Sec. Brooke Rollins testifies on Capitol Hill

[8:53] Good morning and welcome. It's my privilege to call this hearing to order as we examine [8:58] the work of the United States Department of Agriculture and how we can best support our [9:03] nation's farmers, ranchers and foresters, as well as strengthen rural America. I welcome [9:09] our witness, the Honorable Brooke Rollins, our 33rd Secretary of Agriculture. Thank you [9:15] so much for being here today and for your steadfast commitment to America's agriculture [9:20] community. We appreciate your willingness to serve and your active engagement with [9:24] farmers, ranchers, foresters and rural stakeholders where they live and work. [9:30] Those conversations provide valuable insight into the challenges and [9:35] opportunities facing the men and women who grow our nation's food, fuel and fiber. [9:39] They are impacted by USDA policies and depend on USDA programs daily. What I hear [9:47] from Arkansas family farmers and stakeholders from across the country is [9:50] is that the farm economy is struggling. Producers continue to face high input [9:56] costs, rising labor expenses, elevated interest rates and market and set [10:00] uncertainty. It is necessary that we work together to create an environment where [10:06] agriculture can thrive and where the next generation sees farming, ranching and [10:11] forestry as viable and a rewarding career. One way we have delivered on a [10:16] commitment to producers is through the working families tax cuts. The president [10:21] signed in law historic investments to farm country one year ago, providing long [10:25] overdue updates to agriculture policies that better reflect today's realities. [10:31] Producers in Arkansas and across the nation experience these improvements respond [10:36] directly to concerns farmers have raised for years and provides meaningful support and [10:42] predictability to help them continue operating for years to come. We appreciate you to USDA's urgency in implementing these policies so far [10:50] farmers can realize their benefits this fall. I look forward to hearing further [10:55] updates on USDA's implementation of these programs. This landmark law also includes [11:02] investments in USDA's premier animal health programs to help mitigate threats such as the new world screw worm. [11:09] We know how critical these investments are, particularly as six domestic cases have been confirmed in just the last week. [11:16] Madam Secretary, we appreciate the aggressive approach you and your team have taken to slow down the advancement of this pest toward our border and to implement measures that protect America's livestock industry. [11:30] We have successfully eradicated a new world screw room before and I'm confident we can do so again. [11:39] We are looking forward to you and your team at USDA to continue leading this effort and safeguarding the health and security of America's herd. [11:47] We must continue supporting agriculture sectors vital to our rural communities. Our cotton producers have faced significant economic headwinds. In recent years cotton remains a cornerstone crop of our for our [12:00] for Arkansas and states across the cotton belt supporting farm families, rural communities and manufacturers. This is why I strongly support the buying American cotton act. I was pleased to see USDA's recent announcement [12:15] promoting the domestic cotton industry. We appreciate that very much. At a time when our producers are competing in a challenging global marketplace, we should be doing everything we can to support American grown products and the hardworking men that are [12:32] women and women who produce them. Similarly, I know many of our committee members on both sides of the aisle support year round D 15. I do too. And we are working hard to get that done. We also need to protect the energy security for local and regional communities and protect those jobs in rural America. I support the proposal put forward by senators Fisher and Capito and the hope the Senate moves quickly on that bill. Just as importantly, our producers have access to the [13:03] resources and resources they need to succeed. Fertilizer remains one of the most significant input cost facing farmers and they are seeing dramatic rises in cost and are concerned about future availability. [13:16] The results of the American Farm Bureau Federation survey this year underscores the concerns I continue to hear from producers in Arkansas and across the country among Arkansas farmers who responded only 12 percent reported preordering fertilizer highlighting the uncertainty and financial pressures producers are experiencing. I appreciate USDA's attention to this issue as well as the opportunity to join you to discuss long term strategies to lower the cost of fertilizer. [13:45] I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance policies to provide relief in the future. We have a tremendous opportunity before us to update farm policies and farm bill 2.0. I look forward to releasing text very soon that incorporates many bipartisan measures and just as importantly the priorities of farmers ranchers and foresters so they have updated policies to meet their needs. I am hopeful we can deliver a farm bill [14:14] I am hopeful we can deliver a farm bill that farmers ranchers foresters and rural communities deserve. Lastly, I remain committed to advancing the farm assistance package. Senator Hove and I proposed in January. There are many additional challenges that have risen since then that demonstrate the urgency to provide our producers including our specialty crop producers with more support. Again, thank you very much for being here and I look forward to your testimony. I now turn to our ranking member. I am hopeful we can deliver a farm bill that farmers ranchers foresters and rural communities deserve. Lastly, I remain committed to advancing the farm assistance package. [14:45] On the home that has pioneering a farm. And that meant we will stand for the forest. [14:51] Senator Hove and I will speak for it. I want to say thank you very much Mr. Chair and thank you for being here. [14:53] Senator Hove and I want to thank you for taking the time to bring the farmers out to the farm. [14:55] Secretary Rollins and thank you Mr. Chair for leading with the hope that we can move forward on a bipartisan farm bill. I appreciate you wanting to Ding Dong [15:07] ramp up a number of the bipartisan proposals that we have to include. [15:13] We had a very good meeting with you, with our members. [15:17] I think people made it clear they're concerned about the inequity of the snap shifts to the states [15:25] with the big error rate states getting off for two years and then the entire Midwest not. [15:31] And we're hoping once we get the numbers, especially at the end of June, [15:35] that from the USDA, the final numbers, we might be able to make some changes there, [15:40] which unite our members as well as many other issues. [15:43] I also appreciate you raising the E15 issue, Mr. Chairman, and your support for it, Secretary. [15:50] The House, as we know, has passed this. [15:52] I'm also supportive of the bill that you mentioned and have been one of the leads on this. [15:57] And, you know, this is something that could be voted on separately because of the committee jurisdiction [16:02] that we could even do sooner rather than later. [16:05] And I think it would really be a smart move to get this done very near. [16:10] And I hope you bring that not only back to the USDA, but to the administration to push [16:16] so that we can get a vote on that very soon. [16:20] I do want to thank you for the USDA's expedited disaster assistance for Farmers, [16:25] Secretary Rollins, for the losses in 2023 and 2024, and the payments in April, [16:32] which Senator Slotkin and I had urged. [16:35] Getting this second payment put over $700 million in Minnesota farmers' pockets this spring. [16:42] I also want to address the recently confirmed cases of New World screwworm here within the U.S., [16:48] in Texas, New Mexico, and I recognize the administration's ongoing response, [16:54] working with animal health officials as well as livestock stakeholders. [16:59] And clearly we need a long-term response. [17:02] I continue to be concerned about some of the reorganization's cuts to USDA, [17:08] how that could affect our long-term response. [17:11] Senator Lujan and I will be doing a letter on that immediately after this hearing has concluded. [17:18] And I'm sure he will ask some questions, as will I. [17:23] Secretary Rollins, since your last appearance before the committee, [17:27] it has been a turbulent time for farmers, ranchers, and really all of rural America. [17:32] Unfortunately, I believe that much of this turbulence would have been, could have been, [17:38] would have been, could have been entirely preventable. [17:41] I've been clear that the administrations across the board tariffs have been terrible for farmers. [17:47] The IEPA tariffs added nearly $1 billion in costs to critical inputs like fertilizers, [17:53] seed, machinery, and chemicals from February through October of last year. [17:59] These tariffs, rightfully struck down by the Supreme Court, were so unnecessary, [18:05] given that the legality, the constitutionality of them, [18:10] were in question from the very beginning, and thus they added so much uncertainty and costs. [18:17] Now, unfortunately and unnecessarily, the president has chosen to bulldoze ahead with more tariffs [18:23] at great cost to the economy and more uncertainty. [18:27] In addition to the chaos from the tariffs, [18:30] the unilateral decision to start a conflict in the Middle East is causing real and direct harm [18:36] to farmers and consumers in Minnesota. [18:39] One year ago, the average price for a gallon of diesel in my state was $340. [18:45] Today, the average is $513. [18:47] That is a 51 percent increase in a single year. [18:52] And just this morning, we got the consumer price index numbers for the country up 4.2 percent. [19:00] And that is up from the exact inverse 2.4 percent that we were seeing before the conflict began. [19:09] I am also concerned of the edge that this war has given Russia and China and other countries [19:17] that are not friends of the U.S. in the global battle for competitiveness [19:23] because of the fact that we are so reliant. [19:27] I met with producers on the Tate Farmer Family Farm in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, [19:33] where I heard from producers that the skyrocketing cost of fertilizer is threatening their operations. [19:38] As we all know, nearly half of the global urea and 30 percent of global ammonia exports [19:45] used in nitrogen fertilizer supply chains move through the Straits of Hormuz. [19:51] Earlier this spring, the Farm Bureau highlighted the financial strain farmers are experiencing, [19:57] estimating that 70 percent of farmers couldn't afford all the fertilizer they needed. [20:02] Of the farmers they surveyed, 94 percent said their financial situation