Whenever a President or cabinet officer comes to town, it is a big production: A well-staged, well-orchestrated production.
The visit last week by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana was no exception. Coverage of the event can be found elsewhere in Farm World, but what I would like to share with you is what did not make the news and what really happened at a few of the events.

I think you will find this interesting because it will provide some context to the news that was reported and demonstrate how much of what passes for news today is controlled and contrived with a specific agenda in mind.

First of all the Secretary’s travels across the Midwest was part of a larger effort by the White House that had heads of several agencies fanning out to sell the federal economic stimulus program better known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Vilsack admitted that the President had commanded cabinet officers to visit states hit hard by the recession to explain how the government was helping. His trip was coordinated with the release of several million dollars in federal aid awarded to watershed and other infrastructure projects in rural areas.

This allowed Vilsack to visit some of the areas that would be receiving the funding and be photographed with the members of Congress who represent those areas and who voted in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

During his visit, Secretary Vilsack repeated the same set of statistics covering how much money was being “invested,” what the economic impact would be, and how many jobs would be created. How these numbers were derived and whether they were true was never disclosed; yet we in the media reported them as gospel without question.

The official press releases that came out of Washington about Vilsack’s trip emphasized the U.S. auto industry and how USDA was working hard to help communities impacted by the downturn in the car-making business.

One press release said, “Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Indianapolis, Ind., to discuss Obama administration’s recovery efforts for auto communities and workers. At the event, he highlighted immediate ways the federal government is working to bring relief to auto communities.”

The Secretary’s only event in Indianapolis was at the National FFA headquarters which, at last check, does not make automobiles. The FFA headquarters is located on the grounds of Dow Agro-Sciences, which also does not make cars. During his 20-minute speech at the FFA Center, he mentioned the auto industry only briefly.

The event at the FFA was totally under the control of the FFA staff. It was meticulously designed to showcase the FFA with the USDA Secretary. No other logos but the FFA were allowed on stage, the room was packed with blue and gold jackets, and many of the students seemed to have no idea why they were even there. After the press conference, the media was asked to leave the room while the Secretary had his photo taken with the FFA members in attendance.

The last event of the day was a Town Hall style meeting in Hendricks County. Similar to an event in Geneseo, Ill., the day before. The meeting featured Vilsack fielding questions from about 200 people, mostly representatives of farm groups or commodity organizations.

The questions were pointed and specific and the answers, like those from most politicians, were general and vague and often bore no resemblance to the question. What was not clear was whether the questions and concerns of those in attendance were noted and taken back to Washington to help guide future policy or just so many words to be forgotten after the event.

The Hendricks County event was the sixth such rural forum conducted by USDA this year. The last time a Secretary of Agriculture visited Hendricks County was in the late 1980s when Ed Madigan had a breakfast on the farm of John Hardin.

While the years have dimmed my memory of that event somewhat, what I do remember is a great pork breakfast and some very vague and general statements from a Secretary of Agriculture who knew little about what his own agency was doing or the issues being faced by the industry he regulated. Not much has changed, and most likely never will.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with comments for questions for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.