Vilsack: Ag research and education key to prosperity, security

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Investment in agricultural research doesn't benefit just the 2 percent of the population involved in farming. It's a matter of national security, job creation, energy independence and human health. That's according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who visited Penn State's University Park campus this week (May 16) to tour College of Agricultural Sciences research facilities and commemorate this year's 150th anniversaries of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Morrill Act of 1862, which created America's land-grant university system. Vilsack spoke to a capacity crowd of more than 200 in the Life Sciences Building's Berg Auditorium, where he acknowledged current economic challenges while citing a need for continued research funding. "We will be a government that spends less money, but one that must increase investment in education and research," he said. "Why? Because that is the vehicle through which this country gets back into the business that it's always been great at: innovating and creating." Vilsack cited statistics showing that every $1 invested in ag research brings a $20 return.