has worsened [20:08] or flatlined in the past year. [20:12] This morning, a number of us met with key economists, expert economists, about the long-term here. [20:19] And what they told us, this was not really a political-based meeting, [20:24] was just that even if the Straits of Hormuz were opened immediately, [20:28] the long-term effect of going through our reserves, as we have done globally, [20:33] is going to keep these prices high. [20:37] As I've said before, this is a perfect storm of ugly, to quote one of my soybean farmers. [20:43] From the fuel and the fertilizer costs to the tariffs, [20:46] it has made it really hard for our growers, especially our small growers, [20:51] who do not have the reserves to make long-term business decisions with any confidence. [20:56] Secretary Rollins, many of us believe that you can be a voice of reason when it comes to these issues with the administration. [21:05] We know that you have expressed views in the past about the effect this is having on the farm economy. [21:14] But right now, I fear, and many of us fear, and many of farmers fear, [21:20] that these voices of reason are falling on deaf ears. [21:23] Because on top of the decisions to go into this unilateral war and just to continue these tariffs, [21:33] we have just seen such pandemonium when it comes to the response [21:38] and so many bad effects on rural America, from the decision not to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, [21:46] which are percentage-wise more relied on in rural America, [21:51] to many of the decisions that have been made to reduce staffing, [21:55] whether it's Social Security or USDA, that people in rural America rely on. [22:01] My concerns with the USDA right now is this pushing forward of a RE-ORG plan right in the middle of all of this mess. [22:11] The department has already lost around 20% of its employees, meaning fewer FSA staff, [22:19] to process farm loan and disaster aid applications just at a time when farmers are facing more problems [22:25] than they were the year before, the year before, the year before. [22:29] Fewer NRCS conservationists to help farmers adopt popular conservation practices, [22:35] and this really does mean something in the Midwest, where many of them rely on these programs, [22:40] and fewer researchers developing solutions for the challenges our farmers face today, [22:47] including, as discussed earlier, the New World screw worm. [22:51] These staff losses come before a series of announcements from the department, [22:56] moving multiple agencies across the country, which we know results in even more disruption to staff. [23:05] Farmers in Minnesota won't be better served by fewer experienced employees being relocated to Indianapolis, [23:13] Kansas City, or, yes, Salt Lake City, not exactly an ag-focused state. [23:20] Instead, I encourage the USDA to prioritize staffing, local county offices, and ARS labs [23:28] to help farmers access services and tackle issues they are facing right now. [23:35] The department's reorganization proposal will significantly affect the ability to provide services [23:43] to USDA stakeholders and the lives of the employees. [23:46] We are asking for transparency and an open dialogue with the shared goal of ensuring the USDA is efficient and effective in its mission. [23:56] Our concern is doing this right now in the middle of what is clearly some of the biggest headwinds [24:03] that we've seen coming at agriculture and at rural America is a huge mistake, [24:09] because it will mean, of course, less staff to deal with it, less experienced staff to deal with it, [24:16] and a necessary disruption to serving our farmers. [24:21] So I look forward to hearing from you today, and I appreciate the members that are here and their input as well. [24:30] Thank you. [24:30] Thank you. [24:33] It's my pleasure to introduce Brooke L. Rollins, the 33rd Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture. [24:41] Secretary Rollins is originally from Glen Rose, Texas. [24:45] Most recently, Secretary Rollins served as the founder, president, and chief executive officer [24:50] of the America First Policy Institute, AFPI, during President Trump's first administration. [24:57] She was the director of the Domestic Policy Council and assistant to the president for strategic initiatives in the White House. [25:05] She also served as director of the Office of American Innovation. [25:10] In these roles, she developed and managed the transformational domestic policy agenda of the Trump administration, [25:16] leading to historic achievements for the American people. [25:21] Rollins graduated with honors from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development [25:26] and was the first female to be elected student body president. [25:31] After earning her Juris Doctor with honors at the University of Texas School of Law, [25:36] she served as Governor Rick Perry's policy director before running the Texas Public Policy Foundation for 15 years. [25:45] At the foundation, Rollins elevated a small policy organization to a national force [25:50] and redefined the possibilities for a state-based think tank, setting the model and aspiration for AFPI. [26:01] Rollins, her husband, Mark, called Fort Worth, Texas, home, and spent a majority of their free time [26:06] taxing their four very active children, the baseball games, cattle shows, piano lessons, and Aggie football games. [26:14] We appreciate you being here. [26:18] I think the only thing they left out were your former barrel racing days, which we can be proud of. [26:24] So, again, thank you for being here, and we look forward to your opening statement. [26:28] Thank you so much, Chairman Bozeman, Ranking Member Klobuchar, and distinguished members of this committee. [26:34] In less than one month, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. [26:41] And its principal author, Thomas Jefferson, once noted that agriculture is truly our wisest pursuit. [26:49] If we are to secure land and liberty for future generations, we must fight for American agriculture together with every fiber of our being. [26:58] And we are. [26:59] Our efforts over the past 17 months reflect the Trump administration's commitment to ensuring that America's food supply remains the best in the world. [27:07] It's safe, it's reliable, it's healthy, and it's affordable. [27:11] Last Friday's jobs report beat every economist's forecast when 172,000 jobs were added in May, cementing the Trump economy's record of delivering for American workers month after month. [27:23] In fact, more people are working today than ever before in American history. [27:27] Further, 30-year fixed mortgage rates are down, and our deregulatory efforts are projected to save Americans a collective $212 billion, or roughly $2,500 per a family of four. [27:40] For our farmers, that's a big number. [27:41] By contrast, we know in the previous administration, average home prices rose 25%, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rates were up 194%, national average gas prices peaked 124% up, and food prices up 23%. [27:57] And notably, for this committee, farm income saw the largest dollar value loss in history of our country, as it fell over $90 billion from 2023 to 2024. [28:10] Further, commodity prices plummeted from 30-year highs in the last administration, and of course, we saw zero new trade deals while inheriting a $50 billion agricultural trade deficit after leaving with an $8 billion agricultural trade surplus just four years earlier. [28:29] While we cannot reverse this trajectory for ag overnight, we can and we will continue building upon the progress that has already been made. [28:39] Last year, President Trump and congressional Republicans delivered the Working Families Tax Cut Act, a historic piece of legislation and a victory for U.S. agriculture, which increased reference prices for the first time in more than a decade and saved 2 million family farms from the death tax, amongst so many other wins. [28:58] Moreover, President Trump has already secured 19 new trade deals in just over one year, helping us slash that $50 billion agricultural trade deficit by almost 50% from just one year ago. [29:14] So think about what that means for our producers. [29:16] As we expand opportunity over the long term, we are also providing farmers with our short-term support today through the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers Program, and others. [29:27] USDA has delivered tens of billions of dollars in targeted direct relief to help our farmers manage natural disasters and temporary market disruptions. [29:37] We are also helping our farmers manage the input prices, the cost of which we know exploded under the last administration. [29:44] Under Biden, fertilizer prices surged more than 50%, on average reaching 99% at their highest peak. [29:52] And I know we're going to talk a lot about fertilizer today, but even after the Iranian conflict and even after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, fertilizer today is still less than what it was in the peak of the Biden years. [30:04] President Trump has reactivated and activated our entire cabinet on this particular issue, and we can talk more about that today. [30:11] Truly affordable domestic inputs are a matter of national security. [30:17] Our ability to feed ourselves is fundamental to our freedom in this country. [30:21] That's why we launched, for the first time ever, our Farm Security Action Plan last year, integrating agriculture into America's national security strategy for the first time ever. [30:32] We are determined to protect the security and integrity of everything we are responsible for at the USDA, including the federal nutrition programs that constitute our largest expenditure. [30:43] When it comes to rooting out SNAP fraud, in just over one year, we have already made 900 arrests. [30:49] This is through USDA. [30:51] Pursued over 120 convictions and have $132 million in restitution, and we're literally just getting started. [30:59] We're also working to protect our producers from diseases and pests that threaten their livelihoods. [31:04] Very quickly, before I get into screwworm, let's talk about the avian influenza, the HPAI with our chickens. [31:11] Since last year when we launched that plan, we have seen a 41% decrease in HPAI and a 51% decrease in total birds affected. [31:22] We still have a ways to go, but we're making progress. [31:25] And this year is no different, and I'm going to talk, sir, about the New World Screwworm just at the outset, and then I'm sure we'll dive into it more. [31:33] We continue to prioritize defeating the New World Screwworm. [31:37] Over the past week and a half, USDA has confirmed six cases of the New World Screwworm within the U.S., all but one in the south of Texas. [31:47] I was just in Texas two days ago to inspect a USDA research facility that we just opened two weeks ago, developing new technologies to combat this pest, and we're back tomorrow on site in south Texas in LaPrior to visit that