The White House named Tom Vilsack co-chair of a new supply chain task force.
The group is tasked with finding solutions to alleviate bottlenecks and constraints related to the economy reopening.
They will focus specifically on construction, semiconductors, transportation, and ag. The designation came as Vilsack announced $4 billion dollars in USDA funding to strengthen critical supply chains.
He told reporters that packing plants will see some assistance.
According to the Ag Secretary, “We hope to be able to provide resources to improve existing small and mid-sized processing facilities, be able to cope and manage with the current challenges they face as a result of COVID. But, we also want to take a look at creating a pilot, new opportunity for the federal government to partner with state and local governments to see whether or not there is an opportunity to expand with new processing facilities and capacity in order to make our processing more resilient.”
On the production side, Vilsack plans to focus on support for young and beginning farmers, as well as helping transition to value-added practices.
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