U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack paid a visit to Grand Forks, speaking Monday at UND with a panel of researchers from his department's North Dakota labs, the Red River Valley's two universities and farmers from around the state.
"Nothing beats an opportunity to meet people who are passionate about their work," he told reporters. It's an opportunity, too, to promote agriculture and agribusiness, he said, which is a growing field in the nation.
It's a good year for ag, he said, with farm income expected to increase by 24 percent thanks to strong exports.
The secretary came at the invitation of Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., who hosted the panel.
Vilsack said the research at the Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo and the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan were all in line with the USDA's research priorities.
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He expressed interest in the Grand Forks lab's research on obesity, for example, calling it a national security issue because the high rates of obesity among young people drastically cut into the military's recruiting pool.
A machine that will tell you when you breathe into it how well your body is using the food you recently ate delighted him. It's still under development and he urged the lab to get a move on. "All I can say is 'hurry up!'" he said, because he wants one.
The Fargo lab's research on food safety was important to Vilsack, who said thousands get sick or die from tainted food every year, which is bad for people and the distrust is bad for ag business.
Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send e-mail to ttran@gfherald.com .
