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USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Tonsager Addresses SDFU Convention
February 19, 2012
USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Dallas Tonsager addresses SDFU members at state convention banquet Saturday. The head of United States Department of Agriculture's Office of Rural Development, Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager, addressed Farmers Union members during the state convention banquet Saturday at Huron.
Tonsager called on agricultural producers and organizations of all types to unite behind a common goal: to grow the industry.
"This is a critical moment for agriculture. We're going into a farm bill. It's a most challenging time for rural America," Tonsager said. "In agriculture we need to get together, even though we might disagree on some issues. We need to get the entire agricultural community united on one front. that green is good,"
Tonsager said the phrase, "Green is Good," is an old one, and very simple, but effective and very true.
"The time is coming where our agricultural economy is going to continue to grow and multiply as we add more and more products and green based products, as we use less and less carbon based products and it's because producers in this organization and others committed themselves to that long term goal. It's creating a green world, and it's vitaly important."
Tonsager says the new economy that's being built today will be based on a local and regional sense, more so than it has been for many years. His department is working on ways to look at investments that can create positive growth not just for investors, but for communities."So many decisions that are made on Wall Street are made by a group of people whose primary focus on a transaction is if it profits them," he said. "Decisions that are made on Wall Street don't necessarily take into account the ramifications they have on real people."
"As we go forward we have to look to create investments that consider the needs of a community. Yes they need to make a profit, but we need to create the kinds of investments and mechanisms that affect communities in a positive way."
It's a good time for agriculture, Tonsager says, because. "Right now we're blessed with strong biofuels industry as well as strong exports and we have good prices for commodities.
But he says we always need to remember that everything goes in cycles.
"We must always be positioning so that we always have a strong agricultural economy," Tonsager said. "Who knows what can happen with our economy. Things can change quickly0. We must continue to identify new ventures that we create for ourselves. We must always be positioning to make sure we have a strong agricultural economy."
He said creating steadiness in the market is "absolutely vital."
Over the past three years, USDA Rural Development has invested nearly $1.2 billion in South Dakota. That includes investing in things like water systems, houses, hospitals and fire halls.
"There isn't a town in South Dakota that hasn't been affected by this agency. There probably isn't a person that hasn't been affected in some way by the agency in one shape or form," he said.
If we get a budget that's smaller, we're going to use every dollar, and we're going to use it to benefit rural communities in every way we can."
Last Modified: 02-19-2012-00:06:21
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