(Radio Iowa) – After a 12-year run as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack will be the next C-E-O of the World Food Prize Foundation. Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad’s tenure as leader of the Des Moines-based organization is set to end January 31st. Vilsack will take over on March 1st. Vilsack has said his interest in the agriculture sector was rooted in his work as a Mount Pleasant lawyer representing farmers during the Farm Crisis. “As a mayor, as a state senator, as a governor and as secretary I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in, to encourage and support programs that will advance opportunities for farmers, ranchers and producers,” Vilsack says, “because I remember the pain of the Farm Crisis of the ’80s.”

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack (photo from Ag Secretary’s office)

Vilsack turned 74 in December and, during an interview with Radio Iowa last month, Vilsack indicated he did not intend to retire. “My hope is I get a chance to figure out ways in which I can continue to make a contribution. I don’t think I’m ready for retirement and I don’t think I’d be very good at it,” Vilsack said. “…I hope that I’m able to continue focusing on ways in which I can showcase the work of American agriculture, that I can showcase opportunities to expand rural economies and the farm economy to give small and mid-sized producers a chance. I also have been working extraordinarily hard on nutrition and food security issues both domestically and globally.”

The World Food Prize Foundation announced Vilsack’s hiring early this (Tuesday) morning.