Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor and the U.S. secretary of agriculture under former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, speaks during a forum in Davenport Friday May 30, 2025.
Sarah Watson
Tom Vilsack said Democrats should "connect the dots" between cuts to social safety programs and impacts on rural areas.
Vilsack is a former Iowa governor and the U.S. secretary of agriculture under former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
On Friday he spoke to about 20 people in a wide-ranging Davenport forum about reversing rural population declines and the shrinking number of small farms.
He noted the budget bill passed by the U.S. House that would call for states to pay for a portion of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the program that provides food benefits for more than 41 million low-income Americans, and put in place more requirements for people to receive SNAP.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated it would save about $300 billion from SNAP and about 3 million people would no longer be on the program over the next 10 years. Republicans who supported the bill say it is targeted at waste, fraud and abuse, and reserving benefits for the most vulnerable.
People are also reading... Skechers Outlet to open, new food truck, Albany restaurant closing and more Quad-Cities business news New restaurant, Bubba's 33, promises made-from-scratch meals for Davenport Two hospitalized in Davenport motorcycle crash Rock Island-Milan Communications Director resigns, citing 'toxic workplace environment' Things to do in the Quad-Cities: Craft beer, live music and a Memorial Day festival Updated: One person killed in two-vehicle crash in Milan Wednesday afternoon State rests in Davenport murder trial, Adriana Blake's defense team calls three witnesses Man accused of shooting at Bettendorf police faces 8 charges, included attempted murder Ben Peters secure 7th Quad City Amateur golf win Assumption's Kelly Grobstich sweeps 100- and 200-meter dashes at state Class 3A track meet Iowa falls in Big Ten baseball semifinals, UCLA advances to conference title game Survivors of The Davenport collapse are struggling to rebuild their lives after their homes collapsed two years ago Debate rages if Iowa, State football fans are on the cover of College Football 26 video game Dedication for 'Frank Fritz Mancave' set for Memorial Day weekend in Savanna Accused of murder, Adriana Blake claims innocence, said victim was best friend
Vilsack said farmers get about 20 cents of every dollar of food sold in stores.
"If there are fewer people buying less food at the grocery store, it's not just poor people who get impacted and affected by this. It's farmers who get impacted and affected by this," Vilsack said. "Their income goes down."
Fewer people buying food in stores, Vilsack said, would have an impact down the supply chain to the people who package, transport, and place the food on shelves.
"It's not just poor people getting fed, it's fewer jobs and less farm income. So, now, all of a sudden it's a more significant conversation about the impact that this decision is going to have on people that aren't getting SNAP and haven't thought about it in this way."
Vilsack said Iowa receives between $60 and $70 million a month from the federal government for SNAP. That's about $720 million a year. If states are asked to pay 10%, that's $72 million, Vilsack said.
Vilsack then asked a state senator in attendance, Democrat Cindy Winckler, by how much the state went into its rainy day funds to balance this year's budget.
It was $917 million, Winckler responded.
If the feds ask the states to come up with a portion of SNAP funding, Vilsack said, that will have to come from somewhere else in the budget, which funds public education, healthcare and other essential state programs.
Democrats should offer a proactive message, and an alternative to Republicans' proposed plans for lower taxes and cuts to services, Vilsack said.
"It's a message of, 'We've lost too many farm families,'" Vilsack said. "We've seen our rural communities diminish in this state and across the country. And the reaction in response to date has been, 'That's just the way it is. Nothing to do about it. Get big or get out. You can't get big if you're already small or mid-size because the money in the current system goes to the folks that produce the most."
Farms can work harder, not farmers
Vilsack laid out his vision for how farms, not farmers could work harder to produce income.
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts
He said the prevailing wisdom since the 1970s, when federal policy changed from a supply-regulated system to a market-based system and encouraged more crop production, was for farmers to "get out or get big."
But Vilsack said, investing in alternative revenue streams such as putting manure in anaerobic digesters that produce and sell methane or adding renewable energy sources such as solar panels to land to produce energy and sell excess back to the grid.
Since the 1970s, Vilsack said the country has lost 536,000 farms, which he said is every farmer today in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Colorado, Colorado, Oklahoma and Missouri.
The country has lost 151 million acres of land that was in farming, which is the equivalent of Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina and Maryland.
The top 10% of farms receive 89% of farm income Vilsack said. In 2022, Vilsack said, half of farms lost income. Nearly 88% of farm families have to work off the farm, Vilsack said.
"So the question is, are we OK with that?" Vilsack said.
Vilsack said the changes causing reduction in rural populations has consequences on rural economies -- consolidated schools, fewer customers at small businesses and fewer patients at hospitals.
"Why is it the farm family has to work harder? Why can't the farm itself work hard?" Vilsack asked.
He pointed to a number of strategies that could increase the revenue stream such as developing a climate smart commodity. He gave an example of the Iowa Soybean Association gave farmers $20 an acre if they would agree to do certain practices on the farm such as planting a cover crop or change their fertilizing regimen. Companies then paid more for the soybeans because they could tell their customers it was sustainably produced.
Another example he gave was of a dairy farm in Wisconsin. The farm mixed its cattle manure in an anaerobic digester with food waste from a local school and restaurant. It then produced methane gas to be sold to a renewable natural gas pump, which used it for a new renewable aviation fuel.
After that, the farm could use the rest as bedding for its cows. From there, the material could be converted to fertilizer, one nitrogen based and one phosphorus based, Vilsack said.
"What's not to like about that?" Vilsack said. "Do you know what's left when all that's done? Water can be discharged directly into rivers and streams in Wisconsin, and if anybody knows anything about Wisconsin, their standards are much, much higher than a lot of other states."
The dairy farm also sells cheese directly to the local schools and grocery stores.
Vilsack encouraged the attendees there, who were mostly people who are frequent event-attendees, to ask candidates what they would do about expanding markets for farmers and reversing rural decline.
Vilsack said congressional races are particularly important because Congress has so far failed to pass a Farm Bill, a wide ranging package typically reauthorized every five years that pays for a range of programs from crop insurance for farmers to healthy food options for low-income Americans.
Vilsack said agriculture programs at every level should be focused on creating alternative markets.
"What can be done about it is creating an entrepreneurial alternative option," Vilsack said. "I have absolutely nothing against big farms. I'm going to be clear about this. They do something remarkable. They feed the world, and we take great pride. But they can't be the only game in town. Because there's a human and emotional consequence and security consequence to it being the only one."
"We can be better, we can do better. Iowa can begin to create the kind of growth opportunities that will allow young people not to feel like they have to leave the farm and the state. They can be part of our future."
0 Comments Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.
Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sarah Watson
Davenport, Scott County, local politics
Author twitter Author email Follow Sarah Watson Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today