Vilsack ready to talk rural

Rural leaders from across the nation will converge in Washington, D.C., this week for the fourth annual Rural Assembly. During the weeklong conference, participants will discuss ongoing issues like the need for national rural advocacy, and how to deal with common problems such as persistent child poverty, lagging private investment and effective transportation.

Columnist and editorial board member Lynda Waddington will be reporting from the Assembly this week. Follow live updates on social media with the #Rural2015 hashtag.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will provide a keynote address. As part of our Beyond City Limits series, we connected with the former Iowa governor by phone, asking questions about Iowa and national rural concerns. We publish his answers here, lightly edited for length and clarity.

'''

This isn't the first time you'll be addressing the Rural Assembly. What made you want to return?

I speak to a lot of groups, and I speak to most of those groups about rural development and rural life for the following reasons: Rural America has a significant number of the high-poverty counties in this country.

In fact, 80 percent to 85 percent of high-poverty counties, especially among children, are in rural areas. It is an area of the country that is faced with declining and aging populations, but it is also a place of tremendous importance to the country and amazing opportunity.

I think it is the job of the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to focus people's attention on that opportunity and importance in two primary ways.

One is to work to revitalize the economy, to encourage more opportunity and to take full advantage of the opportunities and natural resources that rural America has. Secondly, to the extent that we are engaged in trying to soften the burden or ease the pain or impact of rural poverty, we also have that responsibility.

This administration has been very active in both of those areas, and it stands to reason that I'd visit with the Rural Assembly about the work we're doing, given the help that we could get from folks across the board.

'''

One key topic in this year's event is child poverty. Through StrikeForce and Promise Zones, this is an area where you and the White House have agreed more resources should be devoted. Do we have a clear path forward?

One of every four children in rural America live in food-insecure homes. That's one statistic showing the high-level of poverty among children living in rural areas. This speaks to the need for encouraging more economic opportunity, and we do have a road map in that respect. We refer to it as the Four Pillars:

' Agriculture, production agriculture and exports

' Local and regional food systems

' Conservation

' Bio-based economy

So there is the economy piece of this that we are investing in. And then there is the place-based efforts that you've mentioned of making sure that the programs that help alleviate the impact of poverty are available and accessible even in the poorest and persistently poor areas.

We know that place-based efforts work. We've seen the benefits of StrikeForce, and now we are ready to embark on a more consorted effort. Not just coordinating USDA efforts, but also coordinating all federal agencies that invest in rural areas. So working with HHS, working with the Department of Education, working with the Department of Labor, working with the Department of Commerce and others through the Rural Council the president established creates an opportunity for us to consolidate, coordinate and collaborate our programs.

We'll be announcing in September - at least I think it will be in September - 10 locations where we are going to try to create a two-generation approach to child poverty. Focusing programs to help both parents and children simultaneously instead of some programs working for kids and other ones working for parents. It's an opportunity to figure out whether or not this two-generational approach can really move the dial more quickly and more effectively.

'''

The Gazette's Beyond City Limits series has been highlighting solutions to problems common in rural communities. One thing we've seen is that when communities and regions work together, more opportunities arise. That's something the USDA and other agencies also have promoted. Is collaboration the future for rural America?

I don't think there is any question about that for a couple of reasons. One, as the percentage of people who live in rural America is reduced in real terms to the percentage of Americans who live in suburban and urban America, you are going to have less and less political influence. Resources are going to continually be redirected to where the political power is. So, if you want your fair share of resources, you are going to have to figure out ways to get support for investment in rural areas, and you're going to have to make the case that by investing in rural areas, you are helping the rest of the country. You can make that case. You can make it very strongly and very coherently, but you have to make it.

Developing regional approaches to economic development creates partners, gives you supporters that will ensure you get your fair share of resources to be able to help not only your locale, but your region.

Secondly, there are limited resources overall. We are dealing with a constrained resource environment, where there is constant pressure to spend less money. So the money you spend has to be more effectively and efficiently invested. The way you do that is by making sure you leverage it as effectively as you can, by making sure your dollar generates another dollar from some other source for investment.

'''

In a speech you gave a couple of years ago - I think everyone refers to it as the 'relevancy” speech - you advocated for alliances and cooperation if people in rural areas want to remain relevant in national discussions. Are rural people responding to your call?

They are. I think the Farmer and Rancher Alliance - which is major farm groups coming together to create a positive message about agriculture and conveying that message to a broader audience - is one example.

The efforts that are underway to encourage private sector investments in rural communities, which have successfully identified new infrastructure funding and new equity capital opportunities for small business outside the resources of USDA, is a reflection of people's understanding of the need to get the message in a broader context and get more folks to understand what rural America does for the rest of the country and, in turn, encourage them to invest more.

The approaches to conservation that we are seeing with the Regional Conservation Partnership Program really is about creating partnerships. We're seeing significant leverage of our resources by very comprehensive partnerships being developed in the Mississippi Basin, the Great Lakes and Everglades, where environmental groups, conservation groups, hunting and fishing advocates, and local and state governments are working with the federal government and agencies in a partnership that's never existed before. That creates, I think, a recognition of the need to reach out and develop stronger relationships and partnerships.

So I think there are a number of examples of how rural folks have responded to that call. I think we are in a better place than we were a couple of years ago, but there is also more work to be done.

'''

Recently in Iowa, we've had a situation that seems to fly in the face of cooperation - the lawsuit filed by Des Moines Water Works against some rural counties. Is this a harbinger of a more prominent trend?

I think it is an opportunity, frankly, and I've been encouraging the governor, farm groups and those who are interested in finding a creative and innovative way to respond to the water works litigation.

I think it's fair to say that everybody wants quality water. I don't know a farmer or a rancher that doesn't care about their land and the water, and cares deeply about land and water. I don't think there is a rural community that doesn't care about water.

I think there is an opportunity here for the state of Iowa in particular to create a leadership opportunity to bring people together instead of encouraging folks to be apart. I suggested to Gov. Branstad and others that we should have, for lack of a better example, a sort of Vision Iowa approach to water quality in the state. Take resources from the state government, local government and outside groups that are interested in the environment, conservation, farm groups. Combine it with the rather substantial amount of money the U.S. Department of Agriculture invests in conservation. Create a real effort, a joint effort, a collaborative effort, at addressing, in a very aggressive way, water quality.

I don't think too many people understand that over the course of the last six-plus years in the state of Iowa, over $2.2 billion has been invested by USDA in conservation. If you funnel that money, combine it, you could have a profound effect on bringing rural and urban Iowa together. You could improve water quality. You could have folks in the city understanding more of the challenges that farmers face. And I think you'd create a much more cohesive approach.

To a certain extent, Cedar Rapids has done this with flood control efforts. In a small way, you came together, you had a successful Regional Conservation Partnership application that is going to get a couple of million dollars from the federal government. That's sort of a small test of this concept that I believe could be significantly expanded and perhaps put that water works lawsuit in a much different place.

'''

As Secretary of Agriculture, you've continued and expanded on the shift that began in the 1990s to give more focus to nonfarm programs. There have been rural revitalization programs, broadband expansions, microlending, home loans - the list is nearly endless. Has that USDA focus shift been questioned?

I think when we started talking about local and regional food systems, there was some concern from the standpoint of production agriculture. But, over the last four or five years, we've seen folks in that sector better understand the significance of local and regional markets - particularly in terms of encouraging beginning farmers to get into the business. Also in terms of giving small- and mid-sized operators an opportunity to stay in business, creating jobs through food hubs, creating access to nutritious and fresh food from that which is locally grown and keeping those dollars within the local district.

So I think there has been a greater appreciation for what this department is. It is really the Department of Rural America - it's the Department of Food, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Rural America.

I think if you understand the scope of what we do at USDA, you'll understand why we've focused our attention and time on so many different things. As I tell everybody who is willing to listen to me: We do virtually everything here. From trade in foreign countries, to food safety, to the forest service, to nutrition programs, to rural development, to farm programs, to crop insurance - we are a fairly significant department that is underappreciated in terms of the scope of its responsibilities.

'''

You are intimately familiar with the challenges facing rural Iowa communities, and now you also have a wider lens into the challenges of rural communities throughout the country. Is there a common denominator? Are there lessons or solutions that can be applied across the nation?

Yes. First of all, there was a failure to understand that as agriculture became more efficient, we needed fewer farmers to produce the enormous bounty we have in this country. There wasn't an aggressive effort at that time - years and years, decades ago - to create a companion economy that would allow folks who were no longer farming and their families to stay in small towns and feel comfortable about coming back to a small towns.

We've started to try to rebuild that economic opportunity based on the natural resource base of rural America through conservation, local and regional food systems and bio-based economy to complement production agriculture.

I think there also is the lesson that poverty is really deep and persistent in a lot of rural areas and, as a result, often underappreciated. This is why the programs that USDA has are so important.

We've done, since I've been secretary, nearly a million home loans in rural communities. I will tell you that hardly any of those people could have gotten a home loan by themselves, without USDA's assistance and help. And oftentimes they don't think of that as government, but that is a role that government plays that is extremely important to rural communities.

I think the lesson here is, number one, there is a plan and it is going to take time. Number two, there is enormous potential and opportunity. Number three, what rural America does do for the country is underappreciated, in my view. That's certainly true of farmers. I don't think we fully appreciate the fact that we've been freed up to pursue other walks of life because we don't have to worry about producing enough food to feed our families.

We are a food secure nation, which means we have the capacity to grow what we need to feed our own people. That's not true of most of the major countries in the world. So, we are safe as a result. That's all brought to us by rural America, which also is a place where most of our domestically produced energy comes from. It's a tremendously important place. That's true whether you are dealing with the western United States, the deep South, New England or the Midwest.

'''

Let's say that you walk into a small town in Iowa or in Illinois that people are looking to improve. They know their population is aging and declining, and that they've lost a lot of their revenue base. What is the first step you'd tell them to take as they look toward revitalization?

Understand their region. Understand where they are located and what type of community they are. Are they a county seat town? Are they a bedroom community? Are they located near a major city like Cedar Rapids?

Having an understanding of who you are and where you are is the beginning. Then you need to understand what your natural resource advantage is. Is it agricultural production, which creates biomass that could be converted into a new chemical or material? Have you thought about the manufacturing opportunity that could take place in bioprocessing?

Finally, pick up the phone. Give Bill Menner a call at Rural Development. Give John Whitaker A call at the Farm Service Agency, or the folks at the NRCS. Ask them how they can be helpful. I think what you'll find is that USDA has and will continue to invest in rural America's future.

People find it hard to believe that USDA's investment in Iowa since I've been secretary exceeds $24 billion. That's a pretty significant level of investment. We can help.

'''

If those attending the upcoming Rural Assembly only take one thing back to their communities, what do you want that to be?

I don't know if there is one single thing.

I want them to know there is a department of government here to help, and it has many tools they may not be aware of. Also that there are creative ways to use those tools, and we are constantly looking for more creative opportunities.

People need to understand the incredibly important place that rural America is and the incredible opportunities that exist. I think there is a tendency to sort of discount rural America in terms of economic opportunity because it faces challenges. But I hope people will see the opportunity side of this.

Rural America's glass is more than half full.

' Comments: (319) 398-8469; editorial@thegazette.com