ranch and talk more about what we're doing. [32:05] The Biden administration's open border policies combined with the Mexican cartel's refusal to crack down on that through south and central America allowed the screwworm to move north for the first time in 50 years, beginning in 2022 when the Darien Gap was breached, into 2023 when the screwworm began moving at rapid pace up through central America and hitting Mexico in 2024 under the last administration. [32:32] We know this development is a serious threat, but it did not catch us off guard. [32:39] We've established the 20-kilometer movement zone, expedited targeted release of sterile flies in the affected area. [32:45] We've increased the trapping for flies along the border and ramping up surveillance. [32:50] But more importantly, I think, for this committee is very quickly, Senator Bozeman, I want to talk about over the last year what we deployed. [32:57] Over $1 billion, $1.3 billion since we walked into the door last January 2025, has been invested and deployed to battle just the new world screwworm. [33:10] We have been forward-leaning. [33:12] EPA just approved some new fly technologies we've announced just the last few days, which will significantly increase our ability to battle this through sterile flies. [33:21] We also broke ground on our more air-based sterile fly facility in Texas about six months ago. [33:28] That's a $750 million project. [33:31] And that also opening up a dispersal facility earlier this year for the first time and outfitting a facility in Metapa, Mexico, that will open this month that will increase our sterile fly production by 100 million flies. [33:44] That all happened because of what we implemented over a year ago in preparation for this moment. [33:52] And since January 2025, and this is a really, really important point for those who are saying that we have not, we were caught unprepared. [33:59] When we walked in the door in January 2025, the last USDA had an equivalent of 10 full-time employees working on the new world screwworm. [34:07] So about 17 months ago, a week ago, before it was even confirmed, we had over 110 full-time staff that we had staffed up over the last 15 months in preparation, almost a 1,000% increase in over a year in preparation. [34:25] In short, we're using every single tool at our disposal, working very closely with our governor, Governor Greg Abbott, and all of the teams on the ground in Texas, in New Mexico, and across this country. [34:35] Thank you again for the opportunity to be here, Senator, and Ranking Member Klobuchar. [34:40] As we celebrate our 250 years of freedom, I know we will continue to fight together for the men and women who feed and clothe and fuel this great country and the world. [34:49] I look forward to your questions. Thank you. [34:52] No, thank you very much for being here again. [34:55] And we're going to start our round of questioning. [34:58] We're going to have seven minutes to ask our questions, which is longer than normal. [35:03] But I would ask you to be sure and adhere to the time, because we've got a lot of people that are going to want to ask questions. [35:10] And there is an incredible amount of stuff going on as we speak right now throughout Congress. [35:15] So we do appreciate the hard work that you've done and the preparation, slowing things down so that we would have additional time to get ready for this concerning the screw worm. [35:29] Is there, I guess the only question I would have, is there any more authorities that we need to give you or any more resources that would be helpful as we fight this battle? [35:39] I appreciate that question. And I know we're, I'm on multiple calls every day since we have moved now into the next phase of the battle. [35:53] You all know we closed the ports a year ago, which was a very difficult decision, especially for our feeders in Texas. [35:59] But the purpose was the, every model showed screw worm hitting our side of the border last summer. [36:07] So that would have been just about eight or 12 weeks after we came into office. [36:11] And I looked at all the facts and said, we've got to slow this down and do whatever we can to be better prepared when it gets here. [36:18] And that's what we were able to do. [36:20] So Senator Bozeman right now, there are no additional authorities, but I really appreciate the question. [36:26] I want to give a big shout out to my boss, President Trump. [36:29] Last spring, as you know, we were deep into the Department of Government Efficiency with, with Mr. Musk. [36:35] And we were working to try to return the footprint of government back to something that was reasonable for our taxpayers and for our country. [36:41] But I walked in the Oval Office and I said, sir, there is a, a pretty serious threat to our livestock that's headed our way. [36:50] And when we need 500 million sterile flies a week, we're only producing 100 million out of Panama because everyone took their eye off the ball years ago. [36:58] And unfortunately, because of the border policies, it's coming our way. [37:01] And he said, well, what do you need? [37:02] And I said, well, I need a billion dollars to start building a significant facility to, to surge staff. [37:08] This was about 14 or 15 months ago. [37:10] And without hesitation, a couple of questions, but without hesitation, he said, go. [37:14] So because of that green light, we were able to move very quickly to prepare for today. [37:18] But we'll stay in very close touch on that. [37:20] Mr. Chairman, thank you. [37:22] Very much. [37:23] I think I can speak for the committee that we're all committed to helping in any way that we can. [37:29] And we do appreciate your efforts. [37:31] As I mentioned in my opening statement, farmers across the country are struggling in this economic environment. [37:38] I was pleased that we were able to secure $10 billion in economic assistance at the end of 2024, which your department implemented very, very quickly. [37:48] And I appreciate the administration developing additional programs late last year to provide further assistance to our row crop and specialty crop producers. [37:57] I think that we all realize that this is still not enough to stop the bleeding in farm country, which is why we're working with Senator Hoven to build upon the farmer bridge assistance program. [38:10] And the assistance for specialty crop farmers program is pleased to hear that the president mentioned additional assistance during his event in Wisconsin last week. [38:23] Can you confirm that that this is when we hopefully will have a supplemental appropriations in the very near future and that this is something that we could get included as we go forward? [38:37] I will confirm that this president on the trip to Wisconsin while we were in Wisconsin on the trip back, his commitment and love for rural America and our farmers is real. [38:50] And as he said, so I'm not getting ahead of him. [38:54] I'm always a little bit concerned about getting ahead of him. [38:56] But he said at the event on Friday that he wanted to do more. [38:59] And so I think we can work arm in arm and hand in hand across hopefully both sides of the aisle and get to another point where that is possible and feasible for our farmers. [39:10] No, and I certainly don't speak for him either. [39:12] But when we were able to sign and able to come up with the dollars previously, we mentioned then that this was great and everybody is very grateful for his support, not only in this administration, but in the past one for our farmers, but that we might have to come back. [39:38] And he agreed with that. [39:40] So I'm very pleased that the administration is being aggressive in negotiating new trade agreements and putting high priority on opening markets for ag products in these negotiations. [39:54] I commend the administration for completing 19 agreements since the time President Trump took office. [40:00] I also firmly believe that in addition to strengthening our export markets, we must build demand here at home. [40:06] As I mentioned in my opening statement, I support legislation aimed at increasing domestic demand for ag products like the Buying American Cotton Act, the Fisher Capito, Klobuchar, year-round E15 bill. [40:24] What are other actions? [40:26] What other actions is the administration taking to increase domestic demand for our American ag products or the areas in which the Senate and administration can work together on? [40:38] Well, I think that the trade piece is important and I realize Senator Klobuchar, probably Senator Booker and some of our other friends on the other side of the aisle have some serious questions about that and I really look forward to having that discussion with them. [40:52] What I will note is when the president had the liberation day, which is when he announced that instead of going country by country, we're going to have an all-of-world approach on renegotiating our trade, that to date, the fact that our great producers in America, [41:06] when we send their goods out on average, it's about a 15% tariff into other countries. [41:12] When those goods from other countries come into America, it's an average of 5%, so our farmers and producers have been just compromised year after year under these trade and tariff regimes. [41:23] And so in just over a year, 19 new trade deals is remarkable, it is historical, it is unprecedented, and it is already paying dividends. [41:33] As I mentioned, we've cut the agricultural trade deficit in half in one year. [41:37] We expect it to come down another 30% this year. [41:40] Corn exports are going to be record-breaking based on the numbers that just came out yesterday. [41:45] We expect a 35% increase in volume in corn exports. [41:49] Dairy exports are going to be up almost 10%. [41:51] Sorghum is going to be up almost 100%. [41:53] Tree nuts up 11%. [41:55] Ethanol up at least 11%, probably more. [41:58] Wheat exports are up 8%. [42:00] Soybean oil up 129%. [42:02] To your point, Mr. Chairman, this opportunity, this is what farmers want. [42:07] They don't want to farm for a check from the government. [42:10] They want a farm to be able to sell their goods on an open market that's fair. [42:15] So that's the international play. [42:17] And then to your point about the local domestic markets, opening that up as well, whether it's E15 or 45Z, all of the work that this administration has done. [42:26] Again, unprecedented, the moves that we've made for our biofuels community, et cetera. [42:31] And then the next step down, and I know you've mentioned cotton. [42:34] Senator Hyde-Smith and I have talked round and around. [42:37] I give her a lot of credit for bringing the cotton to my attention. [42:41] And also when I've been out in the country, I've been to almost every state. [42:44] I've visited with thousands of farmers. [42:46] And I kept hearing cotton and rice, honestly, coming up again and again and again as is really, really struggling. [42:53] The moment that captured in my mind, especially with cotton, is with the Make America Healthy Again, how we have basically offshored all of our clothing production. [43:03] 97% of our clothes today are made with synthetic fiber from a foreign adversary. [43:09] And that's bad enough. [43:10] But then when you look at the health impact of the sheets we sleep in, of the clothes we put on our bodies, that's real. [43:17] So the cotton, I think, renaissance is coming. [43:19] And I'm really proud to be a part of that with y'all. [43:20] Very good. [43:21] Thank you. [43:22] Senator Klobuchar. [43:23] Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. [43:26] Secretary Rollins. [43:27] I just, the numbers for me that matter is the numbers like bankruptcy numbers. [43:35] And in the first quarter, we've had a number of farm bankruptcies in our state with calls to the Minnesota Farm and Rural Helpline up 200%. [43:45] Nationwide, Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies increased for the second year in a row, reaching 315 filings in 2025. [43:54] This is a 46% increase from 2024. [43:59] I just think those numbers don't lie. [44:02] Farmer lender mediation notices are the highest, say, it's been since 2019. [44:08] What actions is the USDA considering to assist producers facing bankruptcy and prevent the loss of more family farms? [44:17] And why did the USDA budget propose eliminating the certified mediation program? [44:22] So, a couple of points on that. [44:24] Obviously, even one bankruptcy is heartbreaking. [44:28] But a couple of points. [44:29] There are 1.077 million farms and ranches in America. [44:35] The bankruptcies that are reflected in your numbers are about 0.03%, 0.03% of the total farms in our country. [44:43] Now, again, I do not want to sit here and say it's nothing to worry about. [44:47] Every farm is absolutely something we should be fighting to save. [44:51] We have a concierge effort going for those 300 farms that are in Chapter 12. [44:56] Again, Chapter 12 doesn't mean they're going out of business. [44:58] It just means they're reorganizing. [45:00] But certainly, with the loss of markets, the cost of inputs, etc., there's no doubt that the farm economy is facing serious headwinds. [45:08] And that's what we're all working together to solve. [45:10] On the mitigation program, Senator, let me circle back to you. [45:13] I want to make sure I fully understand what it was that we pulled back and what the utilization was. [45:19] And then perhaps work together to think about how to solve for that. [45:22] Thank you. [45:23] Appreciate you getting back to me. [45:25] And our concern is we're heading in a trend, especially when you look at the fact that the diesel and gas prices are not going to go down anytime soon [45:35] because we've gone through our reserves as well as fertilizer. [45:39] So we discussed fertilizer, and Senator Marshall and I have introduced the Homegrown Fertilizer Act to make this program permanent. [45:48] In the meantime, do you intend to use the new CCC funds to support the development of domestic fertilizer? [45:57] So let me answer that because it's an important question. [46:00] And then if we have time, we'll talk about the diesel prices and other things. [46:03] So we realized, as fertilizer was coming down before the Iranian conflict and before the Hormuz Strait was closed, [46:11] fertilizer was down about 50 percent on average over the last 14 months. [46:15] So we were headed in the right direction. [46:17] Gas was way down. [46:18] Diesel was way down. [46:19] Of course, with this conflict, it has certainly bumped prices up. [46:23] Now, I do want to say that even though fertilizer prices are significantly higher since the Iranian conflict, [46:28] they're still lower than the peak during the Biden years. [46:31] Having said that, Senator, what this has allowed, this conversation has allowed is a light to be shined [46:38] on the fact that we've offshored our fertilizer production to almost 50 percent of total fertilizer in the last couple of decades. [46:45] This did not happen under any one administration. [46:48] And so as we've seen that offshore that happened, it's a national security issue. [46:53] It's obviously a cost issue for our farmers as well. [46:55] I'll talk about the CCC if I have time. [46:58] But what I'll say is immediately I called Chris Wright, our Secretary of Energy, who has a big pot of money for energy investment, [47:05] made the case that fertilizer is perhaps the most important energy to invest in. [47:10] And his number two largest project he's investing in is a fertilizer plant. [47:14] We called Howard Lutnick, who has a pot of investment funds from the president's negotiated tariffs and trade, a significant pot. [47:22] He is now prioritizing that. [47:24] And we have the largest ammonia plant in the world that I'm breaking ground on in two weeks in Louisiana. [47:31] Next to it, about a month after that, we're going to be breaking ground on one of the largest phosphate plants in the world. [47:36] So we're beginning to reshore to onshore that fertilizer back to America. [47:40] But just as important, and in fact, I think one of them is in Minnesota, there are about 80 more midsize, smaller fertilizer projects going on that we're funding and prioritizing. [47:52] A pretty good one in Minnesota, a big one in Washington State and some others. [47:56] So we have put those on warp speed to get those. [47:58] I'm going to run out of my time for questions. [48:01] And just that the CCC has $14.3 billion in emergency funding, and I would just encourage you to use some of that for the domestic fertilizer. [48:10] Can I talk to that? [48:11] Because I think it's mutually beneficial. [48:12] So the problem with the CCC, it hasn't been, the loan rate has not been increased for 80 years. [48:17] What is left in the CCC right now, Senator, we're going to need to meet the obligations of the Working Families Tax Cut Act and the increase. [48:24] So if we could all work together, I know we've been talking about that to try to open that up. [48:29] But yes, yes, ma'am, we'll be looking at that, too. [48:31] And we discussed early on New World Screwworm and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has lost 25 percent of its staff, [48:41] including more than 300 employees in veterinary services alone since the administration came in. [48:46] And how do you plan on ensuring that each of these critical threats, such as New World Screwworm, receives individualized resources? [48:56] We're very concerned about this. [48:57] Yes, ma'am. [48:57] As I mentioned, a year and a half ago, there were 10 APHIS employees working full-time, a total of 10 working full-time all-in. [49:05] Now we've got over 120. [49:07] So we've increased the amount of employees in APHIS working on New World Screwworm by 1,000 percent in the last 14 months. [49:15] So as you can see, we're prioritizing where the big threats are as we're working to ensure that we're meeting all of the needs across the country. [49:23] A different subject. [49:24] Last November, you announced a far-reaching final rule implementing crop insurance provisions from the budget bill enacted last summer that I did not support. [49:32] However, buried within that rule was a provision that removed an important risk management option for farmers in my state and several others. [49:42] Prevent plant buy-up coverage has been a critical tool farmers use to protect against extreme weather at planting time. [49:50] On January 22nd, Chairman Bozeman, Senator Hoven, and I led 16 of our colleagues asking the USDA to reverse this decision. [50:00] And Undersecretary Fordyce replied in April indicating that concerns are being evaluated. [50:06] What is the status of our request? [50:08] I actually have talked to Undersecretary Fordyce about that, but I don't have an immediate response. [50:13] But again, I'll check on that today, and we'll get back to you, Senator. [50:18] Okay, thank you very much. [50:19] Thank you so much. [50:20] And I'll have questions later. [50:21] Okay, sounds good. [50:22] Thank you. [50:23] Senator Marshall. [50:25] All right, Chairman. [50:26] Thank you and welcome, Secretary. [50:28] E15, E15, E15, E15, those are my top three priorities, and I'm preaching to the choir. [50:36] Thank you for your support of this. [50:38] You know, why is E15, you're on E15 important? [50:41] It would mean another two billion bushels of corn consumption per year. [50:46] Prior to President Trump, maybe we were exporting 2.3 billion. [50:50] So it's almost like doubling our export market. [50:53] That's why it's important. [50:54] But I want to talk about 45Z, which I think actually has a 10X opportunity compared to ethanol. [51:01] And maybe you can just update us. [51:02] We need to get this across the finish line as far as the rules. [51:06] And I know it's out in different agencies. [51:08] Any update on the 45Z rules? [51:10] Obviously, there's many multiple hands in the proverbial rule pot in the administration, but it is a top priority for me personally. [51:23] And certainly, my partners around the cabinet understand that. [51:28] So it is imminent, forthcoming. [51:31] I don't want to give you an exact date, but it is coming, hopefully, very quickly. [51:36] And it is really, really important. [51:37] The regenerative side of that, the Maha side, there are just so many wins for so many of our Americans in that. [51:43] Right. [51:43] So this, from a regenerative standpoint, to your point, is the ethanol companies making the ethanol can pass on 10, 20, 30, 50 cents a bushel if they're doing this regenerative agriculture, which is good for the soil, which is better for the nutrient health. [51:57] So I do appreciate this all-of-government approach on that as well. [52:02] We addressed fertilizer. [52:03] That would probably be my third biggest issue. [52:05] On trade, I want to emphasize value-add is when the American farmer makes money. [52:10] When we turn corn into beef, when we turn soybeans into diesel, that's when the American farmer makes money. [52:18] And I'm sure you're constantly communicating that to USTR. [52:22] What are the opportunities you think this going forward at these 19 trade deals on the value-add part of this? [52:28] I think they are unlimited. [52:31] And as I traveled a little bit of the world last year and talked to some of these other countries, I was sat down with some ethanol buyers in England. [52:39] And as so many of these countries, whether we agree with them or not, but they have put themselves into a certain category of reaching certain numbers on carbon, et cetera, it is our farmers in America that will be, I believe, the most benefited from those rules around the world. [52:55] And so now my job at USDA and our other wonderful trade negotiators, Lutnik and Greer and Besant, have this at the top of their list wherever they go. [53:05] So, again, we're already going to break records this year on corn exports. [53:08] Ethanol exports are going to break records. [53:10] But, again, I think it's just the beginning of the opportunity. [53:12] I want to give you an opportunity to talk