Ag secretary talks Pacific trade, farm bill with Whatcom farmers

U.S. Agricultural Secretary Tim Vilsack called the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership a good deal for local farmers during his first visit to northwest Washington on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Tom Vilsack spoke at a forum with U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Medina, at Washington State University’s Mount Vernon Research Center. Both answered questions for more than an hour from farmers and officials on a variety of topics, from forestry and farming practices to regulation issues and funding.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, agreed on by 12 Pacific Rim nations earlier this month, was a major topic of conversation. Vilsack said it is a good deal for U.S. agriculture. If the deal is approved, he said, it would mean thousands of tariffs on U.S. products would be reduced or eliminated, artificial barriers would be addressed in an aggressive way, and it would lead to equivalent definitions for what is organic in the 12 countries involved in the agreement.

The comments were generally met with polite applause from the farmers, who are interested in expanding into that Asian markets.

The trade deal, a key to President Obama’s economic agenda, still faces months of scrutiny in Congress as well as the general public. Opponents have said it would jeopardize food safety, override local laws and export thousands of jobs overseas.

Vilsack noted that Asia has a fast-growing middle class and is interested in U.S. agriculture products, because they are safe, diverse, affordable and high quality. The high standards will put immense pressure on China to raise its food quality standards as a result, Vilsack said.

The recently passed farm bill and its broad implications also were discussed, including programs that support local food systems and make stronger connections between farms and local school food programs. DelBene called it was the best farm bill yet when it comes to supporting organic food.

Given the broad range the USDA covers, Vilsack and DelBene fielded plenty of other questions beyond trade.

Whatcom County resident Sandy Soderberg wanted to know what could be done about industrial hemp, which is grown to make a variety of products but is still considered a controlled substance by the U.S. government. Vilsack said his department is working with the Department of Justice to better understand industrial hemp before going to Congress to propose changes.

“It’s really about educating officials that (industrial hemp) is not pot,” Soderberg said.

Vilsack also talked about the recent Washington wildfires and how firefighting efforts might be better funded. This summer was the longest fighting season in state history and battling the fires cost $319 million.

Vilsack said when funding is depleted during an extreme fire season, more money is pulled from other parts of the federal forestry budget, hurting other aspects like restoration and prevention work. An intense forest fire is not different from other natural disasters, such as a hurricane, and should be funded that way, Vilsack said.

That led to a discussion about funding in general for agriculture, with Vilsack saying Congress tends to chip away at the agriculture budget to fund other things.

“What we need to do is tell our story better,” he said.

This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Ag secretary talks Pacific trade, farm bill with Whatcom farmers."