Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Tuesday that his first job outside the Cabinet will be heading up a dairy industry trade group.
Tom Vilsack, who stepped down as agriculture secretary last week, will join the U.S. Dairy Export Council as president. The Council is one of several related groups that advocate and lobby on behalf of the dairy industry. But Vilsack says he doesn’t expect to be at the Capitol asking lawmakers to pass certain bills.
"My job is to be a spokesperson for the industry writ large, to be able to go out in foreign markets and domestic markets and explain to producers what we're doing, explain to the general public the importance of these products, the importance of a robust and strong dairy industry," Vilsack says.
Vilsack’s former department provides some support for Dairy Export Council programs.