a little bit more about the CCC needs. [53:17] And the background to me is this. [53:19] No one has done more for the American farmer in rural America than President Trump has done these last two years. [53:26] We added $65 billion to crop insurance, crop protection. [53:31] He signed $40-some billion of farm aid, a $50 billion rural health transformation fund. [53:39] And we doubled the death tax exemption. [53:42] The 199A permanent pass-through was so important to the American farmers. [53:46] And bonus depreciation, interest deductibility, I'm not sure what I'm missing. [53:51] The death tax. [53:51] So we doubled the death tax exemption. [53:54] So we did a lot. [53:56] We're increasing trade. [53:58] And yet we're struggling, I think, mainly due to input cost. [54:03] And we do need some more help, I'm afraid. [54:07] We need to help more. [54:09] What does that look like to you, whether it's more fertilizer, like Senator Klobuchar pointed out, some monies towards those projects? [54:17] Tell me a little bit more about what you feel the need is and what we need to do to replenish the CCC. [54:22] Well, I want to be careful because I don't want to get ahead of our entire team, OMB, et cetera. [54:29] And so just know that those conversations are absolutely ongoing. [54:34] And again, that $30 billion limit is, what, six or seven decades ago, I think, not tied to inflation. [54:42] If it had just been tied to inflation when it was first enacted, we'd be at $90 billion for the CCC, this loan authority that allows us to move into important, urgent issues. [54:54] So I really look forward to working with you all. [54:56] I know across the aisle everyone is very focused on this, at least in this room. [55:00] But let's keep working together on that and seeing what we can get done. [55:04] Let's kind of probably finish on this screw worm. [55:07] First of all, I think it's important Americans realize there's no threat to the food supply. [55:13] And trying to explain this to people is a little tough, but you and I grew up on ranches. [55:19] And first of all, no rancher would take an animal with this big, ugly, fleshy wound to the locker plant, first of all. [55:28] Correct. [55:28] Second of all, even if a human ate, let's say it's a deer. [55:32] Let's say you shot a deer and you're eating this and it happened to have this screw worm on it, that our own digestive system would destroy that. [55:40] I think that's important to point out. [55:43] I think it's important to point out that we saw this coming under the previous administration and they refused to respond. [55:50] When you let millions of people migrate through Central America this way, we saw the screw worm just come with them, [55:56] whether it was on their pets or maybe they were bringing livestock. [55:59] And unfortunately, visiting the border before, I saw so many of these people with open flesh wounds themselves that could have been one way to get it across the border. [56:07] We saw it happening. [56:09] And we were down just basically a male mosquito screw worm fly being sterilized in Panama. [56:17] But the next step, so we sat on it, we prayed about it, we tried to monitor it, but you also invested money in the laboratory in Mexico. [56:28] I mean, like within days after you took office, we talked about this. [56:31] So take us through that process of what we've done in Mexico. [56:35] Again, you had a time to touch on it. [56:37] So the second you get into office, you're on this. [56:40] So just run us through that again. [56:41] Yes, Senator, thank you. [56:44] We saw it coming, the fact that it had been out of America since 1966, had been out of Central America and down past the Darien Gap for more than 30, 40 years. [56:56] I think that as it began to make its way north starting in 2021, 2022, it gets into Central America, 2023, gets into South Mexico, and of course 2024 begins to make its way through Mexico. [57:11] Again, you need about 500 million sterile flies to eradicate. [57:15] Once it was pushed past the Darien Gap back in the 60s and 70s, people just stopped, we stopped making the sterile flies. [57:21] We got down to the 100 million in Panama. [57:23] Within a matter of days, we got approval from the president to, I was sort of shocked that the last USDA really had no plans, hadn't really done anything, said we've got to build our own facility in America that will produce between three and four hundred million flies per week so that we never let this happen again. [57:42] Understanding that as a radiated facility, it normally takes a couple of years for permitting. [57:46] Pete Hegseth, God bless him, and our Army Corps of Engineers permitted that facility in just 60 days, I believe. [57:52] And then we broke ground, contracted within another month or so. [57:56] So we have shaved years off of that timeline. [57:58] But in the meantime, the Metapa facility was a fruit fly facility in Mexico that Mexico agreed to let us pay for, let us outfit. [58:07] We started that last summer, and it is ready this month. [58:11] That will be another hundred million flies that are coming online. [58:14] So there's a lot of movement and a lot of money that has been invested to prepare for this moment. [58:19] Great. [58:20] Thank you, Chairman. [58:21] And I'd love to come back and talk about the life cycle of the screw worm. [58:24] The poor females only get to mate one time, and then they die. [58:29] This is true. [58:30] And that's why these sterile smells are so important and why it works. [58:36] So the science is there. [58:37] We don't need to study it. [58:38] We've got cures. [58:39] We got this. [58:40] That's right. [58:41] Thank you, sir. [58:42] And the food supply is 100% safe. [58:44] This is not a disease. [58:45] It's not a virus. [58:46] It's a fly. [58:48] So that's right. [58:50] It's good to have an expert on the committee. [58:52] Yep. [58:53] Senator Booker. [58:55] I'm sorry. [58:56] Hold on. [58:59] Senator Welsh. [59:01] Now let's go with Booker. [59:06] Good morning. [59:06] All right. [59:07] I'm going to deny this if anybody quotes me, but, Secretary, I think you're doing a pretty good job. [59:12] Oh, thank you. [59:13] We'll keep that on the down low. [59:14] I don't think your microphone's on, so I'm not sure anyone heard that but me, but I will take that. [59:19] Thank you so much, Senator. [59:20] Here's the thing. [59:21] You have been responsive, and Vermont has had very significant damage from floods that we had in 2023 and 2024, and I've had a chance to talk to you. [59:30] But let me just ask you if you can tell us, Vermonters, what the status is of the Disaster Assistance Block Grant, and then also the USDA Rural Development Disaster Assistance Fund. [59:44] And both of those are $31 million. [59:47] We've been going through the process, and hopefully the money will be delivered, but it'll make a huge difference to us in Vermont. [59:53] No, that's right, and I really appreciate, obviously, I'm from Texas. [59:58] I'm from cotton and cattle. [1:00:01] I grew up in the summers on my grandparents' row crop farm in Minnesota, so I knew row crops and I knew cotton and cattle coming into this job. [1:00:10] I did not know specialty crops, obviously, as much, and you and others, again, working across the aisle have been, and some of your colleagues from the Northeast [1:00:19] and California, frankly, have just been really, really good at making sure that I fully understand the challenges facing our specialty crop producers. [1:00:28] So the block grant that you're speaking of, most of the Northeast is in paperwork process. [1:00:35] Some of them are complete. [1:00:37] I should have had Vermont front of center, and I don't, but I'll follow up with you on that. [1:00:41] If it hasn't been deployed yet, then it will be eminently. [1:00:44] That was a little more challenging for us than the typical row crop or typical cattle application, again, because there are so many specialty crops, [1:00:52] and every one of them is different, and they're the smaller farmer in this country. [1:00:56] They don't have the armies of paperwork doers, so we've been working with the states on that. [1:01:00] We can be somewhat, I mean, we're talking about two things, the disaster assistance, that's $31.7 million, [1:01:06] and then the USDA Disaster Assistance Fund, and your office has been responsive to me, [1:01:13] but what I understand is that both of those are on track for deployment quite soon, right? [1:01:20] Well, in fact, the crack staff behind me said we signed Vermont yesterday, so it's done and should be moving out, [1:01:26] the block grant piece of that. [1:01:27] Mr. Chairman, I like that kind of service. [1:01:30] Very much. [1:01:32] I should appreciate you. [1:01:33] You know, the other thing, the USDA is extremely helpful to us, and really helpful to us in Vermont. [1:01:43] There have been some staffing cuts, and there's also been loss of staff by attrition, [1:01:49] and there's not been replacement, and it really is a governmental agency [1:01:53] that has made a significant difference for Vermont Ag. [1:01:56] Can you tell me about the prospects of restaffing so that we get the help that we need? [1:02:01] Absolutely, and my ask for you, sir, and you can pass me off to anyone that has better information if you don't have it, [1:02:09] but if we could just get a list of, whether it's NRCS or FSA or RD, wherever you are really compromised, [1:02:16] where you don't have enough staff, we will prioritize that. [1:02:20] Okay, we will do that. [1:02:21] That would be great. [1:02:22] We'll get a really good look on that. [1:02:24] Okay, there's another program in Vermont. [1:02:27] It's called the Acer Access and Development Program, and it's really helpful for us, our maple producers in Vermont. [1:02:36] And Vermont, of course, produces the most maple syrup, the best maple syrup in the United States. [1:02:42] In the world? [1:02:43] Yes, thank you for that. [1:02:46] You're welcome. [1:02:48] And there's a 30-day requirement window is far shorter than any of the previous nine years, [1:02:53] and it's making it somewhat difficult to meet internal organizational deadlines. [1:02:58] Can we work with you about extending that period of application to give our institutions more time to get the benefit of this? [1:03:07] Absolutely, because I know we adjusted that particular program, so yes, if we need more time, then yes, let's make sure that happens. [1:03:14] All right, and, you know, I want to talk a little bit about Food for Peace. [1:03:20] You know, that has been such a contribution that the United States has made to hunger across the world, [1:03:25] and I understand there's a memorandum of understanding with the USDA in the State Department [1:03:32] that would give USDA temporary authority to administer this incredibly important program. [1:03:39] And can you just describe this and the steps that you would take to make certain that the goals of the Food for Peace program [1:03:48] continue to be met with this organizational restructuring? [1:03:52] Yes, it's my understanding. [1:03:53] Our Undersecretary for Trade, Luke Lindbergh, has really driven that, and I think it's been very a successful transition. [1:03:59] We talked about this in my confirmation here in a year ago, and it actually happened, [1:04:03] and we're really happy to take the program and do with it what we could. [1:04:07] If you've heard differently, please let us know how we can improve, but really glad to have it. [1:04:12] I think it probably needs to be codified at some point because it's just under an MOU, [1:04:15] so it may switch back, but we're fully in support of moving it to USDA fully. [1:04:20] All right. I'm going to be quick because I only have a couple of minutes. [1:04:22] Just on the net, you were mentioning organics and vegetables. [1:04:27] The certification program that farmers have to go through in order to get organic status, [1:04:32] there's been a cost share, and what I understand is there is a move now to increase the burden [1:04:38] or the share of cost that the farmer has to bear, and I want your cooperation on that [1:04:45] because I think that increasing that cost to our farmers is going to diminish the ability of farmers [1:04:50] who do want to make the choice to go to organic to do so. [1:04:53] Can we work with you on that? [1:04:55] Yes, of course, and I know the working families tax cut included extra money for that program, [1:05:00] so yeah, we'll look forward to building that out. [1:05:03] You know, and finally, this is not anything that you have control over, [1:05:08] but I am so alarmed and concerned about the well-being of agriculture, [1:05:13] not just in Vermont but across the country. [1:05:15] I agree. [1:05:16] You know, a graph that you provided, your office provided, [1:05:19] shows that in all the big commodity crops of all my colleagues, [1:05:23] it's costing the farmers more to produce than they're getting paid, [1:05:28] and that is just not a sustainable situation. [1:05:31] That's right. [1:05:31] And, you know, some of the costs are related to tariffs. [1:05:34] That's not your policy, but it's having a big impact on the input cost, fertilizer. [1:05:41] The tariffs also have had a big impact on losing markets for a lot of our agriculture committee, [1:05:47] especially in the Midwest, and I'm not going to ask you to defend those. [1:05:52] That's not your decision or choice, [1:05:54] but I just want to express to you that I am really concerned about the well-being of agriculture in this country, [1:06:02] where farmers have to pay more than they're getting paid for the crop that they make. [1:06:08] And also, I think this committee has to address this, Mr. Chairman. [1:06:12] You know, our farmers create an immense amount of wealth. [1:06:15] They just don't get any of it. [1:06:17] That's right. [1:06:17] And that is not right. [1:06:20] So I know, I think you agree with me on this, but I just wanted to make that statement. [1:06:25] Thank you. [1:06:25] Thank you. [1:06:26] And if I may, just very quickly, Senator Bozeman, [1:06:29] and I know, Senator Walsh, you and I could disagree on this, [1:06:31] but from my perspective, having watched the tariff and the trade negotiations around the world, [1:06:37] it has opened up these 19 new trade deals, [1:06:40] the highest corn exports on record, highest tree nuts on record. [1:06:43] We've cut the agricultural trade deficit that we inherited, [1:06:46] about $50 billion in half in just one year. [1:06:49] So I understand it's been an imperfect process, [1:06:52] but we have actually made a lot of strides for our farmers. [1:06:55] Thank you, Madam Secretary. [1:06:56] Thank you. [1:06:59] Senator Sauberville. [1:07:02] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [1:07:03] Thank you, Secretary, for being here. [1:07:05] This, uh, it's a disaster. [1:07:08] We all know. [1:07:08] We don't like to go back in time, but in the previous administration, [1:07:12] we lost 150,000 farmers and 25,000 farms. [1:07:17] A disaster. [1:07:18] It hadn't stopped. [1:07:19] We're still losing, because when you have all those high input costs up to this point, [1:07:24] the farmers and producers in my state of Alabama, [1:07:29] when you have a four or five year losing streak in coaching, you get fired. [1:07:34] Well, in farming, you go broke. [1:07:37] And that's what's happening. [1:07:39] We're having tough problems. [1:07:40] Just one question about the screw worm. [1:07:43] Have we opened any of the border in Mexico, either the West Coast or the East Coast at the border? [1:07:48] No. [1:07:48] The ports have been closed for a year. [1:07:50] Yeah. [1:07:50] And, um, and that allowed us to keep it out. [1:07:54] I think that if we'd open any of those ports, we would have had it on our side six months, eight months, ten months ago. [1:07:58] Are you putting the fly traps or whatever you call them all along the border? [1:08:03] Where are they? [1:08:04] They are. [1:08:05] They're all along the border. [1:08:06] We have a polygon that gets adjusted every day. [1:08:08] So on Wednesday of last week, when the calf with the first confirmed case, a three-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, was confirmed, we, within four hours, were dropping eight million sterile flies right on top of that ranch. [1:08:20] And they have had no other cases. [1:08:22] I mean, this just proves the efficacy of the technology. [1:08:25] So, yes, we're constantly moving based on where the cases are propping up. [1:08:29] And this month, again, we'll have more coming online out of Metapa. [1:08:31] So we'll be able to expand that. [1:08:33] Hopefully, with the Novo Fly, we'll be able to even exponentially expand it by the end of the year. [1:08:37] And then we're moving up the timeline to get that big production facility ready to go, hopefully before next summer. [1:08:42] Can our packers and producers make it without Mexican beef? [1:08:48] Well, I think the larger question is a good one. [1:08:51] And that is that our packers are losing a lot of money right now because we don't have – it's the lowest cattle herd in history of our country. [1:08:59] But what's important to realize is that's a worldwide phenomenon. [1:09:03] And there's a lot of reasons for that. [1:09:04] Listen, in America, there's no question the previous four years to us, the ranchers were not number one on the policy list. [1:09:11] There was grazing land taken away. [1:09:13] A lot of USDA money was shifted to more climate-focused projects, et cetera. [1:09:18] You had a lot of issues with a lot of the different pushback on that. [1:09:23] And then you combine that with the Make America Healthy Again movement. [1:09:26] We have a higher demand for beef today than we've ever had before. [1:09:30] The carcass weights are bigger now because of genetics. [1:09:33] So we don't have less beef on the shelves. [1:09:35] We have about the same amount of beef on the shelves. [1:09:38] What's happened is more people are eating it and want it. [1:09:41] And as the price has gone up, the demand continues to increase, too. [1:09:45] So we've just got to get more cattle here as soon as possible and incentivize our ranchers to retain. [1:09:51] It's hard to do that when the prices are really good for these cattle. [1:09:54] And the average herd in America is 45 head. [1:09:57] What that tells you is that almost every ag producer has a herd of cattle, and that's keeping them afloat. [1:10:02] Yeah. [1:10:03] Switch gears here a little bit. [1:10:05] My foresters are getting killed. [1:10:07] Our sawmills are closing down. [1:10:10] We're getting beat up by Canada. [1:10:12] I think we have a 25 percent tariff on Canada. [1:10:15] It needs to be about 60, 70 percent. [1:10:16] They are flooding our country with lumber. [1:10:19] And our sawmills are going out. [1:10:22] We're losing paper mills. [1:10:25] We have nothing. [1:10:26] We have no place for our wood residuals to go. [1:10:29] I mean, it's becoming a disaster. [1:10:31] So our crop farmers are having problems. [1:10:35] Our foresters are having problems. [1:10:37] What's your thoughts on the problem we're having with our foresters? [1:10:41] Yeah, I should have mentioned, I said cotton rice, and we should put forest timber on there, too. [1:10:47] We are similar to cotton and rice. [1:10:49] We've released cotton, rice is coming, but timber is next. [1:10:53] And I think there's a lot we can do on the international front with the trade team to continue to push this and prioritize it. [1:11:00] Because you're right, and this is one of the, I mean, fundamental, original agriculture producers in this country is our foresters, our timber guys, and the timber mills. [1:11:09] And there's a lot of opportunity there, just as we've done in biofuels. [1:11:12] I think there's a lot in biomass we can do. [1:11:14] So we'll stay focused on that, and let's work with your office. [1:11:17] Yeah, China can come in and buy our lumber, our trees, and cut our trees, put them on ships, ship them back, mill them, make cabinets out of them, the same that we make here, ship them back, and they undercut our prices. [1:11:32] And we need to tariff the hell out of China. [1:11:35] I don't understand that. [1:11:36] I don't understand why we cannot protect our people in our country, and I know it's all about diplomacy. [1:11:42] But at the end of the day, we have got to save the people that make things in this country. [1:11:48] That's what President Trump wanted. [1:11:49] He wants, hey, let's make things here. [1:11:51] Good. [1:11:52] Let's tariff the hell out of the people that are shipping in stuff that we can't undercut. [1:11:56] One other thing before my time runs out. [1:12:01] Gulf Coast shrimpers, they continue to face pressure from imported seafood that is often sold at an unfair price due to foreign subsidies and dumping prices. [1:12:11] Can you address that? [1:12:15] There is no doubt our Gulf coasters, well, really all of our coasts, are seeing this. [1:12:20] North Carolina has a big issue, too. [1:12:22] This is, we opened the first ever Office of Seafood, I don't know, Senator, if you were tracking that, I know some were at USDA, before our seafooders, our farmers of the sea have never even had really a home in the federal government. [1:12:36] But about six months ago, we opened our Office of Seafood with the sole purpose of making sure that we can better, more actively, and more vigorously advocate for our fishermen. [1:12:49] And the shrimpers are just, whether it's that or labor, there's just all kinds of challenges there. [1:12:53] But we're fully focused on it. [1:12:55] Yeah, here's the problem I have. [1:12:57] We raise on the Gulf Coast about 4% of the shrimp that we eat in our country. [1:13:01] So 96% of the shrimp that we eat comes from other countries. [1:13:05] If you buy it in a grocery store, basically, if you're not on the coast, you're eating shrimp that comes from sewers, from Vietnam, from Cambodia. [1:13:16] I mean, it's atrocious, and I think we need more oversight on that. [1:13:21] You know, they look, it looks