Agriculture can lead Iowa to a more prosperous future by working with its urban neighbors to create jobs and opportunities for young people to emerge as leaders, former Iowa governor and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said Aug. 19 at the Iowa State Fair.

"I don’t see why we can’t have a more bullish future than we have today," said Vilsack, who joined Bill Menner, former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rural development director for Iowa, to discuss rural economic and social issues during an hour-long panel discussion on the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the state fair.

One of the...