In a visit to Nebraska on Monday, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins unveiled several initiatives she says are designed to “Make Agriculture Great Again” by increasing access to credit, succession planning and land acquisition for small family farms.
Rollins also said federal departments are working to find a solution to labor challenges, including immigrant workers that many farms rely on, as the U.S. continues its crackdown on illegal immigration.
The initial proposals are a “comprehensive set of policy solutions” aimed at improving the viability and longevity of smaller-scale family farms, Rollins said, noting that about 86 percent of all farms in the U.S. are defined as small family farms.
Rollins’ administration says the policy rollout builds on the Farmers First Roundtable event recently held in Washington, where she heard from farmers and ranchers from 11 states who run smaller-scale, family-owned operations.
Rollins also heard from Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Monday about challenges facing smaller-scale family farms across America.
“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,” Rollins said in a statement. “Today’s policy agenda is tailored specifically to support small-scale farms to thrive for generations to come.”
One challenge younger farmers and ranchers often face in starting their own operation is land acquisition, whether it’s purchased or rented, mostly due to rising land values or competition with real estate development, including solar development on productive farmland,” Rollins says.
Although the Farm Service Administration (FSA) has farm loan programs, Rollins says the USDA is “evaluating new shared services platforms” loan programs to “streamline delivery and increase program efficiencies” to ensure small producers have reliable access to credit and farmland.
Rollins also revealed her agency will “disincentivize” the use of federal funding at USDA for solar panels to be installed on productive farmland, “through prioritization points and regulatory action. Farmland should be for agricultural production, not solar production.”
Noting the average farmer age in the U.S. is 58, farm succession is a major issue and Rollins says there are, “many institutional barriers that disincentivize the transition of farms and ranches” to the next generation.
“Older producers often lack a clear succession plan, and looming tax burdens create disincentives to transfer land to the next generation.”
The USDA says Congress must ensure farms and ranches are protected from an increase in the death tax, and Section 179 — which allows eligible small businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying farm and business equipment upfront — should be expanded to further benefit U.S. farmers and ranchers, including family farms.
Congress should restore 100% bonus depreciation expensing, Rollins added. “If phased out in 2025, family farms, among others, will be unable to immediately deduct their business investments.”
With the ongoing apprehensions and deportations of illegal immigrants across the U.S., the issue is making many farmers nervous as the planting season is wrapping up this spring.
The Agricultural Labor Affairs Coordinator (ALAC) operates within the Office of the Chief Economist and functions as the USDA-wide coordinator for agricultural labor issues, including regulations and immigration issues, and is responsible for coordinating activities with other Federal agencies.
Rollins said Monday the USDA will leverage ALAC in, “actively working with other federal agencies such as the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security to address the critical issue of labor access for agricultural producers.”
The USDA is, “aggressively exploring coordinated solutions” with the agencies and Congress to ensure a “stable, reliable and legal workforce for agriculture,” Rollins says. “Small farmers can’t diversify or grow their business without access to labor, and we must take action to relieve this persistent issue, including H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant visa classification reform.”
Earlier this spring, the USDA announced it overhauled the former President Biden-era Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities initiative into the Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative. The move is meant to ensure a minimum of 65% of federal funds must go to producers instead of special interests.
The USDA says it’s working to “improve and strengthen” state and federal food inspection agreements to expand access to processing capacity to “bolster the U.S. food system’s resilience and security.
“USDA will also prioritize local farmers in institutional and public food procurement policies, coupled with an effort to educate small farmers on the policies, with an emphasis on USDA nutrition programs such as Section 32, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, SNAP Healthy Incentives, Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, and the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program.
