.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack heard complaints on Wednesday from dairy farmers about the need for changes in the system, the Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting.
Sharon Lombardi, director of the Diary Producers of New Mexico, told Vilsack during a community meeting in Las Cruces that the industry needs a new pricing formula and complained that [...]

I’ve already reported that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in Mesilla on Wednesday to attend a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M. While he’s in the area, Vilsack will also hold a rural community forum in Las Cruces.

The White House announced today that two cabinet secretaries will be visiting New Mexico in September as part of a rural tour throughout the United States.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in Las Cruces on September 30 to discuss infrastructure needs.

Although the executive director of the Nebraska Pork Producers says former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack is “a middle-of-the-road pick,” food activists are wary of Obama’s Agriculture Secretary pick because of his support for big agribusiness, genetically modified crops and ethanol subsidies. For some perspective on the future of the Department of Agriculture in an Obama administration and what some New Mexicans are looking for in Vilsack, NMI contacted called Santa Fean Mark Winne, the author of Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty.