UPDATE 2-US climate bill needs improvements-USDA's Vilsack

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By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - The climate change bill being drafted in the U.S. House is ripe for improvement, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Thursday, but he vowed farms and forests will play a central role in controlling greenhouse gases despite skepticism among lawmakers.

U.S. farm groups, along with Democrats and Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee, have been sharply critical of the bill they say threatens to leave farmers in the lurch.

Representative Collin Peterson, the chairman of the farm panel, met late on Thursday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leading Democrats to air his concerns.

Peterson left the 90-minute meeting telling reporters, "We made some good progress in a number of areas and we still have a few things to work through."

He did not provide details.

Representative Henry Waxman, a main backer of the climate change legislation, added, "There's a desire to bridge the differences and I'm hopeful we can do that."

The agriculture industry is seeking protections for corn-based ethanol as an alternative fuel and prefers to have the Department of Agriculture, rather than the Environmental Protection Agency, oversee its contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.