Trump Names Brooke Rollins for Ag Secretary

President-elect Trump has nominated Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture. In his announcement he said, "Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none...As our next Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke will spearhead the effort to protect American Farmers, who are truly the backbone of our Country.” 

Ms. Rollins grew up in the agricultural community. She was raised on a farm and was actively involved in the FFA and 4-H, going on to get a degree in agricultural development. During her time in the first Trump Administration and throughout her time in Washington, she has learned where the government can cut unnecessary spending as well as where it can work to support the American people and agricultural economies through practices like less burdensome taxes and regulations.

I look forward to working with the Trump administration to fight for our rural economies, reducing inefficiencies in ag support, advocating for family farms, and driving innovation.

On the Farm Bill

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has finally released its long-awaited draft of the 2024 Farm Bill.  

Like so many, I am disappointed and frustrated that a Farm Bill has not passed this year. Chairman Thompson and the House Ag Committee have worked so hard to build a farm-friendly bill, and a one-year extension is far from the outcome we in the House wanted.

I am sorry to say the blame lies squarely with the Senate. Way back in May the House Ag Committee passed a bipartisan bill that responded to the needs of the farm economy. The Senate waited until this week to release a bill that does not meaningfully strengthen the farm safety net, something that has come up in nearly every single conversation with farmers as essential to the next farm bill. “Too little, too late” is an understatement. I look forward to a Republican Senate and a Senate Ag Committee that will work with us to pass a meaningful farm bill.

I have reached out to my Agricultural Advisory Committee asking their thoughts and comments on the legislation and what it would mean for rural Minnesota, and I welcome your input, too. If you have comments or questions, do not hesitate to reach out to my office. 

Supporting the Ag Industry in Education

The USDA's Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Program allocates grants to assist communities in acquiring the essential technology and training needed to establish connections between educational and medical experts, students, teachers, and patients residing in rural areas. The fund can also be used to purchase audio/ video equipment, broadband facilities used for distance learning or telemedicine, computer hardware, network components, software, and instructional programming. I recently cosponsored the Rural Telehealth and Education Enhancement Act to extend USDA’s DLT Program through Fiscal Year 2028.

I also cosponsored the Community College Agriculture Advancement Act, which introduces capacity-building grants specifically for community college agriculture and natural resource programs to ensure a continuous supply of trained agricultural workers. Recognizing community colleges' pivotal role in agricultural education, this legislation focuses on programs such as agribusiness, aquaculture, horticulture, precision agriculture, livestock, dairy, forest and natural resources management, viticulture, enology, and more.

Supplemental Ag Assistance for 2024 Crop Year

Whether it's from inflation, drought, or something else outside of their control, many producers are expecting revenue from the 2024 crop year to be below the projected per-acre cost of production. I recently cosponsored the Farmer Assistance and Revenue Mitigation (FARM) Act to provide emergency assistance to producers of eligible commodities. This assistance is a critical component in helping producers pay down debt regarding the 2024 crop year and assist in obtaining financing for 2025.

Concerns About USDA Grants Process

As you may know, Pure Prairie Poultry filed for bankruptcy in September, leaving 50 farmers and more than 2 million chickens without essential feed and processing services across Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Unfortunately, in Minnesota, some chickens had to be wastefully slaughtered due to lack of resources and the size of the chickens, and since the feed companies placed liens on some of the chickens, processing plants did not accept them.

In 2022, Pure Prairie Poultry secured significant funding, including a guaranteed loan of $38.7 million from USDA Rural Development’s Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program and a $6.9 million grant from the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. All this was granted despite the fact that, according to the bankruptcy filing, the company was already reporting liabilities and projecting a negative cash flow.

This raises concerns about USDA's process and whether they conducted thorough due diligence before awarding these grants. I have joined my colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary Vilsack sharing our concerns. 

In part, the letter reads:
“While we share USDA’s desired goals of expanding meat processing capacity and markets and building a robust national food supply chain, it is critical that livestock producers have resilient systems to ensure the production of healthy and affordable protein for both domestic and global consumption. Moreover, American taxpayers deserve the peace of mind that their dollars are being spent wisely.”

Best Practices, Disease Prevention, and Strong Supply Chains

Precision agriculture increases crop yields while lowering overall inputs and increasing environmental benefits. However, acquiring the latest technologies can be prohibitive for farmers, due to the high up-front costs. The PRECISE Act incentivizes precision agriculture practices by including eligibility for precision agriculture within existing USDA conservation programs.

The Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act makes investments for the ag industry to aid in prevention, response, and the mitigation of foreign animal disease. The 7th District ranks #1 in Minnesota and #5 in the country's livestock, poultry, and products. Producers continually face increasing threats from foreign animal diseases, which an outbreak would cripple the entire agricultural sector. The programs funded in this bill provide the resources critical to these industries. 

China accessing strategic control of vital sectors of our food and agricultural supply chain poses a serious threat to national security. Losing access to these critical inputs that could reduce agricultural productivity, decreasing domestic food security, and increasing consumer prices. The Securing American Agriculture Act aims to assess and bolster the agricultural supply chain and provide the necessary tools for proactive supply chain management, especially from the Chinese Communist Party.

Thank you for reading!

fischbach.house.gov

Unsubscribe