March 23, 2026, 8:00 a.m. ET
In her first year in office, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins has staffed the department with leaders who look to support the Trump administration’s focus on supporting farmers, overhauling government nutrition programs, rebuilding the livestock industry, supporting biofuels and more. Much needs to be done, according to Rollins, who grew up on a farm and earned an agriculture development degree from Texas A&M University. Rollins provided responses to USA TODAY questions via email in January. The interview was edited for length and clarity.
Q. This has been a year of reform in the department. With the deferred resignation program, USDA lost 15,000 employees and now is looking to relocate 2,600 from Washington, D.C. How do you plan to handle strain on the workforce?
ROLLINS: Under President Trump’s leadership, USDA is being transparent about our plans to streamline operations, right size the workforce and refocus the department on strong customer focus and a farmer-first mission. We are working to reorient the department to be more effective and efficient at serving the American people by prioritizing our farmers, ranchers and producers, without compromising the critical work of the department.
Some lawmakers think the staff reductions are hampering farmers’ ability to access programs. What steps are you taking to improve the times?We are committed to ensuring farmers have robust access to USDA programs. This includes supporting local USDA offices and ensuring staff are well equipped to meet demands. We will never compromise frontline service and will continue to prioritize staffing and resources that put farmers first.USDA is also seeing an increase in the demand for our guaranteed and direct lending programs, and we are meeting that demand with an increase in the dollar amount and volume of loans made by FSA. In 2025, the number of loans increased by 11%, and the amount of dollars obligated increased by 19% compared to 2024. Non-real estate lending for FSA increased 24% in 2025, an overall jump of nearly 50% from 2023 levels.Bigger picture, we are also looking to modernize access to these programs later this year.
Reports indicate that the department is reducing research. Who do you envision will take on research into agriculture, food security and other issues?Claims that USDA is reducing agricultural research are simply disingenuous. Since its inception, USDA has been called upon to serve the American people through research and development, and the continued commitment to those ideals are amplified in (my) December 30, 2025, memorandum establishing research and development priorities that put farmers first. Additionally, H.R. 1, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, provided historic investments in agricultural research, including a significant increase in funding to support specialty crop research and to repair the crumbling agricultural research facilities at our land-grant universities.
Tariffs hit farmers hard, but President Trump unveiled programs to help them. Can we get a status update on the $12 billion distribution to farmers? How many farmers have received funding, and how much has been issued?It should not be lost that USDA inherited – from the Biden Administration – an unprecedented $50 billion U.S. agricultural trade deficit, caused by four years of zero new trade agreements and not holding trade partners accountable to their prior commitments. President Trump governed with tariff and reciprocal tariff trade policies during his first term and is again resetting the global balance of trade through these policies. The president and I cut the agricultural trade deficit by 17% in the first nine months of the administration, but the real and lasting results are forthcoming. In the meantime, we have committed to taking care of our farmers’ shorter-term needs, just as we did during the first Trump Administration.
You have pledged to ensure that SNAP benefits should only be used for Americans in need. How is that process going?Under President Trump’s leadership, we are committed to protecting the integrity of our programs by preventing fraud and ensuring that SNAP benefits reach only those who truly need and qualify for them. Previously, rates of fraud were only assumed, so we have taken decisive action to tackle the issue. The department is using data to improve recertification and quality control processes for both retailers and recipient households.
About 40% of the agricultural workforce is in the country illegally. Do you support protections for them? If not, how do you propose helping farmers experiencing a workforce shortage? Can you give us an update on efforts to streamline the H-2A visa process and address wages for qualified workers?Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Labor issued a bold new interim final rule adjusting the AEWR methodology, which will decrease wage costs for H-2A agricultural employers and result in initial savings of at least $2 billion each year. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a final rule, effective October 2, 2025, to allow for concurrent filing of H-2A applications to speed up the time for processing. These actions combined are making farm labor more affordable and more accessible for American agriculture.
The price of eggs has fallen, but overall food prices remain high. How can USDA help in reducing prices?We are working every day to lower prices for consumers, and more help is on the way. While prices for other proteins such as eggs, pork and chicken have declined in recent months, beef prices have remained elevated. This is due to the perfect storm of sustained increase in consumer demand for beef coupled with a prolonged decrease in the supply of live cattle. Building back the herd will take time, but we are committed to reducing risk for cattle producers, delivering robust disaster relief to cattle country and supporting new and beginning ranchers across the country.
What’s in store for the USDA in 2026 and for American farmers and agriculture workers?USDA will continue to put farmers first in 2026, particularly by rolling out and implementing provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. A few examples include:
Improved federal crop insurance: The bill increases crop insurance premium support for beginning farmers and ranchers by expanding the definition from five to 10 years of experience, enabling more producers to qualify for assistance over a longer period of time. These improvements will result in over $400 million in savings every year for America’s farmers on insurance premiums.
Higher reference prices for the farm safety net: For the first time in over a decade, the statutory reference prices for the farm safety net programs, Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), were raised by 10-21% for major commodities such as corn, soybeans and wheat. USDA is also expanding eligibility for these price support programs by adding more than 30 million new base acres to the program, making them eligible for future PLC or ARC payments starting in crop year 2026.
Greater investment in conservation programs: Investing in USDA’s major conservation programs, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) will result in over $34 billion in conservation work on agricultural land over the next 10 years.
