Secretary Rollins Hosts Farmers First Roundtable, Announces Expedited Disaster Aid

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today held the inaugural Farmers First roundtable at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Secretary Rollins hosted Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, the Board of Directors for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), and over 20 farmers and ranchers from 11 states who run smaller-scale, independent, family-owned operations. These operations are at the heart of American agriculture and their continued success is critical for the economic viability of the industry.

Farming is a noble and patriotic line of work. America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers are the backbone of our country. It is the goal of the Trump Administration to ensure all of America’s farms are economically viable and thriving, including smaller, independently owned businesses. After studying the needs and current state of the farm economy, Secretary Rollins will launch a plan later this month to ensure smaller-scale family-owned farming operations are economically viable and those who want to start and keep their own farms for generations to come are able to. The states are key stakeholders in supporting American agriculture and the group discussed ways USDA will work together with states and federal and private sector partners to put farmers first. Alongside NASDA President Wes Ward, Secretary Rollins today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to improve collaboration, coordination, and to ensure partnership with our friends in our agriculture community on the front lines.

This plan builds on the many ways USDA is putting farmers first and reprioritizing customer service. USDA’s Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) was the quickest, most effective rollout of emergency payments in the history of the program. To date, 487,177 farmers across 49 states have received over $7.3 billion in payments. To ensure total transparency, USDA updates the portal every Monday so the American people can track payment totals. President Trump and Secretary Rollins understand how important customer service is to the American people. That is why, in direct contrast to the Biden Administration, USDA stood up the ECAP program in 3 months as opposed to an average of 13 months, and in one case 19 months, it took to release ad hoc assistance programs under Secretary Vilsack. These unnecessary delays cause real harm on the farm.

Following several natural disasters that deeply impacted farms and ranches across the country, Secretary Rollins announced plans to expedite $21 billion in disaster assistance. Farmers receiving livestock relief for drought and wildfire can expect to receive payments as soon as the end of this month. While we aim to move all payments out expeditiously and to cut timelines where possible, it is important to note that some elements of the Congressionally appropriated assistance are more specific and labor intensive and were also not statutorily required, therefore will take a bit more time.

“At USDA, we understand there are many challenges to starting a new farm and maintaining a small family farm. While there are many programs to assist our farmers, we feel strongly that it takes government entities, non-profits, and the private sector working together to improve the viability, prosperity, and longevity of small family farms. I have had the honor of visiting many farms and speak with families over the last several months and have heard firsthand that farmers are struggling. We are working every day to improve the farm economy,” said Secretary Rollins. “President Trump knows how important agriculture is to the success of our country. We are reversing four years of neglect by announcing a policy portfolio to help small family farms and expediting assistance to support American agriculture. We delivered ECAP payments in record time and will do it again with this disaster assistance announced today.”

A landing page to track the status of USDA’s disaster rollout, which will be updated regularly, has launched today.

Disaster Assistance Program Timeline

Emergency Livestock Relief Program – Drought/Wildfire
May 23 – Release to Federal Register for publication
May 28 – Final rule on public display
May 29 – Payment processing on Thursday night
May 30 – County offices sign and certify payments

Supplemental Disaster Relief Program – Previously Indemnified Loss
June 30 – Release to Federal Register for Publication
July 3 – Final rule on public display
July 7 – SDRP sign up begins

Emergency Livestock Relief Program – Flooding includes Commodity Loss Assistance Program, Milk Loss Program – Combined Final Rule
August 13 – Sent to Federal Register for Publication
August 15 – Final Rule on public display
August 18 – ELRP flooding, Commodity Loss Assistance and Milk Loss – sign up begins

Supplemental Disaster Relief Program – Uncovered Loss
September 10 – Sent to Federal Register for Publication
September 12 – Final Rule on public display
September 15 – SDRP sign up targeted.