Rollins to rule USDA in a tough farm economy

When Brooke Rollins was confirmed as the new U.S. Secretary of Agriculture on Feb. 13, the 52-year-old made history as the first former state FFA officer to hold this important Cabinet position.

Yes, Rollins has other credentials that make her a good fit for this role, but the fact that she was shaped by agricultural education is encouraging. Throughout my career, I’ve seen firsthand how FFA promotes leadership, collaboration, networking, problem-solving and decision-making skills—all of which will be critical as Rollins faces a flurry of challenges across the entire agricultural industry.

When prognosticators began throwing around potential names for Cabinet positions after the 2024 presidential election, Rollins really wasn’t on anyone’s radar to be ag secretary. Policy had been her thing. Most recently, she’d served as CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank, and led the White House’s Domestic Policy Council during President Trump’s first administration. Prior to that, she ran the Texas Public Policy Foundation for 15 years.

But Rollins has a deeper connection to agriculture than folks may have realized. She grew up near the small town of Glen Rose, Texas, where she raised horses, showed goats and was actively involved in 4-H and FFA. She served as a Texas FFA officer in 1990-91, and that entire state officer team attended her Senate confirmation hearing in January. 

“We have a tremendous amount of work to do.”

— U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins

Rollins attended Texas A&M on an ag scholarship and was the university’s first female student body president. She earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural development and then a law degree from the University of Texas.

I’m hopeful that this combination of agricultural upbringing, law-school education and policy experience will serve Rollins well in her new role. It won’t be easy. She’s taking the helm of the USDA at a time when farmers are struggling with high input costs and low commodity prices. Proposed tariffs are threatening agricultural trade. A new farm bill is way behind schedule. Avian influenza is causing huge economic losses for poultry producers and price hikes for consumers. Farmers and organizations involved in government-funded conservation, renewable energy and climate-
smart programs have been told their contracts and payments are now on hold. 

Rollins admitted “we have a tremendous amount of work to do,” as she spoke to farmers and industry leaders Feb. 18 at the Top Producer Summit in Kansas City. During her first week on the job, the new ag secretary headed straight to the heart of farm country, visiting the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky., and then traveling to Missouri and Kansas for meetings, tours and roundtable discussions.

To me, seeing Rollins hit the ground running is a good sign, but we won’t know for a while just how her leadership will impact the USDA and its programs. She’s got a lot of big tasks to tackle, and people in the know says she has the president’s ear. Let’s just hope she also has our farmers’ best interests at heart.   

***

VIEW STORY AS PRINTED

CLICK TO READ more articles from this issue.

SUBSCRIBE to Today's Farmer Magazine today.