The current $284 billion dollar farm bill expires next September.
The most controversial items include direct payments, which growers of certain crops receive regardless of crop prices and yields.
Many lawmakers and some farmers support scrapping direct payments in favor of better crop insurance.
Vilsack said farm aid is crucial, but it must involve some kind of accountability.
He also says aid must be delivered faster when disasters happen.
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Nearly a quarter of California farmworker families live in poverty.
The U.S. Department of Labor reports farmworkers play a crucial role in feeding Californians, yet low wages make it hard for many farmworkers to feed their own families.
Farm work is one of the most hazardous occupations in the state, but a California Institute for Rural Studies report found that nearly 70 percent of California farmworkers have no health insurance.
