WASHINGTON (DTN) -- Outgoing Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said there is too much focus on the farm bill when it comes to supporting all farmers and rural America overall.

With 12 non-consecutive years in office starting in 2009, Vilsack will end his tenure as the second-longest serving agriculture secretary in history.

In a wide-ranging interview with DTN this month, Vilsack discussed what he sees as historic investments in rural America during the Biden administration and why he thinks the country's approach to farm policy fails most American farmers.

"The focus on the farm bill fails to take into consideration the other aspects of support for farmers that are equally important," Vilsack said.

The secretary has spent much of the last two years highlighting that the country has lost nearly 545,000 farms and 155 million acres of farm ground since 1980. He said policymakers need to "widen the lens" on farm policy or the number of farmers will continue to shrink. He said farm policy largely benefits the top 10% of farmers who receive 85% of the income and 60% of the support in farm-program payments.

"A significant amount of money that goes to a very narrow band of American agriculture. And the price that we pay for that system over the last 50 years has been a loss of farms, and a loss of farmland, and if the country is OK with that, if American agriculture is OK with that, if the farm groups are OK with that, if rural America is OK with that, well, then fair enough," he said. "But I don't think they are OK. So why aren't we talking about that in the debate up there? We're not talking about it."

The Biden administration drew criticism from Republicans in Congress over the decline in net farm income over the past two years, falling from a record $181.9 billion in 2022 to $140.7 billion in 2024. Most of that decline was due to a drop in cash receipts for crop producers and a decline in direct government payments. That led to a $10 billion economic aid package Congress passed on Dec. 20.

Vilsack defends the Biden administration's record on farm income, pointing out that 2024 income numbers remain higher than any year of the first Trump administration.

"Where are we in reference to net farm income? Again, this administration set records for net farm income, besting the records from the Obama administration and significantly higher -- significantly higher -- than during the Trump administration, the first term," he said.

While the agricultural trade deficit is also brought up, Vilsack points to record exports in farm commodities over the past four years as well. Much like farm income, exports hit a record $195.7 billion in calendar year 2022, but then declined to $174 billion in 2023. Export numbers for 2024 are keeping pace with 2023 totals.

Conservation is another area where Vilsack points to record investments, driven mainly because of the $19.5 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

When all of that is combined, Vilsack said, "I think I can make the case we've been incredibly supportive of the commodities."

But agriculture needs a "nontraditional approach" to break a 50-year trend of lost farms and lost farmland, Vilsack said. The farm bill hasn't worked. The secretary points out there are a lot of farmers who don't benefit from commodity programs.

"The farm bill is one component, but it is far too emphasized, and frankly, it is the old way of thinking that has to change," he said. "Because we are losing too many farms, and we're seeing too much loss of farmland. Everyone is stuck in this notion that the only thing that matters is a farm bill."

He added, "If you look at the debate today in the United States Congress on the farm bill, what are we talking about? We're talking about reference prices. Who benefits from reference prices?"

"There are over 100 commodities that are raised in this country. We have an incredibly diverse agriculture. Reference prices are involved directly in 22 of the 100 and some commodities."

The secretary highlighted a legacy of nontraditional investments in agriculture from the IRA, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan.

-- USDA received more than $8.6 billion under the infrastructure law that went mainly to the Forest Service to cope with wildfires and forest management but also included more than $2.2 billion for rural broadband investments and $918 million for conservation programs.

-- Under the IRA, USDA has invested $13 billion to upgrade rural electricity with more investments in renewable energy projects. The law provided $19.5 billion for conservation programs and provided $2.5 billion to help more than 47,800 distressed loan borrowers.

-- The American Rescue Plan (ARP) provided billions to boost food aid across the country during the pandemic as well as rural housing assistance. Another $500 million went to help rural hospitals and community centers.

Those laws injected tens of billions of dollars into the rural economy, spurring more development of renewable energy, food processing, domestic fertilizer production and climate-smart conservation practices.

"This administration has been the administration that's identified there is a need for more new and better markets," he said. "We've had unprecedented investment in all four of those areas."

The secretary pointed to the $1.4 billion in grants and loan guaranteed from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) that helped expand meat and poultry processing capacity nationally. The funds went to more than 500 facilities, beyond the dominate packers in beef, pork and poultry.

Without a lasting change in how farm support is provided, Vilsack said he sees farm numbers will continue to fall over time. He believes the investments made over the last four years will help curb those losses and prove better for the rural economy over time. He repeated his message of focusing on local processing, renewable energy, supply chains for local and regional food systems, and mechanisms to develop environmental markets.

"We've created a model. Now, the question is: Can we flesh that model out? Can we continue to support it?" he said. "Can we continue to invest in it, and over time, can we create a separate model over here that doesn't necessarily negate the importance of production agriculture, but provides a companion model for people to follow, and maybe that revives rural economies?"

DTN's interview with Vilsack continues Tuesday, looking at the debate over cutting spending at USDA and the value of the Commodity Credit Corp.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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