President-elect Barack Obama announced that former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack will be the next Secretary of Agriculture.  Vilsack, known as a proponent of renewable energy, will inherit a "bully pulpit" to steer farmers toward adding wind turbines and solar farms and methane digesters to their land.  Vilsack will likely provide balanced support for crop and livestock agriculture.

Vilsack will be the third governor in a row in the top agriculture spot.  The two before him were governors from Nebraska and North Dakota.