Last week we asked why young Americans should care about the Farm Bill by inviting you to use social media to help tell the story about what is at stake in your lives and communities. The response has been overwhelming! We read tweets from aspiring young scientists about the importance of the Farm Bill to their career. We received messages from business owners looking for ways to keep their family farms in the family for future generations. In fact, we were so struck by your feedback online, we thought that the best person to answer your questions and address your concerns would be Secretary Vilsack himself!
For our final Virtual Office Hours session of 2012, join Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this Monday, December 17 at 3:30 p.m. EDT for a live Twitter chat on the important role of rural America to the national and global economy, increasing agricultural opportunities in U.S. communities, and the importance of passing a five-year Farm Bill.
You may have questions like:
- What are the emerging sectors in agriculture for new farmers and ranchers; where do I find them?
- In both rural and urban communities, what is the significance of the agricultural sector?
- I didn’t grow up on a farm. Are there other opportunities in agriculture besides farming that I should know about?
Tag your questions on Twitter with #AskUSDA and Secretary Vilsack will answer as many as he can during the session from the @USDA Twitter account.
USDA Virtual Office Hours, a monthly live question and answer series, allows stakeholders to directly engage with USDA leadership and subject matter experts through Twitter. December’s session will be the 9th in the #AskUSDA series. See a curated list of previous sessions on our Storify page.