Rollins: USDA Seeking Long-Term Fix
Published: Friday, October 3, 2025
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins spoke about financial stressors on the farm last Thursday in Kansas City, Mo. at the annual Ag Outlook Forum. She said the U.S. Department of Agriculture is focused on five goals to support farmers and help the industry thrive.
Those goals include: prioritizing farmers through funding, driving down input costs, expanding trade markets for agricultural prosperity, international food assistance and protecting farmland in the U.S.
Rollins spoke about the centrality of agriculture to the American Republic and "to the American Experiment."
The USDA head contrasted American agriculture at the nation's origin to what it is now, stating that approximately 96% of Americans were farmers during the birth of the U.S., compared to now when only about 1% of the population is farming.
"We have a lot of challenges in agriculture right now," Rollins said.
As the number of Americans in farming has dwindled, the pressures on the business have begun to pile up. Rollins described this as a crisis and said the cost of doing business, increase in trade and energy costs, and challenges in foreign policy are overwhelming, causing the ag trade balance to deteriorate over the past few years. Now there is a nearly $50 billion trade deficit.
"There are bills that are due this month, deals needed in the next six to eight weeks so we can plant next year, and mouths that need fed tonight," Rollins said at the Sept. 25 agriculture forum.
The USDA is seeking a long-term fix.
In order to achieve the long-term fix and bring agriculture back into the center of U.S. values and function, Rollins said agriculture must first achieve the five goals she has outlined.
Rollins plans to prioritize farmers through funding programs such as the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) and the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP). She noted that since the beginning of the new administration, USDA has distributed $13 billion to farmers in need.
She also celebrated wins achieved through the passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill earlier this year, noting the new policies on reference prices.
Another win in the agriculture sector today is that second quarter Gross Domestic Product is up 8.5%, she said.
However, the secretary noted several rising input costs across the agriculture industry. Over the past five years, feed costs have gone up 18% across the nation, fuel and oil expenses, 32%; fertilizer expenses, 37%; and interest expenses, 73%.
Rollins attributed much of this to "undue foreign influence" and the USDA is addressing this through a Memorandum of Understanding between the agency and the Department of Justice (see related article on this page) in order to evaluate the competitive condition in the agriculture industry. She said the memorandum prioritizes protection from burdensome input costs and healthy market competition across the industry.
"Input prices should not be a problem," Rollins said. "The Fed needs to keep lowering rates."
She also addressed the increase in labor expenses, stating that the cost of utilizing the H-2A program has driven the cost of labor to over $54 billion, a 47% increase over the past five years.
"It will take Congress to fix this problem," she said.
Rollins added that USDA has discontinued the farm labor survey due to data being used to create the Adverse Effect Wage Rates, which she said have had an adverse effect on farmers.
"It (the survey) was never designed to be used in this way," she said.
USDA is now working with the Department of Labor to alleviate some of the costs of the H-2A program.
Rollins said the USDA is utilizing the International Food Assistance Program to foster strategic partnerships around the world for future agricultural market access while providing much needed nutrition to countries in need.
With the recent news of the New World Screwworm being found just 70 miles south of the border, Rollins called on Mexico to "lock down cattle movement" in affected areas, charging the neighboring country with the responsibility of controlling the spread of the parasite.
The USDA has also increased funding for disease research in order to address the possibility of New World Screwworm infiltrating U.S. herds.
As the pressures are increasing on the currently thriving beef industry, Rollins said demand for beef and whole milk is growing, and USDA is prioritizing solutions to the dwindling cattle count.
"Low inventory is a threat," she said. "We are dedicated to fixing it."
However, she addressed rumors of producer payouts, stating there are no current plans to offer payments to producers, but there is a focus on fostering competition across the market and opening more land for cattle.
Finally, Rollins said it is vital to protect U.S. farmland. She highlighted a new policy preventing prime farmland from being used for solar farming. Farmland protection will also be achieved through the careful tracking of foreign adversaries, she said.
Despite the current challenges across the industry, Rollins remains optimistic about the future of agriculture and expressed her dedication to improving the conditions in the ag sector.
"I truly believe the best days of U.S. agriculture are ahead," she said.
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