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U.S. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY TOUTS CLIMATE-SMART FARMING IN MILWAUKEE VISIT

At Central Standard distillery, Vilsack details impact of federal funding for
smaller farms.

By Sophie Bolich - Aug 20th, 2024 01:15 pm
Get a daily rundown of the top stories on Urban Milwaukee


United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addresses the crowd at
Central Standard Craft Distillery during an Aug. 19 visit. Photo by Sophie
Bolich.

United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack met with farmers, community
leaders, union representatives and several other groups on Monday to discuss the
role of climate-smart investments in uplifting rural America.

Addressing a crowd of approximately 65 gathered in the second-floor event space
at Central Standard Craft Distillery, Vilsack described how large-scale farming
practices have decimated the market for small and mid-sized operations, leading
544,970 — or one in six — farms to disappear between 1981 and the latest Census
of Agriculture.



Vilsack said he’s working to change the reality outlined by a former Secretary
of Agriculture, Earl Butz, whose mantra to farmers was “get big or get out.”

“The question is whether we’re okay with that,” Vilsack said. “If not, what’s
the alternative?”

The answer — at least for now — lies in the Partnerships for Climate-Smart
Commodities initiative. The program, which uses federal funds to compensate
farmers who implement one of 197 different climate-smart practices, is mutually
beneficial: farms receive an additional income stream, while the United States
Department of Agriculture gathers valuable information about the viability of
sustainable practices.

The program currently enrolls nearly 13,000 farms, with that number expected to
reach close to 20,000 by the end of the year, Vilsack said. He hopes to
eventually surpass 50,000.

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One such farm is that of Graham Hudson, who works with The DeLong Co., Inc. to
supply grain to Central Standard, which operates its distillery out of the
building at 320 E. Clybourn St.

“In farming, I look for these opportunities to be better,” Hudson said. “For
many years, I sought a program that had validation, that had integrity, and went
all the way from the field to the storefront to the fork. With climate smart, I
feel that I have this.”



Central Standard’s bourbon, whiskey, vodka, gin, pour-ready cocktails and other
products are stamped with a climate-smart seal. The distillery, which recently
celebrated its 10th anniversary, has also reaped the benefits of the initiative.

“Our grains have gotten a lot better through this program, thanks to Graham and
DeLong group,” said Central Standard co-founder Pat McQuillan. “For the first
six or seven years, we couldn’t find a repeatable source, a lot of times, that
had good quality … for us to be able to do that and utilize it and see how we
can help farmers and they can help us, it’s been awesome.”

The DeLong Co., Inc., which spearheaded the Grown Climate Smart initiative, acts
as a bridge between Central Standard and Hudson, as well as other pairs
encompassing roughly 365,000 acres across seven states.

“We all know growers are incredible stewards of the environment, but they’re
very pragmatic business people, and they had to see the promises being made by
the USDA and the DeLong company come to fruition,” said Chris DeLong, the
company’s president. “I’m very happy we did.”

Vilsack took a moment to praise the distillery.



“I’m told that part of my job today is to make sure you’ve got the chance to
have some seriously good hooch,” he said, holding up a bottle of Central
Standard’s Door County cherry vodka.

“It’s got the climate smart seal on it, which is an indication of a desire to
say to consumers, ‘this is something that was locally produced, locally
supported, creating jobs here in Wisconsin, helping Wisconsin producers. And
it’s great for the climate.'”

Under Vilsack’s purview, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is
investing more than $3.1 billion for 141 projects through the climate-smart
initiative — all touted as environmentally-conscious.

But more than a dozen members of Congress have expressed concern over certain
parts of the program, suggesting in a February 2024 letter that it could
“further entrench the unsustainable, inhumane industrial model by funneling a
significant portion of conservation dollars to a handful of large producers
instead of supporting more small and mid-sized producers.”



Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small, who appeared with Vilsack
at Monday’s event, offered a different perspective.

“When you have thriving small and mid-sized farms, you have robust communities,”
she said. “It takes a farmer who’s willing to say, ‘I see the practices that we
do now, and I know the value of the work that I do now. I’m also going to keep
innovating so that we don’t have to keep getting bigger and bigger.’ Instead, we
can be innovative.”

Vilsack also noted the existence of a micro-farm program offered through the
Climate Smart Agriculture Initiative, which is “essentially focused on ensuring
that historically underserved producers would participate.”

“We’re providing resources for farmers to get started small,” he said, adding
that the program offered loans and risk management tools designed specifically
for “very small” producers and operators.

Vilsack’s stop in Milwaukee was part of an ongoing, nationwide tour to raise
awareness of the USDA’s climate-smart initiatives. Or, as Torres Small calls it,
his “whiteboard speech.”

“With these historic investments from the Biden-Harris administration, there’s a
real aim and a goal associated with it,” and “it is directly at the hearts of
small and mid sized farmers,” Torres Small said. “It is directly at the heart of
rural America, and it’s about the diversity of that production.”

The two-hour session concluded with an extensive question-and-answer portion,
with representatives from Organic Valley, Feeding America, Marbleseed and
numerous other organizations participating.

Randy Romanski, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and
Consumer Protection, shared his gratitude for the USDA’s continued
collaboration.

“The recent resources we’ve seen come from USDA are transformational in how
they’re allowing farmers, allowing businesses, to make those investments that
are going to matter now, tomorrow, next year, and way down the line.”

Vilsack is the sixth member of Biden’s cabinet to visit Milwaukee in the past
two weeks. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the Milwaukee port
and road an Amtrak Hiawatha train, Attorney General Merrick Garland participated
in a public safety event at the U.S. Federal Courthouse, Secretary of Energy
Jennifer Granholm promoted a home energy efficiency program, acting Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development Adrianne Todman toured a military-family housing
development and met with local housing officials and Acting Secretary of Labor
Julie Su held a press conference with Mayor Cavalier Johnson to discuss job
growth in the city.


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