United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was at the Minnesota State Fair Monday following a roundtable in Minneapolis earlier Monday morning. Vilsack was joined at the roundtable by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, Congresswoman Betty McCollum and Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen.
Vilsack is also announcing $230 million in federal funding for the future of farming in Minnesota. He says the money will help improve rural infrastructure. In all, the USDA is investing $808 million to help rural cooperatives and utilities in 26 states and two U.S. Territories.
"Every infrastructure project that you will see, every inconvenience you will suffer because there will be road construction, is going to mean a more efficient system for delivering product to market," Vilsack says. "Which is going to make it easier for Minnesota businesses and Minnesota farmers to prosper."
The federal investment is expected to build and improve electric infrastructure and increase electric grid reliability and security, connecting hundreds of thousands of people in rural areas. The funding will also help provide clean drinking water and sanitary wastewater systems in rural areas.
“USDA invests in rural America because we know strong communities are rooted in their people,” Secretary Vilsack said. “Powering people with modern infrastructure creates good-paying jobs and supports opportunities for people to build brighter futures. The investments we’re announcing today demonstrate the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to ensuring that people who live and work in rural areas have every opportunity to succeed – and that they can find those opportunities right at home.”
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