It is officially National Agriculture Day in Washington D.C. and leaders across the industry are gathered to celebrate this morning at the USDA. Deputy Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Brooke Appleton greeted attendees at the department Tuesday morning with the news that Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins would be making a big announcement. “Secretary Rollins will be announcing that …
Sec. Rollins Rocks #Classic25 Trade Show Stage
New U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins received a standing ovation from thousands of farmers across the country Sunday as she made an appearance at the Commodity Classic in Denver on the Trade Show Main Stage. Rollins brought a message from President Trump. “He wants all of you to know that he hears you. He knows that times have been …
Sec. Rollins Meets Press at #Classic25
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins met with about 50 members of the farm press just before an appearance at the 2025 Commodity Classic in Denver Sunday afternoon. Rollins has had a full schedule since being confirmed two weeks ago, appearing at the National Farm Machinery Show and meeting with farmers around the country, so her visit to Classic was …
Secretary Rollins Goes to Work at USDA
After being confirmed by the Senate yesterday, Brooke Rollins was immediately sworn in as the 33rd U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Clarence Thomas in a private ceremony today at the Supreme Court building. “It is the honor of a lifetime to serve as the nation’s thirty-third Secretary of Agriculture — and a privilege …
Brooke Rollins Confirmed as Agriculture Secretary
Brooke Rollins of Texas was confirmed as the 33rd Secretary of Agriculture Thursday by a vote of 72-28. Rollins served in Trump’s previous administration as acting director of the Domestic Policy Council and oversaw the White House Office of American Innovation. She since co-founded and served as president and chief executive officer of the America First Policy Institute. She has …
USDA Nominee Faces Senate Ag Committee
The Senate Agriculture Committee hosted the confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Agriculture on Thursday. Brooke Rollins is the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute and worked in the previous Trump administration in the White House Office of American Innovation and United States Domestic Policy Council. Prior to that, she was the president …
Farewell to USDA Secretary Vilsack
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack leaves a job this week that he has held for 12 of the past 16 years, and as he goes, he says it has been both an honor and a privilege to serve. “Only one other person in the history of the country has had this job longer than I have and only five other …
Sec. Vilsack Bids Farewell with Climate-Smart Agriculture Rule
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack held his last official press conference of his tenure at USDA on Wednesday, announcing the publication of an interim rule on Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks. The interim rule establishes guidelines for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the production of biofuel feedstock commodity crops …
USDA Completes Reform of Packers & Stockyards Rule
In one of his last official acts in the waning days of the Biden administration, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the third installment in a series of regulatory reforms under the Packers and Stockyards Act. Along with other finalized updates, this completes a major regulatory reform intended to “level the playing field for farmers who raise chicken, turkeys, hogs, …
Farm Income Continues to Fall
The USDA Economic Research Service 2024 Farm Sector Income Forecast shows farm income is down again this year, but not as much as it was last year. While the report compares different measures of farm income, the bottom line is that, adjusted for inflation, net farm income is forecast to decrease by $9.5 billion (6.3 percent) from 2023 to 2024. …