Glenn Thompson: “I just want to thank my colleague and friend from Pennsylvania for this amendment. Yes, the USDA has existing authority…”

“I just want to thank my colleague and friend from Pennsylvania for this amendment. Yes, the USDA has existing authority, but I think this expresses the intent of Congress and our recognition that one of the biggest issues that we face in the agriculture industry--which is the number one industry in Pennsylvania, one out of every seven jobs comes directly or indirectly from agriculture--it is our succession planning. It is where is the next generation of farmer coming from? Congress recognizes the need of having this type of leadership designated so that there is somebody on point overseeing, and pointing, and administering the young and beginning farmer programs that we have put in place for the past couple of farm bills. It is actually a crisis, given the average age of farmers across this Nation. And I appreciate the fact that we are going to help to certainly further express the intent of this Congress on the importance of this, and provide a direction so that resources can be administered to meet this need. I appreciate the gentleman's effort.”