May 21, 2025
Farm Bureau applauds USDA’s small farms focus
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is commending USDA programs designed to aid small farms.
On May 19, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins released the first set of policy proposals designed to improve the viability and longevity of smaller-scale family farms. About 86% of all U.S. farms are small family farms.
To ensure small family farmers can start and stay in business, the USDA has outlined a toolkit of actions, including the streamlining of application processes, improving reliable access to credit, farmland and markets, and appropriate business planning tools, according to a USDA news release.
AFBF submitted a letter to the USDA outlining policy recommendations that support small producers, including:
- Improvements to USDA farm programs like Title I safety net programs and ad hoc disaster programs
- More and enhanced options for risk management
- Reforming regulations that create complex and expensive compliance burdens
- Creating a workforce solution that gives all farmers access to labor
AFBF president Zippy Duvall applauded the USDA’s announcement to create policy focused on the success of America’s small farms and ranches.
“We thank Secretary Rollins for recognizing the critical role small farmers and ranchers play in America’s food supply chain,” Duvall said in a news release. “Almost 90% of farms in America are classified as small farms, and nearly all of them are family-owned. That’s why Farm Bureau has been such a strong advocate for their success.
“Unfortunately, the 2022 Census of Agriculture shows 141,000 farms went out of business in a five-year period, and we’ve lost even more since the report was released. Our nation’s food security depends on farms of all sizes, but the reality is, it is getting more difficult for smaller farms to survive these tough economic times. We look forward to learning more about Secretary Rollins’ plan and working with USDA to ensure farm families don’t just endure, but thrive, so they can continue to grow the food every family in America relies on.”
