Secretary of Ag spoke at Commodity Classic on Sunday

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins spoke to Commodity Classic attendees in Denver on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Sec. Rollins said she and President Trump know that times have been tough over the past 4 years and neither of them will forget the American farmer or rancher and they will never stop fighting for them. Her vision for American agriculture will not tolerate levels of bureaucracy, but will usher in a new era of prosperity and a new course for ag policy. She plans to update USDA systems and refocus USDA programs to focus on farmers and ranchers, not on DEI programs. She stated USDA offices are now open and workers are in person and ready to help producers.

She noted her team will be releasing the funds for EQUIP (Environment Quality Incentive Program), CSP (Conservation Stewardship Program), and ACEP (Agricultural Conservatory Easement Program) back to those who participated in these programs and they will be doing so by the end of the month in most cases.

Another main goal is the Disaster and Economic Relief program which has 3 key principles:

Simple

Transparent

Fast

This economic assistance program will be called ECAP (Emergency Commodity Assistance Program) and it will help distribute the $30 million in funds congress passed in December of 2024. The timeline is to start distributing the first $10 million in funds within 90 days, but she said they should beat that timeframe and funds should start being released within the next few weeks.

Sec. Rollins main priorities include expanding tax cuts and repealing the death tax once and for all. She emphasized that this administration's goal is to continue the legacy of family farms by getting the government out of the way, which also includes decreasing EPA regulations.

Another goal is to get a Farm Bill done by the end of the year. Sec. Rollins will also be working with Sec. Kennedy on efforts to make America healthy again, but do so in a way that won’t compromise farmers or their farming practices.

On the topic of trade, she stated that President Trump will ensure farmers will be treated fairly by our trading partners. The goal is to expand trade and market access for all commodities.