and tom vilsack is with us here tonight on "mad money."s helps you invest in something this country does best, produce food for people worldwide and that's why i want to bring forward secretary tom vilsack on to the show. welcome to "mad money." >> greet be with you. >> happy 150th. i always come back and say lincoln thought of this too, didn't he >> absolutely. not only this but the homestead act and land grant universities all the same congress, 1862 in the midst of the civil war. might be a good lesson for this congress. >> every time i read more about him i learn how great he was. the help of the farmer, nobody knows better than you, we care tremendously in "mad money" one of the great long term themes is strength of american farming and how you can invest in it through stocks. how well is farmer doing here versus all the years you've been they'd of the department? >> jim, this is the best year, last couple of years, best years the farmers have experienced ever in the history of the country. for the first time last year we saw $100 bil

running against kristy vilsack, the former governor's the agriculture secretary's wife? >> you look up through the chain of command through my opponent kristy vilsack, at least three super pacs lined up to go against me, her husband on the cabinet, secretary of agriculture. he and i served in the iowa senate together, and then, of course, i'm seated in a reasonable seniority position on the house committee, marking up a farm bill this summer. there's those tensions involved then all of the force of the obama campaign sitting across the river in chicago. president obama has to win iowa if he's going to win america. but i will have time to help mitt romney and i hope he has a little time to help me. we can do this together, peter. >> from april 20th, and then we'll go to calls after we talk about this issue. an associated press story. u.s. secretary of agriculture tom vilsack said that the days of government payments to grow corn and soybeans are nush numb due to record farm numbers and budget constraints. >> i think that's accurate. the caution i would put that that state

with us now secretary of agriculture john vilsack.ears ago, i guess, who was the president then? >> president lincoln was the president. the congress that year established the inner continental railroad financing, the university system and the usda. >> in the middle of the civil war? 1872. >> 1862. really, let's not use it as an excuse we can't get anything done. >> wasn't 1862 the emancipation and the gettysburg address? '63? >> i believe the proclamation. '62, the thing was written and i think the emancipation of d.c. was '62. >> thank you for covering for me. you're a good wing man. talk about 150 years later about the department of agriculture. what are you celebrating today? >> if lincoln were here today, he would be shocked, surprised and pleased with what usda is today. less than one tenth of 1% of the usa produces what we consume. >> your exports are great right now. >> trade surplus of $42 billion. a record. i think he would be pleased. >> where does that go? the $42 billion. who are our and two. mexico, japan and south korea

but obviously we want to work with secretary vilsack. and the position would oversee the multitude of international trading functions that are currently spread across several agencies within the department. that's the problem, we have a long standing challenge at the department. we have several agencies and departments with some international aspects and responsibility, but we're too into the job. we think trade is a top, vital priority at the department. and we want them to take a hard, closer look and consider such a position. there's always a laundry list of trade issues in agriculture, they pop-up almost every moment. hopefully we didn't add to the list yesterday with the announcement out of california. goodness knows our cowboys have been through a lot in this past 8 1/2 years and we don't need more of this type of thing. this isn't political, we have long needed a solid trade hand with the appropriate diplomatic title to increase interaction with our trading partners on these very technical issues and i thank my colleague for intro

agricultural secretary, tom vilsack. mr. secretary, great to have you with us at the moment. live cattle features rebounding when the rumors about mad cow first hit. you've got however two farms under quarantine. you know, your beef exports have really been a bright spot -- u.s. beef exports hitting a record, i think, last year. do you feel there's any risk here in terms of the export market? do you feel there's any risk to the u.s. consumer? >> not at all. beef is safe. and it's a quality product, which we're going to be able to sell to folks around the world. very appreciative of our trading partners understanding that our system worked, the surveillance system worked. and i can assure your viewers that beef is safe and hope that they go home and enjoy a steak tonight. >> all right. so i want to ask you something. we've talked a lot, mr. secretary, about obesity and the cost of obesity. a lot of people say farms are the source of obesity, they grow foods we don't need, we eat more than we need. are farm subsidies to blame for obesity? >> i honestly do not think so. i think

in 2009, kevin concanon was nominated by president obama and secretary vilsack and confirmed to serve as undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services at the usda. fncs, for those of you who don't know, has the principle responsibilities for the food service which feeds one in four americans. it also has responsibilities for promoting healthful diets through the center for nutrition policy and promotion which as i'm sure everybody in this room knows, is responsible with hhs for the dietary guidelines. our second speaker is dr. william dietz, director of the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the centers for disease control and prevention in atlanta. prior to his appointment to the cdc, he was a professor of pediatrics at the tufts university school of medicine and director of clinical nutrition at the floating hospital of new england medical center -- i'm sorry, the floating hospital of new england medical centers hospitals. for those of you who have been watching either at weight of the nation last week or have been watching hbo, you know he's played a

coming up pittsburgh not a sport kate say with the update for you just over fifteen minutes tom vilsack exclusive interview coming up with the victim's boat who talked to us from a new york prison members a first time he's talked to an english language channel since extradition so the next hour shapes up then here on our take a bunch of live tonight from moscow. my grandmother did not buy because. he was afraid. and she was very good. she felt. i was frankenstein's monster. we don't have the problem. every. effort is made. by the powerless then you know on the european side to negotiate an end. to the violent attacks against israel which i have no fear of war or the. song goes you have no you're calling the leader of the state of israel one of them. terrorists in the world. we're supposed to be seriously examining history but you mention a few words about jewish culture. and people gets so upset this is i'm sorry to say it's a form of emotional blackmail. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or se

was used in the very brief 2008 presidential campaign of former iowa culture and congressman tom vilsackong? let's listen. ♪ >> joe knows. >> bill clinton. >> very close. right on the edge of being close. it wasn't bill clinton, it was -- >> al ger. >> yes, indeed. al gore. man. his 2000 campaign and the song was "let the day begin." by the 1980s band the call. i called it. i thought you would do great on this. the next song. was actually used by a candidate whose parents are immigrants, but let's listen to the song. ♪ on the boats and on the planes ♪ >> yes? >> michael dukakis. >> yes, you got it. michael dukakis' 1980 campaign. >> that is why i was so bummed out by dukakis, because that make makes me want to cringe. what he does today! michael dukakis, you are lucky, you are getting my vote. >> and some candidates, you have to present are not happening. and this is one i love by and on again and off again presidential candidate who went with a surprisingly -- [ ding ] -- okay, you have not listened to the music, and a mellow tune and one that was said to be descriptive of the candidate

in 2009, kevin concannon was nominated by president obama and secretary vilsack, and confirmed by the u.s. senate to serve as undersecretary for food and nutrition and consumer services. at the usda. fnc as has the principal responsibilities and funding authority for the food and nutrition service which feeds one in four americans. it also has responsibilities for promoting healthful diets through the center for nutrition policy and promotion, which as i'm sure everybody in this room knows, is responsible with hhs for the dietary guidelines. our second speaker is dr. william dietz. he is the director of the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity of the centers for disease control and prevention in atlanta. prior to his appointment as to the cdc he was a professor of pediatrics at the tufts university school of medicine, and director of clinical nutrition at the floating hospital of new england medical center -- unser, the floating hospital of new england medical centers hospitals. and for those of you who have been watching who are either at weight of the nation last wee

i also congratulate secretary vilsack and all the fine men and women who work or have worked in the department and i wish them another 150 years of success. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas rise? mr. womack: mr. speaker, i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: so recognized. mr. womack: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor a milestone achievement at a company headquartered in la trobe, pennsylvania, with failts across the country, including one in the third district of arkansas. the employees at the rogers facility were presented with the three million work hour award by the arkansas department of labor, the arkansas workers' compensation commission, and the arkansas insurance department for as the name of the award suggests, going three million work hours without a loss time accident. the arkansas facility was established in 1953. the facility is home to 500 employees who manufacture round tool blinks, energy compacts, hard facing rod and powdered metal. three million wo