I think that it is a very good thing that the selection of the next Secretary has become a drawn out process.  It's an indication that the Obama Administration is finding itself unable to go with a purely default candidate such as Gov. Vilsack.  His comments that he wasn't approached and wasn't interested, anyway?  Guess he's got something better to do as an ex-Governor than run a $100 billion Department.  And leave Iowa for DC - are you crazy?  

The new names being circulated by the Washington Post(if in fact there is any substance to the rumors) are also default-style candidates with slighty lower profiles who would conceivably receive less static than Vilsack.  This is why it is very important for the sustainable agriculture community to keep the volume up and the tone polite.  The longer the decision takes to make, the more we stand to gain.  A shotgun wedding is going to get us a Secretary who is more suitable to the powers that be (agribusiness) and the powers that are about to be (Obama). I can't believe that Secretary Wolf has any viability for the USDA job - where is the upside to a guy who is nationally known only for suppressing the public's right to know?  For whatever political purposes are in effect, Wolf could slide in as an Undersecretary (he is qualified), but the Vilsack pushback (it definitely was felt inside DC)definitely sinks frontline gmo champions.

The names from the letter are all exceptional - all people who are extremely well versed with production agriculture as well as the nits and bolts of federal ag policy.  Realistically, the  next Secretary has to have governmental / administrative experience.  This is for practical purposes (remember the $100 billion budget) as well as political - the Farm Bureau and agribusiness just aren't going to hand the USDA keys over to somebody who hasn't been part of the system.  Remember, the next Secretary is going to have to make friendly with Colin Peterson, House Ag Chairman, who wants to fundamentally overhaul the Department (in his own image).  You've got to have a politician to engage with him, for better and for worse.

I still believe that Gus Schumacher makes the best candidate for the sustainable ag community.  He has state level executive experience (MA Secretary of Ag) plus Undersecretary experience at USDA - that's one notch below the top.  Sarah Vogel is well respected, but somewhat out of the loop (look who's talking) and has no direct DC experience.  Schumacher is a regular if not a major player in DC.  Mark Ritchie is a fantastic individual and  could be extremely effective at an Undersecretary level.  

P.S.  Major, major kudos to Mark Ritchie for handling the Minnesota Senate election recount (he's in charge of that) in an extremely professional and non-partisan way.  Of course the candidates are tearing each other apart, but as for Ritchie's performance, here are two words - Katherine Harris.  Richie himself has been no part of the recount story, and that is a reflection of his character and integrity (and the way that Minnesota holds elections).

I have confidence that this is one Cabinet post that will show the courage of real change.

The current USDA is rife with white collar crime, peopled with shills from Monsanto and other ag giants for the Bush administration. This is one of the most eggregious of all the misdeeds done to the population of America.

There is such a large body of credible evidence that we need a new focus in farming practices. From massive doses of petro-chemicals to natural and organic crop ammendments. From giant farms with $100,000+ tractors, to sustainable family farms. From farm profits going to corporate headquarters and Wall  Street, to a restoring of rural middle-class America. With the increase and bounty from sustainable farming going to the family farm, to their local communities, to the miller, to the end producer of other foodstuffs - most of all, healthy, affordable food going to our children and grandchildren.

I hold to my belief that Barak Obama's heart is in the right place at the right time for the good of all America's citizens and foreign guests. And that his principled and ethical transition team will assure us of a Secretary of Agriculture that will purge the USDA  of all big corporate  interest groups who have embedded their loyalists within our USDA to hijack this vital agency for the profit of the few.

I would love to be on a citizen committee to help in developing a new and sustainable agenda for the new USDA, one that will benefit the vast majority of ordinary citizens across this once great nation.

I suppose it took a corrupt and inept administration such as the one that George W. Bush bequeathed to us to point out the immense harm that can be done to a populace in the name of corporate greed.

Jeremiah Cunningham Coyote Creek Farm Elgin, Texas

How about Neil Ritchie, Mark's brother? He knows Ag policy, and perhaps Mark can keep fighting the good fight in MN politics?

Neil knows sustainable agriculture, trade issues and works well with farmers. He certainly would not be a pushover for agribusiness.