Vilsack points to rural economic development as key component of farm policy

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack outlined the three B's for rural economic development Monday: broadband, biotech and biofuels. Vilsack said those elements would be particularly important to a broad approach to farm policy, Charles Abbott of Reuters reports. His comments came while speaking to the North American Agricultural Journalists.

Bob Stallman, head of the 6-million-member American Farm Bureau Federation, told reporters farm policy shouldn't be an "either-or conversation" between rural economic development and crop supports, Abbot writes. "We have to have the whole conversation," he said. Hearings for the 2012 Farm Bill are underway; the first field hearing is in Iowa tomorrow. (Read more)