great when it comes in these frozen packages in the grocery store, but we're putting it in our bodies. [1:13:27] We're worried about Maha, and it's a, and it's a catastrophe. [1:13:31] That's right. [1:13:31] One other thing, real quick. [1:13:33] You spoke about the National Farm Security Action Plan. [1:13:36] How are you working with the Department of War with this for our national security? [1:13:39] I have been so pleased at not just Secretary Hegseth, but across Secretary Besant, all of the different cabinet colleagues of mine that have accepted agriculture with open arms and put ag at the very top of the list. [1:13:56] I'm now part of the CFIUS committee. [1:13:58] I can't believe ag was never part of CFIUS before the Foreign Investment Relations Committee out of the White House, reviewing everything that's happening in America from foreign entities and adversaries. [1:14:08] So it's been extremely positive. [1:14:10] Thank you. [1:14:11] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [1:14:12] Thank you, Senator. [1:14:14] Senator Schiff. [1:14:17] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [1:14:18] Hi, Madam Secretary. [1:14:20] Good morning. [1:14:20] You were recently in California, so you know how important our golden state is to producing healthy fruits and vegetables. [1:14:28] This is why last week I introduced a package of six bills to increase support and level the playing field for specialty crop farmers. [1:14:34] I want to thank you for moving in the right direction with an increased allotment for specialty crop farmers from an initial $850 million to $1.625 billion for assistance to specialty crop farmers. [1:14:50] However, specialty crops account for 30% of the total U.S. crop sales, and the industry is facing several billion dollars in losses due to market disruptions over the last year and a half. [1:15:03] They continue to ask for $5 billion, up from the $1.6 billion in additional help to have this funding doled out based on revenue, [1:15:13] similar to how CFAP 2, under the first Trump administration, was implemented. [1:15:20] And I wanted to ask whether you would consider increasing the amount going to specialty crops, [1:15:27] given their significant percentage of the food production in the country and their significant losses, [1:15:32] but also if you would consider reevaluating how that, how USDA is distributing the relief and using the formula similar to CFAP 2 under the first Trump administration. [1:15:47] We would love any feedback, and we've said that all along. [1:15:50] It's one of the reasons that we basically doubled, maybe even more than doubled, the original plan. [1:15:55] And as we have made clear, this is, hopefully, we can lean on Congress to step into these gaps, [1:16:02] that USDA sort of bubblegumming and duct taping some of these programs together is very difficult on the bottom line. [1:16:09] So we'll look forward to working together, but yes, of course, we're always open to that sort of feedback. [1:16:13] And is there any constraint in using the CCC money that you need addressed in the Farm Bill or otherwise to augment what we can do for these specialty crop farmers? [1:16:27] Yes. [1:16:28] So what we've discussed is the CCC is a really important tool for USDA. [1:16:33] I don't really, for the American farmer, I don't know that I really ever really appreciated it until this job, [1:16:37] but it has been at a loan limit of $30 billion for decades. [1:16:42] It was never tied to inflation when it was instituted, I think, in the 1930s, if I'm not misspeaking. [1:16:48] So, yes, there's a lot of work that Congress can do. [1:16:51] It's a congressionally authorized fund, obviously, to adjust and even just tying to inflation. [1:16:57] We're obviously talking to Senator Hoeven and a lot of people on this committee almost daily about the importance of that. [1:17:03] And the other important point of that, Senator, is that a lot of the really good things that happened under the Working Families Tax Cut Act, [1:17:10] the reference price increase, et cetera, that is going to come, crop protection, et cetera, [1:17:15] the additional money is going to come from the CCC fund. [1:17:18] So we are really stretched right now on the CCC. [1:17:23] Well, we will provide you, and I'll make sure that our specialty crop farmers provide you with additional information [1:17:29] about why using CFAP 2 would be a more fair formula for farmers and more workable [1:17:34] given the nature of how they grow their crops, which is very different than row crops. [1:17:40] I've also heard concern about how USDA is implementing the disaster relief phase 2. [1:17:48] Phase 2 was supposed to be the round that reached specialty crop growers, [1:17:52] the ones with shallow and quality losses who couldn't trigger an indemnity. [1:17:56] The payment factor moved to 70% and the deadline moved to August. [1:18:01] An extended deadline only helps if growers can get through the door, [1:18:05] but at the same time staffing at the Farm Service Agency county offices is down. [1:18:10] Are you committed to ensuring that these applications get processed by the previously stated deadline of August 12th? [1:18:17] I don't want my farmers left out because the staffing isn't adequate to process their applications by that date. [1:18:26] And can you assure us that the topped-up payments for other producers [1:18:29] will not lead to inadequate funding for fruits, nuts, and vegetables? [1:18:34] That is, as some farmers go to get a second allotment, [1:18:39] that we're not going to deprive specialty crop farmers of getting even the first amount of assistance. [1:18:46] Yeah, I will note that the reason we extended the deadline is because we got this feedback. [1:18:51] I actually had a call with Senator Slotkin from Michigan, [1:18:53] also another very heavy specialty crop state. [1:18:56] I think maybe the number one specialty crop state in the country. [1:18:59] Oh, no, no, no, no, no. [1:18:59] I have to correct you there. [1:19:01] Very much number two. [1:19:02] Most diverse, maybe most diverse. [1:19:04] But either way, yes, I will note two important things. [1:19:10] Number one, that we will ensure that everyone has the time that they need. [1:19:13] And if you are hearing differently, please let us know. [1:19:17] We have worked really hard to adjust FSA offices to ensure that that is possible. [1:19:21] But the second thing, sir, and it may not be as applicable to the specialty crop industry, [1:19:27] but it is important to note that the one farmer, one file we rolled out last year, [1:19:31] the program, the funding program that we put out previous to rolling that out, [1:19:36] we, over a course of five months, I think had 10,000 or 12,000 payments move. [1:19:40] Under one farmer, one file, in four days, we had 57,000 farmers apply and money hit their bank account. [1:19:47] So we're making a lot of technological adjustments to hopefully move that much more quickly. [1:19:51] But understand the importance of the in-person touch for many of our farmers [1:19:56] that don't want to do it on their phone or their computer. [1:19:58] Yeah, and my understanding is it's a lot more complicated a process for specialty crops [1:20:02] because of the multi-year investment that they make in their trees and their plants [1:20:08] compared to what we see with row crop farmers. [1:20:11] Let me turn to one last issue, and that is pest and disease, [1:20:15] which remain an evergreen threat in California. [1:20:19] Just one example, the glassy-winged sharpshooter is hitting California grape growers especially hard [1:20:25] with an unexpected and severe detection as of a few weeks ago. [1:20:31] I'll soon be sending a letter to you, along with many of my colleagues, [1:20:35] asking for the release of $32 million to address the sharpshooter. [1:20:39] I appreciate your taking a look at that request and also making sure that we have the staffing we need at APHIS [1:20:47] to detect and diagnose and assist farmers with these endangering pests and disease. [1:20:57] Yes, sir. [1:20:58] As I mentioned on Screw Room, we've increased staff 1,000 percent in the last year on Screw Room. [1:21:02] I don't have the sharpshooter number in front of me, but I will get to that right away, [1:21:06] and we'll circle back to make sure that that's fully funded and, in fact, probably even put more resources on that. [1:21:13] Thank you. [1:21:13] That and red blotch have been just devastating to farmers in California. [1:21:18] Thank you, Secretary. [1:21:18] Thank you, Chairman. [1:21:19] Thank you, Chairman. [1:21:19] Thank you. [1:21:20] Thank you. [1:21:21] Senator Moran. [1:21:23] Chairman, thank you. [1:21:23] Thank you and the ranking member. [1:21:26] Madam Secretary, thank you for the time you allowed me to visit with you and your team earlier this week at USDA, [1:21:31] and I want to especially, again, thank you for your department's efforts in regard to Food for Peace. [1:21:38] Last, a few weeks ago, we had the undersecretary, undersecretary Lindbergh, with Congressman Mann and I in Kansas [1:21:47] to discuss trade and to discuss the opportunity for us to continue our international food aid programs, [1:21:54] and I want to thank you for the acceptance and the work that you are now operating the Food for Peace program, [1:22:00] the acceptance from the Department of State, and the management and operation of Food for Peace. [1:22:07] Madam Secretary, I just received a text. [1:22:09] This is a photo of people in Hugoton, Kansas, just yesterday, and they loaded 400,000 bushels of grain sorghum [1:22:17] on their way to a port to be used in the Food for Peace program, [1:22:22] one of the very first opportunities that this has occurred. [1:22:26] Did you say 400,000 bushels? [1:22:28] 400,000 bushels. [1:22:30] Wow. [1:22:30] And we have four Kansans dressed in their bright yellow jackets, [1:22:36] helping in regard to that grain being loaded. [1:22:40] That's a real, that's a beneficial thing economically, [1:22:43] but there's an emotional attachment that comes with all farmers, [1:22:47] all agriculture producers, in the noble pursuit of their profession that feeds a hungry world, [1:22:53] and you should take great pride in Food for Peace under your management. [1:22:58] I want to make certain, Senator Hoeven has been not my sidekick, [1:23:03] but my leader in the effort to make permanent that transfer from the State Department. [1:23:09] Secretary Rubio testified in response to my questions last week of his support for this endeavor, [1:23:16] and we want to give you all the tools. [1:23:19] I would just ask about one thing, the necessary employees and staff. [1:23:23] My understanding is that you're doing the same program with less people, [1:23:27] but I want to make sure that the fact that it's a temporary program now doesn't inhibit. [1:23:33] It would be another reason that we could make a case for making it permanent [1:23:36] so that you could better hire longer-term employees. [1:23:40] That's a good flag. I'll make sure we