Other Ag News:
Shelbyville, KY, Feb. 15, 2025—U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins began her tenure with a visit to Kentucky, engaging directly with farmers and the agricultural community.
Washington, D.C., Feb. 15, 2025—Following the confirmation of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, leaders across the agriculture industry and elected officials are voicing their support. Here’s what they are saying:
Washington, D.C., Feb. 14, 2025—On her first full day in office, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins took bold action to advance President Trump’s agenda and ensure that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) better serves American farmers, ranchers, loggers and the agriculture community.
Here are seven key actions Secretary Rollins took on Day One.
Washington, D.C., Feb. 14, 2025—Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins addressed more than 400 USDA staffers, stakeholders and friends and pledged to bring greater efficiency to USDA to ensure it better serves American farmers, ranchers, and the agriculture community. She reviewed findings from the Department of Government Efficiency and welcomes the opportunity to optimize the USDA workforce and stop wasteful spending.
Washington, D.C., Feb. 14, 2025 — Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins delivered opening remarks at the Department of Agriculture to more than 400 USDA employees, stakeholders, and congressional members and staff as they welcomed her to her first full day on the job.
A recording of Secretary Rollins’ remarks can be found on the USDA website.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 13, 2025 — Brooke Rollins was 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. The U.S. Senate confirmed Rollins by a vote of 72-to-28.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laura Zaks
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
press@sustainableagriculture.net
Tel. 347.563.6408
Washington, DC, February 13, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released the following statement attributable to Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director, in response to the Senate confirmation of Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture with a 72-28 vote:
“Secretary Rollins’ first order of business must be to relieve and reverse the pain and confusion being felt by farmers and communities nationwide from the federal funding freeze. This includes honoring legal obligations to farmers and organizations by immediately releasing funding on all signed contracts. For weeks now, farmers and communities have been subjected to the chaos and uncertainty of an indiscriminate federal funding freeze, including unlawful contract terminations. Other critical work lies ahead – to deliver disaster relief to uninsured producers, and to steer the USDA toward supporting the economic viability of all farmers and communities. We look forward to sharing our members’ experiences and priorities with Secretary Rollins and the USDA.”
For more information about Secretary Rollins, stay tuned to NSAC’s blog.
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About the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities. Learn more: https://sustainableagriculture.net/
The post Comment: NSAC Responds to Senate Confirmation of Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Laura Zaks
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
press@sustainableagriculture.net
Washington, DC, February 12, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) organized more than 130 farmers, ranchers, and community advocates to call for urgent action on Capitol Hill around the ongoing federal funding freeze and critical farm bill and appropriations priorities. Coalition members held nearly 150 meetings with key members of Congress, including House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders and agriculture appropriators. Farmers and advocates from across the nation have gathered to share stories of how continued uncertainty and confusion from USDA and Congress are resulting in real-world impacts on farms and communities.
“The new Congress must make it a top priority to immediately halt and rectify the ongoing federal funding freeze before there are irreversible and devastating impacts to farmers and communities. Farmers are delaying planting decisions and owed tens of thousands of dollars in contract payments for infrastructure the federal government agreed to support months ago. Organizations are laying off staff, canceling events and programs, and halting critical community services for the hungry. This serves no one – it creates uncertainty, wastes money, and destroys trust in the federal government,” said Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director.
“We are entering our third year without a new farm bill, amidst a monthslong delay in FY25 appropriations and a new budget resolution that proposes hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to farm bill programs. We need leadership from lawmakers that is accountable to the needs of producers and communities. We are on the Hill to deliver that message and share our priorities today,” Lavender added.
The Coalition is calling on members of Congress to:
- Act to ensure USDA honors its legal obligations and releases payments to farmers and organizations on signed contracts without delay to avoid causing any further impacts to farmers and the organizations that work with them.
- Enact swift passage of a fiscal year (FY) 25 spending bill that sustains funding for critical sustainable agriculture programs.
- Develop a new, comprehensive, and bipartisan farm bill that addresses Coalition priorities to advance conservation, reform the farm safety net, build resilient food and farm systems, and much more.
NSAC has been a leader in agricultural policy for more than 35 years and has been instrumental in helping to develop some of our nation’s most successful agricultural programs for conserving natural resources, advancing the next generation of farmers, supporting agricultural research, and creating sustainable market connections.
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About the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a grassroots alliance that advocates for federal policy reform supporting the long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability of agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities. Learn more and get involved at: https://sustainableagriculture.net
The post Release: Frozen Funding, Stalled Programs, Farm Bill Impacts: Farmers, Ranchers, and Advocates Elevate Urgent Priorities on Capitol Hill appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 12, 2025 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released the following statement regarding the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) review of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack’s choice to modify the longstanding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) obligation practice.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 7, 2025 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture clarified today that the Foreign Agricultural Service is continuing activities for projects funded by the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Childhood Nutrition Program and the Food for Progress Program.
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