USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack’s remarks at this year’s Agriculture Outlook Conference discussed the approach of the USDA under his leadership. He is committed to propping up rural America and supporting American farmers so they can grow more crops in a healthy, sustainable manner. Sec. Vilsack, a supporter of ag biotech, also discussed the role agricultural biotechnology should play in our future. Below are some quotes from Sec. Vilsack’s speech about ag biotech.

Sec. Vilsack shares the benefits of agricultural biotechnology and why his agency supports an approach that includes the technology:

“Our new trade strategy also has to focus on biotechnology and developing a way in which we can do a better job of using that science, a better understanding of the environmental benefits that could occur from biotechnology — less pesticides and less chemicals, less damage to the environment, greater productivity at a time when the world’s population continues to expand and the available land for productivity shrinks because cities are expanding.”

Sec. Vilsack also talks about biofuels and agriculture’s potential in leading America towards a better and safer energy future.

“There is an enormous opportunity for this country in the area of energy. I have seen it in my home state of Iowa. It can be replicated across the country, which is why we have put a lot of time and effort into developing the biofuels task force report for the president, a discussion of how we might be able to use agriculture’s power, either in terms of production of crops or production of crop residue, or production of forest and biomass, that can create new opportunities for this country to make us far less dependent than we are today on foreign energy sources. It is time for America to take back its energy destiny. It can do this through the farmers and ranchers and rural communities of this country. Every sector of our nation, every geographic area of our nation, can contribute to this.”

You can read Sec. Vilsack’s full remarks here. You can watch the video of his speech here.