Secretary of Agriculture Visits Iowa - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

Secretary of Agriculture Visits Iowa

By Natalie Zarowny
nzarowny@cbs4qc.com

It's no surprise the nationwide drought came up as the hot topic during Secretary Vilsack's visit to Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

And farmers were happy to have him on their side.

"The drought, of course, is on the minds of everyone here in southeast Iowa," said Bob Dodds of Iowa State University.

And Secretary Vilsack was on hand to ease their concerns.

He visited the Old Threshers Reunion to address weather woes.

"I was really appreciative of his concern for the drought, and the dairy farmers, the poultry, the swine, it just really shows that he has a commitment in agriculture," said Alan Buckert, one of the Directors at the Old Thresher's Reunion.

Secretary Vilsack also talked about the possibility of food prices going up.

But some good news, he said in the short term, they'll actually go down.  Unfortunately, that's not for long.

"There'll be likely a shortage which will translate into higher prices probably next year.  We may see some adjustments, we may see some increases, there may be particular items that are higher than that, but overall we're looking at 3 to 4 percent," said Secretary Vilsack.

He's an Iowa native, former mayor, governor, and now the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

And he's always happy to help a fellow Iowan.

"It's always great to be back home," he said.