Inside Washington / By SALLY SCHUFF / Feedstuffs Washington Editor
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Suspense is building in Washington about the direction the U.S. Department of Agriculture will take under new Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.
There has been a virtual news blackout during her first month in office, with no formal press conferences and only one announcement of a high-level appointment. That announcement came earlier this month when, in a very popular decision, she picked Washington agriculture veteran Dale Moore as her chief of staff.
So, when Veneman gave her first public speech at last week's annual USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum, it drew intense interest. Would it be a major policy statement? Would it at least hint at the framework for her Administration?
It was indeed a framework speech, and a bold one at that.
Veneman first outlined President George Bush's priorities:
* An aggressive trade policy, including fast track, a new World Trade Organization round and the completion of the Free Trade Area of the Americas;
* A more "market-based" farm safety net;
* Support for agricultural research and development, and
* A pro-agricultural tax policy as well as commonsense regulatory regime.
Next, Veneman expressed her own vision for advancing American agriculture. It was distinctly pro-business -- and businesslike -- in its approach to dealing with obstacles to profitability.
At the conclusion of her speech, it was clear that her agenda would focus on a realistic assessment of future opportunities -- rather than previous problems.
"A global food system has emerged which encompasses everything from production to processing to consumption," Veneman said. With that consumer-driven system, "companies and retailers require specific and consistent product characteristics, assured supplies and timely delivery," she said.
Veneman, a California attorney who previously served as that state's Commissioner of Food & Agriculture, said, "the combination of globalization, technology and ever-demanding consumers means a more tightly connected food chain with stronger linkages among producers, processors and retailers."
In a bold statement that likely raised eyebrows in some political quarters, Veneman said, "Today, the links of the food chain are more closely aligned than ever. Retailers cannot survive without processors and farmers. Farmers cannot survive without processors and retailers. In this current environment, government cannot force solutions."
Veneman then gave examples of several successful integrated farm-to-food supply chains to illustrate her point.
While Veneman's comments addressed market realities that are readily acknowledged in many agribusiness settings, they may well draw criticism from family farm and anti-globalization advocates.
Her views also may not sit well with some powerful midwesterners in Washington who have been nervous that she will use California-style -- "Left Coast" -- agriculture as a model for farm policy rather than continuing farm programs for commodity grains production.
However the politics shake out, Veneman was bold and plain-spoken in her first public speech as secretary. At the same time, she made it clear that she sees the well-being of American farmers as solidly tied to the well-being of American agribusiness.
Copyright 2001, The Miller Publishing Company, a company of Rural Press Ltd.:
