tom vilsack is the u.s. secretary of agriculture. secretary vilsack, thank you for being with us today. >> you bet. happy to be with you. >> you are coming to us from california. that state has been entering its third straight year of drought. things have been really difficult until the recent rainstorms. this is a situation that's probably costing billions of dollars. seeing record snowfall in the south and northeast, what do you think the economic impact of all this crazy weather is? >> the bottom line is, it is going to impact and effect producer income which has a rippling effect in the communities that farmers, ranchers and producers live and raise their families in. the great thing about american agriculture, it is extraordinary pli diverse. it is extraordinarily resilient and i would expect and anticipate we are still going to see good crop production and hopefully strong income. >> i had read that by some estimates, half a million acres of the land in san joaquin would be lying fallow during this next season because they weren

we spoke with tom vilsack. he says president obama will announce plans to provide money to fund water conservation projects across the state. >> the president will be announcing an additional $15 million in target for conservation assist for those areas most affected by drought. $5million of that will be directed to california. >> the program will be up and running within 60 days. vilsack says it's because the president understands the urgency and what federal relief will mean to central valley families. >> the president definitely recognizes that drought not only impacting producers but also impacts the families of those who work in these orchards and with the growers, producers. >> dianne feinstein and barbara boxer and governor brown will be joining president obama. he's scheduled to arrive in necessary fro at 2:30 in the afternoon. the first hour of business, a tour of a wrlt fault and a round-table discussion. from there, a tour of the farm where he will talk about the government's response to the drought.

. >> first lady michelle obama and agriculture secretary tom vilsack are proposing a ban for ads on junkod and sodas. it's part of the first lady's initiative to end junk food and child obesity. >> if you can't sell it, you really ought not to be able to market it. >> reporter: but secretary vilsack says it's big business. companies spend over $150 million a year on marketing in schools. the changes would remove popular drink ads and food from scoreboards and vending machines. seconds after this machine was stocked, students lined up. perry prep charter school is already ahead of the game. >> our vending machines have 100% fruit juice and chips that are whole grain. if you give them something that's an alternative, they'll take it. >> reporter: but not everyone is on board. congresswoman kristi noem has scaled her own initiative. >> people can't afford to spend money except in places of children's education. >> reporter: craig boswell for cbs news, washington. >>> straight ahead, a lucky find. a california couple stumbles across a buried treasure worth a fortune. >>> and later, the futur

pomp only ugly they're good michelle obama on tuesday the first lady and secretary of agriculture tom vilsack announced that the government would extend its pilot program giving all students a select schools access to free lunches and free breakfasts sargon july eleventh the program will expand to twenty two thousand schools across the u.s. the bomb administration estimates that the expansion will help nine million kids gain access to affordable hot meals with unhealthy lifestyle starts. not having to worry about where your next meal comes from good on the show obama for making sure fewer american kids have to worry about the bad michael press to be annapolis maryland police chief is under fire today for using a hoax story in testimony against legalizing marijuana during a maryland senate hearing yesterday priest who told lawmakers that colorado thought thirty seven deaths from marijuana overdose on the day of the drug was legalized almost as soon as the chief finished speaking in state sen jamie raskin called him out for his dishonesty his tube story about thirty seven people dying from mari

meanwhile in the united states, agriculture secretary tom vilsack warned climate change is already having an impact on us farmers. wednesday, vilsack unveiled a series of measures aimed at assessing the damage from a changing climate. >> when you take a look at the intensity of the storms we have seen recently, the frequency, the length of the drought, combined with snowstorms and the subzero weather, the combination of those factors convinces me the climate is changing, and it is going to have its impact, and is having its impact on agriculture and forestry. >> california, which produces about half of all us-grown fruit, nuts and vegetables, is currently in the midst of its worst drought in modern history. a former portfolio manager for sac capital has been convicted on all counts in what the government has called the largest insider trading case in history. mathew martoma was charged with conducting illegal trades based on inside information about the development of an alzheimer's drug, netting $276 million in profits and averted losses for the firm. he is the eighth current or former e

. >> agricultural secretary tom vilsack announced the plans with first lady michelle obama. >> the habitsthe rest of your life. >> reporter: the let's move campaign is celebrating four years of fighting childhood obesity. >> and also, diet cola, is that a vegetable? >> reporter: the american beverage association with members like coca-cola and pepsi support the effort, and even the high school students are coming aroun around. >> it is a good variety of the healthy choices. >> reporter: and deciding that eating healthy is not all that bad. the usda is expanding the school lunch program. starting this summer, schools with high poverty rates can give free breakfast and lunch to all students. in washington, i'm danielle leigh, nbc news. >> the silver line delay, and what is metro's role in this? we take a closer look to connect the dots to see when you can finally ride the rails to dulles. >> i'm liz crenshaw, and >> icomcast brought millions of people closer to nbcuniversal's coverage of the biggest olympic winter games ever, with the most coverage of the most events on every device. and th

on behalf of secretary tom vilsack and usda's office of chief economist, welcome to each of you. thank you for being with us. especially our international guests, and a special greeting to everyone who'll be watching the forum later via webcast. several representatives from foreign embassies are in the audience including minister of agriculture from costa rica, and we're honored to have her with us. also joining us is a former colleague, secretary of agriculture from california karen ross. i'd like to open with a deeply-felt thanks to every individual on our organizing team. planning the forum demands great skill, knowledge and attention to detail for months and months. .. highlighting the changing face of agriculture. and there's no question that american agriculture demands are more dynamic population. we face pressing issues by the aging of the american farmer. the increasing food demands of this century, and the next generation of american agriculture. at the same time we have seen a shift in agriculture with new farmers making their lives on the land. there are women, immigr

we would've from agriculture secretary tom vilsack.the department's chief economist and head of the u.s. agency for international development. this is one hour 40 minutes. >> good morning. i'm deputy secretary of agriculture, and this is usda 19th annual outlook forum. let me start with some housekeeping and ask you to turn off your cell phones to everybody take a minute, turn them off. i turned mine off before i got a. so please do that. on behalf of secretary tom vilsack and usda's office of the chief economist, welcome to each of you. thank you for being with us. especially our international guests, and a special greeting to everyone who will be watching the forum later via webcast. several representatives from foreign embassies are in the audience including mayors of agriculture of costa rica, gloria abraham, and we're honored to have her with us. also joining us is a former colleague, secretary of agriculture from california, karen ross. i'd like to open with a deeply felt thanks to individual on our organizing team, planning the

usda, and in my personal opinion, to lead this i do culture industry van tom vilsack . i think he has demonstrated his commitment, his vision, perseverance, determination. he is going to help lead us to a very bright future. he is going to come up now and talk a little bit about a sneak peak about the new census, so please welcome secretary vilsack . [applause] >> so here is the deal -- there is a big huge clock that is right in front of me, that is massive, and the deputy really should have used the shorter version of the introduction because i cannot actually talk about the census until one second after 12:00. [laughter] so for the next couple of minutes -- [laughter] -- if i were a comedian, which i'm not, obviously, i would give you some jokes, but let me talk to you about the 2014 farm bill. because i think that is really important for people to understand the opportunities that that bill creates. we obviously waited a long time to get that bill, and a lot of us worked really hard to encourage its passage, and we finally got it through the process and a strong bipa

secretary of agriculture, tom vilsack appeared in the white house briefing room to announce the plan. >> when you look at the intensity of the storms we have seen repeatedly recently and the frequency of them, the length of drought combined with these snow storms and the sub-zero weather we have experienced, the combination of all of those factors vis me that the climate is changing and it's going to have its impact and will have its impact and is having its impact on agriculture and forestry. >> this plan like the other executive actions the president is taking will have limited initial impact, but there are bigger plans in the works that are bounds to be even more controversial. the epa is now drafting regulations that will limit carbon pollution from coal-powered power plants around the country. it could result in the closing of hundreds of those plants. those are expected later this year. >> mike vaquiera in washington. >>> we have been caovering the crisis which central sfra tonight. we have brought you stories from there that no one else has. tonight, we have one of the most sho

we are so proud that our united states secretary of agriculture, tom vilsack is with us today. [applause] i want to thank my partners. ranking members, my partner in senate.it -- in the senator cochran, this truly was a bipartisan effort. i also want to thank my staff involved. i have the best agriculture staff on the hill. thank you very much. [applause] i hope you will also join me in thanking colleagues who are here today who are so important to this process. our great senior senator carl levin and gary peters, we thank them. [applause] our president pro tem of the united states senate, former chair of the committee, patrick leahy. [applause] the senior senator from minnesota, amy klobuchar, congresswoman from ohio and chair of the congressional black congress -- of the congressional black caucus marcia fudge. [applause] and the congressman from texas. we are so glad you are here. this is a bipartisan jobs bill that makes sure 16 million people who worked in agriculture from michigan to mississippi to ohio to texas and everywhere in between have the support they need to prov

we had a terrific contribution from our own secretary of agriculture, tom vilsack, who deserves a big ] congress passed a bipartisan farm bill that is going to make a big difference in communities all across this country. and just so they don't feel left out, i want to recognize one of your congressman who's doing an outstanding job, dan keelding. and somebody who was just a wonderful mentor to me when i was in the senate and has been just a great public servant not just for your state but for the entire country, carl levitt. he's always out there. especially when it comes to our men and women in uniform. we're very proud of him. and while we're at it, pat leahy from vermont. there are a lot of dairy farms up there. andy klobucar from minnesota. all that cold air is blowing from minnesota down into -- now, despite its name, the farm bill is not just about helping farmers. secretary vilsack calls it a jobs bill, an innovation bill, an infrastructure bill, a research bill, a conservation bill. it's like a swiss army knife. it's like mike trout. it's like for those of you who know baseba

. >> pam: according to department of agriculture secretary tom vilsack.ey will be used for improvements in irrigation and assistance with water facilities. state officials said last >> pam: week, they would not be sending water to califorinia's agricultural customers. >> pam: strains on water supplies are expected to force many farmers to leave their fields unplanted. >> pam: today, another deadly accident in san francisco involving a pedestrian. kron 4's john fenoglio reports from the scene in the city's sunset district, where one person has died and three others have been injured. >> reporter:today's accident was in the outer sunset.on sunset boulevard near yorba street. >> as you can see behind us the yellow tape is covering be the victim inside slosh in the front part of the car. it is too soon to determine whether drugs or alcohol were involved. and also the circumstances. police say their injuries were not life-threatening. the suspect is a busy street and speed related accidents are not up covet. thank marin now police the spot cup to find who is a

we have a terrific contribution from our own secretary of agriculture, tom vilsack, who deserves a round of applause. congress passed a bipartisan farm bill that is going to make a big difference in communities all across this country. i want to recognize one of your congressmen who is doing an outstanding job. and somebody who was just a wonderful mentor to me when i was in the senate, a great public servant not just for your state but for the entire country, carl levin. he is always out there especially when it comes to our men and women in uniform. we are very proud of him. [applause] while we're at it, we have a couple of out-of-towners. pat leahy from vermont. there are a lot of dairy farms up there. and from minnesota. all that cold air is blowing from minnesota down into -- despite its name, the farm bill is not just about helping farmers. secretary volsack calls it a jobs bill, and innovation bill. infrastructure bill. a research bill. a conservation bill. it is like a swiss army knife. it is like mike trout, for those of you who know baseball. somebody who's got a lot of tools a

[inaudible conversations] earlier today agricultural secretary tom vilsack spoke at the white house briefing on seven regional climate hub assisting farmers in rural communities. here is a look. >> are you seeing farms go under now because of the effect of climate change? is it something focused on the future threat? is it something that the department believes is happening now? >> i can tell you without any he -- hesitant because we didn't have a good assessment and good forecasting and didn't have a disaster assistance program that so. livestock producers in the dakotas, for example, just couldn't make it. when that snowstorm hit, it didn't wipe out just a few animals. it wiped out the entire operation. nobody anticipated and expected that severe of storm that early. that's one impact. i can tell you the folks who live in the western part of the united states who have been dependent on timber and forestry are deeply concerned about the impact and disease treed. we have roughly 45 million acres of diseased trees because the pine bark beetle was not killed during the harsh winters as in the

. >> agriculture secretary tom vilsack announced a new plan today to target climate change creating regionallimate hubs that would assist farmers in rural communities. he made the announcement at today's white house briefing but we're sure as much of that to you as we can until live coverage of the 4:00 briefing about the impact of security leaks with the chairman of the house armed services committee. >> i'm bringing guest stars. good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. thank you for being here for your daily briefing. as you can see today i have with me secretary -- secretary jewell sect accuse me of seeing a report this morning that the secretary is establishing and the administration is establishing climate hubs injuries regions across the country. he would like to provide some information to you about that. he can also give you a little insight into the bipartisan farm bill that has passed congress. if you have questions for him on the subject areas, please address them at the top of the briefing to the secretary and then he can go on with his day and i were many of the questions on other

agriculture secretary tom vilsack moderates this one hour and ten minutes panel. >> -- the secretary fo secretare great information and interest. thank you. you are going to be very excited about the next panel. spending a few minutes with them backstage and just seeing their energy and excitement make sneeze so thrilled for what we have ahead of us in agriculture and we are truly changing the face of agriculture. i think all four of them said they never even attended an outlook session, am i correct? so we are changing the dynamic of who you are hearing from not only who is attending the session. i'm going to introduce each of them and they will come to the stage and be joined by the secretary as the moderator. michael gordon is joining today as the leading organic farmer and executive director of the former veteran coalition. the coalition has been at the forefront of the effort effort o connect military veterans with careers in agriculture. joanna, co-author of the farm families in kentucky and recipient of the 2013 top producer. the president of the current county farm bureau on