America's Economic Bright Spot - Farming - NYTimes.com The most avid political junkies probably couldn't name five U.S. agriculture secretaries; Tom Vilsack, the current occupant of the post, may be about to join that short list. The farm sector is one of the few bright spots in a rough U.S. economy. Mr. Vilsack, the popular former governor of Iowa, who has an appreciation of policy and politics, is one of the success stories of the Obama administration. Usually, the Agriculture Department, started under Abraham Lincoln and celebrating its 150th birthday this year, is a backwater that serves to pacify disgruntled farmers. The most memorable secretaries owe their prominence to controversy. Henry Wallace, a creative force in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration before he became F.D.R."s vice president, later became a left-wing challenger to President Harry Truman during the Cold War; Richard Nixon's secretary, Earl Butz, was forced out after uttering racist and anti-Catholic jokes. Mr. Vilsack, 61, has been in office three years, and is emerging as one of the most effective and respected agriculture chiefs. "He's doing a very good job," Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican, says of his fellow Iowan. The veteran lawmaker gives Mr. Vilsack high grades for settling civil rights issues concerning black farmers, helping family farmers get more information and compete better, and increasing agricultural exports. "I've heard nothing negative about him," Mr. Grassley says. There isn't much negative to say about agriculture these days. Farm income reached an estimated $100 billion for the first time last year. Real family income, down for most Americans, has risen 5 percent for family farmers under the Obama-Vilsack tenure. The value of farm lands is at a record high, and farm debt fell almost 2 percent last year. That positive trend emerges across the board. The number of farmers markets has climbed to more than 7,000, an increase of 54 percent from 2008. Agriculture-dependent companies like John Deere and Monsanto are posting record profits. Agricultural exports soared to $136.3 billion last year, producing a net trade surplus of $42 billion; this surplus was $5 billion five years ago. The largest market is China; it's no coincidence that when Vice President Xi Jinping of China visits the United States this week, he will stop in Muscatine, Iowa. Mr. Vilsack says his department has successfully targeted 15 to 20 countries to increase exports. One of those is Vietnam, which he visited last year, and is now the 15th largest customer for U.S. farm products. The secretary estimates that his focus on exports and other issues like food safety and climate change means that up to 40 percent of his time is spent on global matters. "You can't name a critical issue today where we don't have an impact," he says; that includes work in places like Afghanistan, where the United States is promoting crops to replace opium poppies. Mr. Vilsack has shown resiliency all his life. Abandoned only days after birth, he was adopted from an orphanage. He later went on to get a law degree, got into politics, and in 1998, became the first Democrat elected governor of Iowa in 30 years. Five years ago, he briefly entertained the idea of running for president; he dropped out of the race and embraced the candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton. As a successful two-term Iowa governor with deep expertise in agricultural issues, he was an obvious choice for President Barack Obama to tap as the 30th agriculture secretary. Nonetheless, the appointment was greeted with skepticism by sustainable food advocates and environmentalists, who worried he would be too pro-farmer. Business groups, meanwhile, were concerned he would be too pro-regulation. He has walked these delicate lines adroitly and wins praise from diverse groups. "We have a good working relationship," says Bob Stallman, the president of the conservative American Farm Bureau.