As the agricultural community waits for clarity on what programs will still be funded, what energy sources are priorities, and how tariffs could increase costs and export demand, it did just get some clarity: Brooke Rollins will become the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
Rollins earned confirmation in the U.S. senate by a 72-28 vote on February 13. She will lead a department of nearly 100,000 employees and a budget that topped $213 billion in 2024.
She grew up on her family’s farm in Texas and later became the first woman to get elected student body president at Texas A & M University.
RELATED: Texas A & M AgriLife Today has this profile piece about Brooke Rollins, which includes what she accomplished as a college student.
Rollins previously served as a conservative legal activist and public policy analyst. Most recently, she demonstrated her public allegiance to Trump by serving as president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank that promoted Trump’s policies.
RELATED: Some of the issues that the America First Policy Institute stressed were the economy, health care, education, and global leadership. Learn more about the vision here.
Her position as agriculture secretary in the second Trump term follows her service in the first term, where she was Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental and Technology Initiatives, later becoming Acting Director of the Domestic Policy Council.
Rollins begins her role as agriculture secretary at a time Republicans in Congress hope to have more success in 2025 by agreeing on a traditional five-year Farm Bill, something that has proven elusive the past two years with a Republican-controlled house and Democratic-controlled senate.
RELATED: Brooke Rollins’ predecessor, Tom Vilsack, will soon begin his new role. In March, Vilsack takes over as CEO of the World Food Prize Foundation, based in Des Moines, Iowa. Vilsack served three terms as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture after serving two terms as Iowa’s governor.
Another former Iowa governor, Terry Branstad, just retired as President of the World Food Prize Foundation. Previously, Branstad served as the U.S. Ambassador to China during Donald Trump’s first term in office.
Rollins will also see what happens to agricultural operations if Trump carries out mass deportations and reduces the supply of farm workers. Food production, processing, and manufacturing could all be impacted.
She will oversee policy when the agricultural industry tries to figure out how to minimize the harm from highly pathogenic avian influenza. The virus is the main driver in the soaring costs of eggs as producers have destroyed tens of millions of birds to try to stop the spread.
RELATED: Iowa Egg Council President and North Central Poultry Association President Mindy Larsen told American Farmland Owner how highly pathogenic avian influenza is testing the poultry industry and whether vaccinations could help to prevent some infections.
Ohio just reported its first human infection from the virus in a farm worker in Mercer County. See that story from WSAZ-TV in Huntington, West Virginia.
Rollins may influence other key agricultural policies, including nutrition assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). She has expressed support for these programs but advocates for increased efficiency and stricter work requirements.
Additionally, Rollins is expected to play a significant role in addressing trade policies and their impact on American farmers.
RELATED: The Associated Press looked at the role that Brooke Rollins may play in President Donald Trump’s tariff escalation. Read that here.
