Francis Thicke

Francis Thicke, an organic, grass-based dairy farmer near Fairfield, has formed an exploratory committee to consider a 2010 run for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.

Thicke, and his wife, Susan, process milk on their farm and market it locally through grocery stores and restaurants. The couple believes there could be a major economic impact in the state if more farmers would market locally. It could, according to Thicke, “create thousands of new jobs and help revitalize rural communities in Iowa, as well as provide Iowans with fresh, nutritious food.”

“Iowa’s investment in ethanol production has brought economic development to agriculture, and we need to protect that investment,” he said. “However, it is time to reassess, and consider how future investments in renewable energy can be better targeted to profit farmers and better protect our natural resource base.”

Thicke, who holds a doctorate degree in agronomy and soil fertility, served with the U.S. Department of Agriculture as national program leader for soil science. He primarily worked with the USDA Extension Service. He has also been a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops in Iowa and across the nation on topics ranging from local food systems and economic development to organic farming practices to sustainable farming.

He has also served on the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission and the Iowa Food Policy Council at the appointment of then Gov. Tom Vilsack, and on the Iowa Organic Standards Board at the appointment of then Gov. Terry Branstad. He currently serves on Iowa’s USDA Technical Committee.

If Thicke, a Democrat, decides to place his name on the 2010 ballot for Secretary of Agriculture, he could face incumbent Bill Northey, a Republican who farms near the Spirit Lake area.  Northey has also been mentioned as a possible Republican challenger to Gov. Chet Culver.

A well-placed source says one option under consideration in filling the now vacant commerce secretary’s slot is to tap ex-Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack for the job. Vilsack already has been named to serve as Barack Obama’s agriculture secretary, and easily could move into the commerce position.

The story doesn’t elaborate any further, and the liklihood of moving a former agriculture state governor away from the Ag department seems remote (I don’t recall any talk of Vilsack as Commerce Secretary before), but not completely out of the question. The theory goes that the Democrats have a deeper bench on the agriculture side. Not so much on commerce. So while it would be hard to find another person qualified to serve in commerce, there are plenty of Dems lined up to run the USDA.

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin said Tuesday that Vilsack’s confirmation hearing has already been set for next week.

The Messenger, which endorsed John McCain, calls the move a “thank you” to Iowa for helping get Barack Obama elected president and calls into question Vilsack’s skills for the job.

It’s probably good news that an Iowan has been selected to fill this important post. Obviously the decisions made at the USDA have an enormous impact on the Hawkeye State’s economy. Clearly, any former Iowa governor would have at least some familiarity with farm life. It doesn’t seem obvious from Vilsack’s career, however, that his knowledge of agriculture goes much beyond the minimum one would expect from any farm state politician. Being a Des Moines lawyer isn’t the ideal preparation for the country’s most important agriculture post.

It is true that Vilsack as governor worked hard to promote Iowa products including the rapidly growing renewable fuels industries. The homework behind those efforts should be a useful starting point for leading the USDA. Certainly, having Vilsack at the USDA will make it easier for Iowans to get a friendly hearing at the department. It’s not so certain, however, that Vilsack brings to this new assignment the broad-ranging knowledge of agriculture that would be desirable for one occupying this crucial post.

(h/t Doug Burns at Iowa Political Alert)

Tom Vilsack interviewed outside Mineos pizza in Pittsburgh (Photo: Vilsack for President/Flickr)

On matters of agriculture, Vilsack was a pragmatic centrist, content with incremental changes and reluctant to take steps to significantly disrupt the status quo. When he successfully ran for his first term as governor in 1998, the generally pro-Republican Farm Bureau decided not to oppose him, choosing instead to endorse both him and his opponent. That was an impressive feat for an underdog Democrat running for governor — especially for a trial lawyer who had never farmed a day in his life.

He has clearly thought about what he would do in his new position. In an interview with a Minnesota college newspaper just before Election Day, Vilsack said Agriculture is “a department that impacts every American.”

In the interview, he cited the international food crisis as an opportunity to use America’s “soft power.” He suggested promoting renewable energy was part of the job. “How do you accelerate the research and development that gets you to second-generation bio-fuels?” he asked.

He also mentioned the school nutrition program, saying “you have to be focused on whether we are doing right by our children in schools across America in terms of nutritious food that we subsidize and we provide in school lunch programs.”

He even spoke of controlling forest fires which, it turns out the Agriculture Secretary has a role in.

