Johanns draws fire and what about Conner?

The Democratic response to Mike Johanns resigning as Agriculture Secretary was fairly predictable. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., told The Hill that the decision to step down "borders on irresponsible" considering the farm bill hangs in the balance. Sen.. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., agreed Johanns should have "crossed the finish line" with the farm bill complete before moving on.

That perspective is quite partisan, since Congress is responsible for writing the the legislation for the farm bill. It is the Senate that is behind schedule, and whether or not Johanns stayed on would have had no impact on the timetable.

Meanwhile, Acting Secretary Chuck Conner is viewed as a "no nonsense" communicator with little "warm and fuzzy" quotient. He and other USDA officials met recently with some members of the Fruit and Veggies: more Matters steering committee to look at the progress of signing a Memorandum of Understanding between USDA and CDC about the More Matters program. There is no news on when the memorandum will be signed. It replaces an earlier MOU between USDA and the National Cancer Institute, which was previously the government lead for the 5 a Day campaign.