By Jamie Martin
After nearly 100 days of traveling across the country and meeting directly with hundreds of farmers, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins has introduced the first round of policy proposals under her newly launched Make Agriculture Great Again Initiative.
This set of proposals is designed to strengthen the sustainability and future of small family farms, which make up roughly 86% of all farms in the United States.
The initiative, titled the Farmers First: Small Family Farms Policy Agenda, outlines a range of strategies to tackle the unique challenges small-scale family farmers face.
These strategies include simplifying application procedures, improving consistent access to credit, preserving farmland for agricultural use, and providing better tools for business planning and risk management.
Among the key priorities in the agenda are:
- Simplifying and making application tools more transparent;
- Ensuring dependable access to farm credit;
- Keeping productive farmland actively farmed;
- Making it easier to pass farms to future generations;
- Focusing USDA programs more directly on the needs of farmers;
- Reforming labor policies;
- Enhancing access to business planning and risk management resources;
- Updating definitions of farm sizes to reflect today’s realities;
- Increasing access to educational tools for farmers;
- Offering a wider range of resources tailored to small farms.
These proposals build on discussions from the recent Farmers First Roundtable at USDA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where Secretary Rollins engaged with over 20 farmers and ranchers from 11 states, along with Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and leaders from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA).
“America’s family farms help feed, fuel, and clothe the world, but they also face some of the greatest challenges in getting their farms started and keeping them running. Putting Farmers First means addressing the issues farmers face head-on and fostering an economic environment that doesn’t put up roadblocks on business creation but removes them,” said Secretary Rollins.
“Today’s policy agenda is tailored specifically to support small-scale farms to thrive for generations to come. President Trump knows America’s economic prosperity depends on the success of our farmers and ranchers. That is why we are working to ensure those who want to start and keep their own farms for generations to come are able to.”
Photo Credit: usda
Categories: National