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| Agriculture
Secretary Ann Veneman met with commodity group leaders Monday
in St. Louis prior to addressing the St. Louis Agribusiness
Club. From left are: Steve Censky, CEO of the American Soybean
Association; Secretary Veneman; Rick Tolman, NCGA CEO; and John
Becherer, CEO of the United Soybean Board. |
Veneman
Outlines Administration’s Vision for Agriculture in Speech
to Agribusiness Club (9-15-04)
Not long ago, U.S. agriculture
simply meant the production of feed, food and fiber. But with the
development of renewable fuels like ethanol, environmentally friendly
plastics and other new crop-based products, those days are long
gone, Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman told the St. Louis Agribusiness
Club Monday.
“This is a critical
time for agriculture,” Veneman told the group of more than
100 agribusiness leaders. “It is a time of change. It is a
time of great promise. We look to a bright future for agriculture,
a future where science and technology remain indispensable, and
a future of productivity and profitability.”
National Corn Growers
Association (NCGA) CEO Rick Tolman said Veneman’s remarks
to the club touched on all six of NCGA’s key issues –
biotechnology, ethanol, transportation, farm and rural development,
trade and research and business development.
“It was obvious
that Secretary Veneman and this administration are intensely focused
on many of the same issues that NCGA deals with on an everyday basis,”
said Tolman, who had the opportunity to meet personally with Veneman
earlier in the day. “It’s encouraging that the administration’s
vision for agriculture is in alignment with NCGA’s goals and
key initiatives.”
Veneman said USDA is
focused on helping farmers to expand existing markets and develop
new uses for their products. “American agriculture needs additional
avenues to sell their products, and two of the best ways to make
sure we have more opportunities available are looking at new and
alternative uses for agriculture and international trade,”
she said.
Crops hold incredible
potential to be used as material sources for industrial and commercial
products, Veneman said, adding she had just received plastic utensils
and a comforter derived from corn as gifts Monday morning.
Another of those value-added
uses – ethanol – is already stimulating economic development,
and congressional passage of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS)
could further increase corn’s profitability, Veneman said.
“A Renewable Fuels
Standard, setting minimum production at 5 billion gallons, could
significantly increase the number of bushels of corn for ethanol
production from nearly 1.4 billion bushels today to about 2 billion
by the year 2012,” she said. “That would boost corn
and sorghum prices by an estimated 10 cents to perhaps as much as
30 cents per bushel.”
As crude oil prices continue
to rise and fossil fuels become exceedingly limited, ethanol will
become even more important to U.S. consumers, according to Veneman.
“Renewable energy is no longer a futuristic or abstract idea.
It is here now,” she said. “And as we have seen decade
after decade, the energy security of the United States goes hand
in hand with national security.”
Veneman also emphasized
the importance of biotechnology in agriculture. In 2003, she created
USDA’s Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century
Agriculture to examine the role of biotechnology in agricultural
production today.
“Two things are
certain,” Veneman said. “The first is that the president
and I believe in the tremendous promise of biotechnology and…the
second is that consumer confidence in the food supply is crucial
and that transparency in our regulations is critical if our efforts
are to succeed.”
The importance of vibrant
trade policy also topped Veneman’s agenda. “Aside from
new technologies and new uses, additional trade opportunities are
critical to the future of American farmers,” she said. “And
that’s why this administration has embarked on the most aggressive
trade agenda to open markets and maintain our existing ones.”
In response to a question
from the audience, Veneman articulated the administration’s
position on another of NCGA’s priorities – improving
transportation infrastructure on the nation’s waterways.
“The administration
has expressed support for working on the locks and improving the
lock system,” she said. “I think that’s very important
because it is a system that needs improvement. Obviously, some of
these systems now are in need of updating and improvement so that
they are available for…agriculture and other resources that
use the waterways to transport their products.”
To read the full text
of Veneman’s remarks,
click here.