Tom Vilsack tackles new priorities at U.S. Department of Agriculture Vilsack returns to a department — and an industry — in the midst of a pandemic, in the process of recovering from a series of trade skirmishes, and in the grips of lingering questions about long-standing inequalities to a select group of producers. 5:30 am, Mar. 14, 2021 × Tom Vilsack (Photo by Adam Schultz / Biden for President) Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is probably the most experienced person to ever be one week into the top job at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, things have changed so much since January 2017 — when he left USDA headquarters for the last time as secretary — that it might as well be a different universe, much less a different administration.