President-elect Biden announced that Tom Vilsack, former secretary of ag under President Obama, âBiotech Governor of the Yearâ from Iowa and Dairy Checkoff funded millionaire will be his choice for United States Secretary of Agriculture. Here at Missouri Rural Crisis Center, we have a 35-plus year history of fighting for independent family farms, resilient rural communities, and a food supply that is diverse, democratic and fair. Unfortunately, Tom Vilsack would be one of our last choices for Secretary of Agriculture, and we say that because of history. A brief history of Vilsack: ⢠In 2001, as governor of Iowa, Vilsack was named âBiotech Governor of the Year.â Through biotechnology and lack of enforcement of anti-trust laws, the seed and chemical industries have become highly concentrated and now are largely owned by foreign multi-national corporations.