Strengthening Rural Communities: USDA Kicks Off Rural Tour

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1ST, 2009 AT 11:03 AM
Strengthening Rural Communities: USDA Kicks Off Rural Tour
Posted by Secretary Tom Vilsack
Cross-posted from the Department of Agriculture's new Rural Tour Blog.

The President announced yesterday that I will be leading the Administration's rural tour, which will be visiting rural communities across the country over the coming weeks and months. At each event I will try to provide information about how the USDA and the Obama Administration are affecting the lives of rural Americans.

And just as importantly, I want to listen to the thoughts, concerns and stories about each community’s vision for its future. We will collect ideas about how the USDA could be better serving these communities.

To help people across the country follow our progress on the Rural Tour, we are launching a new Rural Tour Web site to chronicle the sights, stories and activities of all the communities we visit over the course of the tour. The site will include a blog, videos and photos, RSS feeds, and other interactive tools so that folks across the country can participate by sharing stories and providing feedback about how the efforts of the USDA and the Obama Administration are making a difference in strengthening America’s rural communities. For those that want to follow the tour, we will be twittering live from our Rural Tour events and also sharing news and information along the way.

We hope to see you at one of our stops or hear from you on our Web site!

Tom Vilsack is the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.