DES MOINES - Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will be nominated as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, according to Democratic sources close to the nomination process.

Vilsack, a strong proponent of ethanol who made a brief bid for the presidency in 2007, will be named today by President-elect Barack Obama at a news conference in Chicago, a senior Democratic official said.

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., will be announced as Obama's pick for interior secretary.

Vilsack, 58, will lead a sprawling federal bureaucracy charged with overseeing farm subsidies, land conservation, food safety and hunger programs.

Both environmentalists and food industry leaders reacted positively to the choice of Vilsack, a political centrist.

"We're encouraged by it," said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group. "He thinks we need to reform the subsidy system, he recognizes the importance of the food programs, and he's very good on conservation."

Tom Buis, president of the National Farmers Union, called Vilsack a "great choice" who "has an understanding of the challenges and opportunities that exist in rural America."

Meanwhile, bipartisan praise came Tuesday night as news of the selection spread in Iowa.

Gov. Chet Culver said Vilsack knows agriculture, renewable energy and rural development.

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said, as governor, Vilsack had a "firsthand look at the role of agriculture in our global economy."

"I'm happy for him, happy for Iowa, and this is welcome news for agriculture," Grassley said.

"Tom Vilsack has the experience, dedication and forward-looking thinking critically needed to build a better future for all Americans in food, agriculture, conservation and the economic vitality of rural communities," U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said.

Vilsack couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

Vilsack's confirmation would keep the top job at the USDA in the hands of a Midwesterner. Ed Schafer, the current secretary, is from North Dakota.

Left as an infant at a Roman Catholic orphanage, Vilsack was raised by his adoptive parents in Pittsburgh. He settled in his wife's home town of Mount Pleasant, served as mayor there, and was elected governor in 1998, serving two four-year terms.

Obama has made clear that renewable energy will be a key issue in his administration, and Vilsack as agriculture secretary would make Iowa's concerns ever present. Vilsack consistently pushed for incentives to build the state's renewable energy industry as governor.

After dropping his own bid for the presidency, Vilsack, supported U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton in the runup to the Iowa caucuses. However, after Obama won the Democratic Party's nomination, Vilsack campaigned for him.

Since being governor, Vilsack has been working at a variety of jobs, including as an attorney and at Iowa State University's Biosafety Institute. He's also been a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

On the often controversial issue of farm subsidies, Vilsack has taken a moderate position, siding at times with those favoring a shift of funding in the agriculture budget from traditional subsidies to new kinds of supports for farmers that improve soil and water management.

"I didn't get much of a reaction from farmers because deep down most of them know the system needs to be changed," Vilsack said in a recent interview with The Washington Post.

Contact Ed Tibbetts at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.