USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins told industry leaders Sunday that farmers would be getting the first installment of more than $30 billion in economic assistance within the next few weeks as the federal agency works with the Department of Government Efficiency to complete a sweeping review of staffing and programs.
Rollins, speaking before a jam-packed audience on the main stage at Commodity Classic, also announced the USDA will soon be releasing funding for the popular EQIP, CSP and ACEP programs that had been previously frozen during the review process.
The economic assistance program distributing aid to farmers will now be called ECAP – the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program. Rollins also promised a streamlined application process.
“Given dire state of farm economy, we’ve been working as diligently and quickly as possible, understanding the urgency of getting these funds out the door,” Rollins said. “It is a new day, and we are here to serve you.”
The USDA is also working on distributing $20 billion in weather disaster assistance, and is changing its policies to avoid unnecessary delays. Rollins also vowed to work with the Congress to pass a Farm Bill by the end of this year, and to work with President Trump to expand tax cuts and repeal the death tax “once and for all.”
Necessary Pain
Rollins says the USDA is following Trump’s directives to review contracts, personnel and “wasteful” spending, noting that only a small portion of the agency’s $230 billion budget goes to supporting agriculture. Some 340 contracts totaling $300 million have been terminated, including 948 DEI employee training sessions.
“We are going line by line by line through the budget to root out wasteful programs, especially ones that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and far-left climate agendas and then actually repurposing that for you and doing what's best for your farms,” Rollins says.
Rollins acknowledged some mistakes were made in some government staff that were let go and those were being rectified in some cases with personnel being rehired.
“I feel confident that as we look to right-size the USDA and all of the agencies across government, as we look to realign the agency to better serve our farmers and our ranchers, and as we look to move out things like diversity, equity, and inclusion and progressive ideals in terms of how we move money out, those days are over,” Rollins says. “Now we look to really focus on those truly feeding this country and the world.”
Rollins has expressed concern about the farm economy, which the USDA says is suffering from a $49 billion trade deficit. The cost of inputs has gone up 30% in the last 4-5 years and regulations have been “layered” on the industry, she says.
“We are attacking it from all sides, putting together the plan that can hopefully begin to roll that back,” Rollins told a large contingent of ag media Sunday. “I am planning to very aggressively, with President Trump's permission, go out into the world and look to expand our markets and make obtaining capital easier — especially for our younger farmers — as we begin to build hopefully the next generation of our leaders in agriculture.”
The Kennedy Factor
Rollins was asked about her thoughts about U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, who has been sharply critical of the reliance on GMO technology, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in production agriculture.
Rollins says use of land and labor has declined in her lifetime: The amount of feed a dairy cow needs to produce a hundred pounds of milk has decreased by more than 40%, land stewardship has decreased soil erosion by 50%, and cattlemen have added another 100 pounds of beef to a carcass.
American consumers spend only 10% of their disposable income on food, which is the “lowest the world has ever seen. We owe this to hard work innovation and modern practices developed on your farms and by those partners in science who never stop trying to get better.
“It’s time we make it easier, not harder for you to own, operate, and expand your farms.”
Rollins maintained she is building a “strong relationship” with Kennedy but was quick to add she may spend time making sure he, “understands that some of the things, maybe, that he has been told or believed or has read isn't entirely accurate. And the importance of ensuring that our farmers and our ranchers and really America understands the importance of things like pesticides and others to ensure that we can continue to feed America and, frankly, to feed the world.
“I'm very encouraged that as we work to make America healthy again, we can do it in a very intentional way that doesn't compromise our farmers and our ranchers and our ag community but actually helps to elevate and make them more prosperous than ever before.”
Rollins admitted farmers are also concerned about potential tariff wars with trading partners and noted the administration is trying to make decisions with all the data and information available to understand the implications of tariffs.
Rollins was asked if there were plans to introduce assistance to producers that have lost out because of, for example, rising input prices due to threatened tariffs against Mexico and Canada.
“Everything is on the table right now. President Trump, whom I speak with regularly, realizes the state of the farm economy in this country. Last time I know he pushed (former USDA) Secretary Purdue to ensure we made farmers whole … as best as we could,” Rollins said. “We're building the team at USDA to ensure we have the structure and plan in place to allow us to move very quickly.”
