May 20, 2025 – During a visit to Nebraska yesterday, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins introduced a Small Family Farms Policy Agenda she said “is tailored specifically to support small-scale farms to thrive for generations to come.” Since Trump took office, small farms that sell into local markets have been hard hit by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s funding freeze and grant cancellations.
The 10-point agenda is light on details but includes several proposed actions on deregulation, labor, and market access.
It says the USDA will “streamline delivery and increase program efficiencies” related to application processes, credit, and farmland access. “Small family farmers often have little to no support staff to fill out USDA required paperwork to participate in programs,” it reads, before proposing simplified, digitized forms. In addition to recent layoffs, about 16,000 employees have accepted resignation offers and more staff cuts are expected.
The proposals also include disincentivizing federal funding for solar energy on farms, increasing production of fossil fuels, revising the controversial Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule that regulates farm runoff, and pursuing “additional flexibility” for farmers to comply with other environmental regulations.
The plan also says the agency is reviewing farm size definitions to “ensure they adequately reflect modern-day realities,” suggesting the USDA is considering including larger operations in the small-farm category. And it calls on Congress to ensure farms and ranches “are protected from an increase in the death tax.” Republicans in Congress are currently trying to extend exemptions on estate taxes—which are often referred to as a “death tax”—that already exempt up to $28 million in inherited property.
On labor, a controversial and important issue amid an immigration crackdown that has direct implications for the farm workforce, the plan says, “we must take action to relieve this persistent issue, including H-2A and H-2B non-immigrant visa classification reform.”