While he was governor, Vilsack remained largely above the fray of ongoing feuds over the placement of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) near rural communities. Groups on the left who would like to give local communities stricter control over where the CAFOs are allowed felt betrayed by their governor’s unwillingness to help, but his stance kept agribusiness interests relatively quiet.

Vilsack’s most noticeable impact on rural Iowa did not involve changes to agricultural policy or stricter environmental regulations, but rather tax credits and business incentives. His economic development efforts — most notably the Iowa Values Fund, which was designed to create grants, loans, and tax incentives for businesses who choose to locate in the state — have been credited for short-term successes in many corners of the state, but critics in his own party argued that they amounted to corporate welfare.  In any event, the long-term benefits remain difficult to measure.

Vilsack was a pragmatist by necessity. For all eight of his years at Iowa’s helm, he faced a Republican-controlled legislature.  His allies on the left say his record might have looked different if Democrats won control of the statehouse a few years earlier.  He chose not to run for a third term in 2006 despite his relative popularity, opting instead to explore a presidential bid that quickly flopped.

As a presidential candidate in a crowded Democratic primary, Vilsack, who served as chair of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council until only months earlier, seemed to move farther to the left on environmental issues, embracing an ambitious but seemingly arbitrary requirement that, by 2020, all new power plants constructed must be carbon-free. His campaign even bought carbon credits to offset its campaign activities.

Vilsack also subtly tempered his enthusiasm for corn-based ethanol over the course of his candidacy, shifting to a more tenable position in favor of all forms of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels, using corn ethanol merely as a “transitional fuel.”

From the few glimpses we have gotten of Vilsack’s federal agricultural policy positions, it is clear that he supports stricter limits on farm subsidies than Congress was able to pass in the 2008 Farm Bill. That puts him in line with the President-elect and Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Perhaps unfortunately for Vilsack, it will likely be another four or five years before Congress passes the next farm bill, and that is longer than a typical cabinet secretary has to wait.

In the interim, Vilsack will be tasked with many administrative and regulatory responsibilities, and he seems intent on pushing other policy goals in line with the Democrats’ agenda.

Expect the incoming Secretary of Agriculture to achieve tangible results that are easy to explain, because that is Vilsack’s style. He will immerse himself in a few specific issues, come up with a few policy ideas, and set to work building a political consensus, diluting the original ideas when necessary.

Don’t expect Vilsack, a consummate pragmatist, to turn America’s food system upside down anytime soon.

“He knows production agriculture, and he knows the changes we need to ensure its profitability and future, including for young and beginning farmers and ranchers,” Sen. Tom Harkin said in a statement.

Iowa’s Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said in a statement that he was pleasantly surprised by the Vilsack pick.

“This comes as a surprise since about three weeks ago Gov. Vilsack stated that he was not in contention for the job, but it sure isn’t a surprise because of his qualifications. As Governor of Iowa he had a firsthand look at the role of agriculture in our global economy,” Grassley said. “I’m happy for him, happy for Iowa and this is welcome news for agriculture.”

Tom Buis, president of the National Farmers Union, told the Washington Post that Vilsack was a “great choice” who “has an understanding of the challenges and opportunities that exist in rural America.”

Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, told the New York Times that Vilsack’s understanding of the biofuels industry would serve him well in his new position.

“The big issue for him and any incoming secretary is going to be biofuels, that’s the sector that right now is in such a volatile position,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit group that is a leading critic of federal farm subsidies. American farmers, Mr. Cook said, are “hitched to both the food system and the energy system, both of which are oscillating.”

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, a Republican, said Vilsack’s pick would be good for Iowa.

“It’s nice to have an Iowan in this job,” Northey said. “He understands what’s going on in agriculture. He’s a quick study, and I think Iowans will have good access in the USDA.”

Of course, not everyone will be pleased with Obama’s pick. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA), a Minnesota-based non-profit organization advocating for organic and sustainable agriculture, pointed to Vilsack’s support of genetically engineered pharmaceutical crops, his ties to The Monsanto Co. and his support of corn and soy based biofuels as reasons why he isn’t qualified for the position.

Vilsack has a glowing reputation as being a schill for agribusiness biotech giants like Monsanto. Sustainable ag advocates across the country were spreading the word of Vilsack’s history as he was attempting to appeal to voters in his presidential bid.

President-elect Barack Obama is expected to formally announce the Vilsack pick at 10:45 a.m. today in Chicago.