USDA Secretary Urges Farm Bill Passage During Wisconsin Dairy Visit

By Blake Jackson

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins visited a Wisconsin dairy farm on Monday to promote passage of a new federal farm bill. During the visit, Rollins met privately with dairy farmers, cranberry growers, and other leaders from Wisconsin’s agricultural industry to discuss federal policy priorities and current challenges.

Speaking to reporters after the roundtable, Rollins said a new farm bill would provide critical support for Wisconsin farmers. She highlighted President Donald Trump’s backing of whole milk consumption, including his signing of legislation that restored whole milk to the National School Lunch Program.

Rollins also pointed to new trade agreements negotiated by the Trump administration, which she said could expand export opportunities for U.S. agricultural products. She acknowledged, however, the negative impact retaliatory tariffs have had on Wisconsin cranberry growers.

Rollins voiced strong support for the farm bill, a broad package of agriculture- and food-related legislation expected to receive a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives this week. She noted that some major programs, including crop insurance, were updated in a reconciliation bill passed last year, but additional changes are still necessary.

“What this current farm bill represents is the addition: what we need to do to strengthen crop insurance, what we need to do to make sure we have the right labor rules on the ground so that our farmers can actually have labor that can work year round, things like that,” Rollins said.

She added that congressional leaders have been “resolute and relentless” in ensuring the farm bill “stays front and center for all Americans.” Farm bill programs are typically updated every five years, but Congress failed to pass a new package in 2023 and 2024.

Rollins was joined by U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, who said the farm bill was “going to pass” the House this week. Van Orden also addressed fuel policy, noting that legislation to allow year-round sales of higher-ethanol E-15 fuel is not included in the farm bill but is being pursued separately.

“We’ve been working on a piece to make sure that is solidified,” Van Orden said. “I want our farmers not to have to wring their hands every year thinking, you know, are they going to get a waiver or not?”

Rollins also praised recent changes at the USDA, including workforce reductions and plans to relocate hundreds of jobs outside Washington, D.C. She said these efforts “meet the moment the president outlined” by moving federal workers closer to agricultural communities across the country.