Rollins announces policy agenda

After nearly 100 days of traveling the nation and visiting directly with hundreds of farmers across America, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins released the first set of policy proposals under her newly launched Make Agriculture Great Again Initiative.

These initial proposals (PDF, 7.2 MB) are a comprehensive set of policy solutions aimed at improving the viability and longevity of smaller-scale family farms for generations to come. About 86 percent of all farms in the United States are small family farms. To ensure small family farmers can start and stay in business, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has outlined a toolkit of actions, including the streamlining of application processes, improving reliable access to credit, farmland, and markets, and appropriate business planning tools.

The Small Family Farms Policy Agenda provides actionable solutions to a variety of challenges faced by small family farmers:

1. Ensure Simple Streamlined and Transparent Tools and Applications;

2. Ensure Reliable Access to Credit;

3. Ensure Working Farmland is Used to Farm;

4. Ensure Small Farms Can Be Passed On to the Next Generation for Generations to Come;

5. Hyperfocus USDA Programs for Farmers on Farmers;

6. Labor Reform;

7. Enhance Access to Risk Management and Business Planning Tools;

8. Ensure Definitions of Farm Size Reflect Modern Day Realities;

9. Enhance Farmer Access to Educational Resources;

10. Other Small Farm Resources Available.