‘If there was ever a time for farmers to have a voice in Washington, this is it’

By SHERRY BUNTING  /  Special for Farmshine

WASHINGTON – More than 20 farmers and ranchers from 11 states — running smaller-scale, family-owned operations — were part of what USDA has called “the inaugural ‘Farmers First’ roundtable with Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins last Wednesday (May 7). Also present was Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, and the Board of Directors for the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA).

In fact, three Lancaster County, Pennsylvania dairy farmers were among the dairies ranging from 50 cows to 400 from several states at the table, along with poultry, beef, produce and crop farmers being represented.

“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,” Sec. Rollins said in a press release afterwards.

Rollins’ press statement indicated that after studying the needs and current state of the farm economy, she 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 farms for generations to come are able to.

As part of the roundtable, with the NASDA board of directors present, the Secretary highlighted the role of the states as key stakeholders and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NASDA to improve collaboration, and ensure coordination.

“This plan being developed builds on the many ways USDA is putting farmers first and reprioritizing customer service,” said Rollins, noting the discussion last week focused on “ways USDA will work together with states, federal, and private sector partners.”

Two Lancaster County Amish dairy farmers at the table said the Secretary announced her intentions for a plan to come from this meeting, that new ag policies will be announced, and that it won’t be the only time new ag policies will be announced.

Emmanuel Lantz of Lititz and Melvin Stoltzfoos of Intercourse shared with Farmshine some of their impressions of this remarkable opportunity to be at the table.

Stoltzfoos described “like-minded thoughts” as each farmer around the table introduced themselves while the press was in the room at the start, and the press returned at the conclusion to ask questions of the Secretary. In between, was nearly two hours of frank discussion, he said.

“We each had the chance to talk about our number one issue on the farm. She did not pressure anyone to rush, even being 30 minutes late for her next meeting with the Attorney General, because she really wanted to hear from us,” said Stoltzfoos. “She was taking notes the whole time on a big tablet.”

“If there was ever a time for farmers to have a voice in Washington, this is it,”said Lantz. “She had a meeting later that evening with President Trump, and the next day I saw she was headed to the UK on a trade mission. She is very sharp and energetic, and it looks like we’ll be staying in touch.”

Stoltzfoos described the scene this way: “It was humbling and inspiring. We were in a large room in a tiny corner of a huge building — one of the two huge USDA buildings in Washington.”

Lantz related what he learned about the large table and chairs. They were from the Reagan White House, at which one of the first G7 meetings was conducted.

“We heard a lot about regulations, and we narrowed it down a bit and gave her things to think about to do some research on her own,” said Stoltzfoos, adding that they also interacted with her staff.

“This was a start. What I hang on at this point is that the USDA and President Trump seem to realize farmers are the true backbone of our country, and if we do not take care of the farmers, we won’t have a whole lot left,” he said further.

A number that stuck in the minds of both men was the response the Secretary gave to a reporter near the end of the meeting, when she was asked about cuts to food programs.

“She said USDA spends $405 million dollars a day across 16 food assistance programs,” Stoltzfoos recounted. A recent Government Accountability Office report observed 12% of the funds spent in 2023 were “improper.”

(This was on the minds of reporters ahead of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee spending long hours this week, still pounding out on May 14 their print of the SNAP Integrity and Farm Security piece that is part of the continuing budget resolution to be voted on later this month. This means portions of the farm bill being included in the one-big-bill, which will update the farm safety net while trimming $300 billion in growth over the 10-year cycle from food assistance programs, including more accountability from individual states and enforcement of the Able-Bodied (Work) provisions already on the books.)

“There are so many avenues we could go down as farmers, but what we did was start slow with some eye-opening information. I think everyone gave her something to think about and look into,” Stoltzfoos said.

“It was more than I expected,” Lantz affirmed. “Secretary Rollins is very much for the farmers, and she meets with President Trump on a regular basis. I wanted her to know that I thank God for what we have, but I also have concerns for the next generation on small family farms, that we are not looking for handouts, but want a fair price for what we produce and a level playing field to keep going.”

He mentioned in his time to speak that the U.S. lost 40% of its dairy farms in just the past five years, according to the Census of Agriculture.

Both Lantz and Stoltzfoos indicated the Secretary is aware of the situation with imported foods and imitation foods, that things are coming into the U.S., and the money is going out, and not getting to the farms.

They both described the conversation as “meaningful” and found the Secretary to be “down to earth” and “very sharp” — to be able to see through things.

“It was a conversation, just like you and I right here,” Lantz observed, adding that when he shook her hand after the meeting closed, he mentioned 97 Milk and suggested looking up the website at 97milk.com.

Stoltzfoos found the value of the meeting doubled when Secretary Rollins asked one of the State Ag Commissioners at the table to lead the group in a closing prayer, after having begun the meeting quoting scripture from the book of Isaiah.

“It was a dream come true to be there, but the glory be to God that it happened,” Lantz concluded.