look at that, too. [1:23:42] Great. [1:23:44] Be sure and tell Secretary Rubio that USDA is doing more with less, please. [1:23:49] It depends on the moment of whether I need something from Secretary Rubio, [1:23:53] but I will be happy to do that at the right time. [1:23:57] Kansas, a long-time leading state in cattle feeding, [1:24:01] and I say that to a Texan, [1:24:04] large numbers of animals are shipped across the country to be finished. [1:24:10] Unfortunately, this movement of cattle has also increased the presence of the Asian long-hoard tick, [1:24:15] another one for us to be concerned about. [1:24:18] It's an invasive parasite that poses a threat to our livestock industry. [1:24:25] USDA's resources are stretched across numerous animal health priorities, [1:24:29] but I want to make sure that we elevate the urgency of this issue to you and to the Department [1:24:34] as its risks are expanding and present not only in Kansas but now nationwide. [1:24:42] And so I want to highlight that issue. [1:24:45] Madam Secretary, I also want to highlight at the same time [1:24:49] the importance of the National Bioagro Science Facility in Manhattan, Kansas. [1:24:53] It's the replacement for Plum Island, [1:24:55] currently managed by the Department of Homeland Security. [1:24:58] When it transfers from Plum Island to NBATH, [1:25:02] it becomes a part of the Department of Agriculture. [1:25:05] It is a part of the Department of Agriculture now, [1:25:07] but the task will become part of your responsibility. [1:25:10] I wanted you to know that I talked this morning by phone [1:25:13] with the Secretary of Homeland Security [1:25:15] and indicated in a very brief conversation [1:25:19] about the importance of the transition between Plum Island and NBATH, [1:25:23] and he indicated a willingness to work with you and to work with us [1:25:27] to make sure that transition works smoothly. [1:25:30] So it's on his radar screen. [1:25:33] I'm actually headed there after this for a meeting on another topic, [1:25:35] but I'll bring it up then, too. [1:25:37] Great. Thank you. [1:25:38] And then finally, I want to mention about the importance of the haying and grazing of CRP. [1:25:45] We've had significant fires, grassland fires in Kansas, [1:25:51] tens of thousands of acres burned, [1:25:53] a significant number of cattle affected, [1:25:57] and bore the challenges of farmers and rural fire departments [1:26:02] in fighting fires that cross huge expanses. [1:26:06] One of the reasons, I mean, I was asking when I was in Clark and Mead counties [1:26:10] in southwest Kansas earlier this month, [1:26:13] why the prevalence of these fires, [1:26:15] they seem to be more frequent than in the past, [1:26:19] and the answer, at least in part, is CRP, [1:26:23] and it's kind of the nature of rainfall in our state. [1:26:27] We've been in a multi-year, five-year drought, [1:26:30] but about a year ago, we started having rains again, [1:26:34] and the grass on the CRP ground grew and became fuel for fires. [1:26:40] Unfortunately, the drought returned, [1:26:43] and so we had a lot of vegetation that then turned flammable, [1:26:48] and so I'd like to work with the department. [1:26:51] I'm a sponsor of legislation with Senator Klobuchar and Senator Thune and others [1:26:55] in regard to some of these issues about the improvement of the use, [1:26:59] the flexibility of using CRP ground, [1:27:02] and I hope that we understand that it can be a part of the Farm Bill [1:27:06] as we mark up that important piece of legislation, [1:27:11] but in the meantime, anything that USDA can do, [1:27:15] and the point I would make is I didn't really realize this. [1:27:18] I always have known the importance of haying and grazing CRP ground [1:27:22] in a drought and the need for feed for cattle, [1:27:25] but the other component of that is that CRP ground needs to be at least grazed [1:27:29] to keep it from becoming the source of the fire that kills the cattle [1:27:34] or that destroys their feed. [1:27:36] So we have a significant opportunity, I think, in CRP to better manage [1:27:40] and, in the process, improve the environment by reducing the chances of fire. [1:27:44] Well, and not only that, when you look at trying to rebuild the herd, [1:27:47] then we need that land to get more cattle on. [1:27:50] Very important at this time, too. [1:27:51] That's right. [1:27:52] That's right. [1:27:52] No, I'll look forward to that, too. [1:27:53] Thank you, Senator. [1:27:54] Thank you, Secretary. [1:28:00] Senator Lujan. [1:28:01] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [1:28:03] Secretary, if I may continue there where Senator Moran was, [1:28:07] you know, in some of the western states now, and I see Yvette here, [1:28:10] it's good to see you, Representative. [1:28:12] Recently, some of our ranchers that have allotments were told they can't go in [1:28:17] because of drought conditions into some of their allotments in the forest. [1:28:21] And similar to what Jim's saying now, you know, with the cost of diesel inputs [1:28:24] into hay, things of that nature, you know, in the same way that folks in different parts [1:28:28] of the country that have row crops, I don't know why there wouldn't be a program [1:28:32] to help offset the cost of hay and those fuel costs as well. [1:28:35] If the federal government is telling folks you can't go in and you can't use these allotments [1:28:39] or because of hay and what's going on with CRP, there might be something that we could do together. [1:28:45] You know, Midwest, western states, that we might be able to figure this out. [1:28:48] And this issue just came up, I don't know, two weeks ago, I was at a commencement, Representative, [1:28:53] and a few of the board members that have cattle herds were telling me about this. [1:28:59] And as you know, different forests, you know, different decisions, things of that nature as well. [1:29:03] So for whatever that's worth, I hope that that's something maybe we can work on together. [1:29:07] I would love that. Thank you. [1:29:08] Madam Secretary, one of the questions I have, I think several of my colleagues have asked you about it, [1:29:13] and we're one of the states where the screw worm is now, as you know. [1:29:18] And I have a lot of questions in this particular area, but I'm just getting, [1:29:22] I'm hearing concerns from folks back home, as you know. [1:29:25] And I understand USDA has set up a 20-kilometer quarantine zone around impacted farms, [1:29:31] and they've redeployed staff as well to help with surveillance and response. [1:29:35] The question I have is, with the nearly 20% reduction in APHIS veterinary staff due to the doge cuts, [1:29:44] reduction in force efforts, deferred resignation program with heavier losses in concentrated areas like the Southwest, [1:29:51] is that there's just not enough people when emergencies like this come up. [1:29:57] And this is an emergency we've known about for a while. [1:29:59] And with watching that darn thing, you know, get closer to the states and then into Texas and now into New Mexico, [1:30:06] my question is, have reduction in force efforts at USDA impacted the ability of the department [1:30:12] to respond to the spread of the screw worm? [1:30:15] So the answer is no, it hasn't. [1:30:19] What we've done is we've reallocated resources. [1:30:21] Last January 2025, we had 10 full-time staffers on screw worm when we came in the door. [1:30:27] Last week when we confirmed that case, as in May, we have over 120. [1:30:31] So we've increased staffing. [1:30:33] This is just USDA. [1:30:34] The state of Texas has put significant resources as well. [1:30:37] I'm going to call with your governor very quickly to hopefully work with New Mexico to do the same. [1:30:43] Just a quick point of clarification. [1:30:45] The six confirmed cases so far, five Texas, one New Mexico. [1:30:49] The New Mexico case was a dog that was brought over from Mexico. [1:30:54] So it has not hit your livestock. [1:30:56] It was actually a companion animal that was transported over the border and then brought to a vet in Andrews County, north of Midland. [1:31:02] But that's why your case is not quite as concerning, still concerning, of course. [1:31:07] But the other cases in South Texas are four calves, babies, basically the umbilical cord is where the fly landed, the screw worm landed, which is a fly and then a goat. [1:31:18] So we'll continue to monitor it very closely. [1:31:20] Obviously, New Mexico is the very next state. [1:31:24] But you have my number, and we are 24-7 on this right now. [1:31:28] We've invested $1,300,000,000 in screw worms since we came in the door a year and four or five months ago. [1:31:36] We're on it. [1:31:37] We've got to get more sterile flies in the air, and that just takes time. [1:31:40] It's a radiation facility to get there. [1:31:42] And, Secretary, if I could work with you and your team to get, you know, disaggregated numbers on the staffing side here. [1:31:47] Sure. [1:31:48] Just to understand that, and the reason I ask that is, um, when, uh, Stephen Bate, and I don't know if Stephen's here today, but when, when Stephen responded to some questions about staffing, these numbers were concerning. [1:32:02] And so that, I just want to understand what's what, because if more people are needed, we need to work together. [1:32:07] There's conversations about farm bill and this and that. [1:32:10] We're in appropriation season. [1:32:12] If we need to get more folks, we need to get more folks. [1:32:14] So I certainly understand what goals there are out there, but just to make sure that the folks that are needed are going to be there. [1:32:21] The experts are needed, um, and, and a similar question that I have in that space is, um, around technology, um, have, have you awarded contracts in, in that space as well with just looking at new, new technology to be able to stop this, this thing, um, what is it, technological advancements? [1:32:42] A new world screw room? [1:32:43] Yeah. [1:32:43] Yes. [1:32:43] So we have a hundred million of that 1.3 billion was, uh, was a grand challenge and we had about 220 applications for a couple hundred million dollars. [1:32:54] So we're, we're, we've been going through those now. [1:32:56] We'll begin to announce those and immediately hit the green light, uh, beginning later this week. [1:33:01] So you'll see those rolling out immediately. [1:33:03] In addition to the incredible research that's already been done by our, our ARS, we announced the Novo fly, which is a new strain of fly, which only produces male sterile flies. [1:33:13] Of course, that's how you solve this. [1:33:15] They breed with a screw worm fly, the female, and sterilize that female fly and then she can't lay the larva, which is what eats the, eats the flesh of the animals. [1:33:23] So just imagine the, the exponential, uh, possibility here to eradicate this much sooner than later when we're only producing sterile male flies, because the 50% of sterile female flies, they're of no use to us. [1:33:36] So it's the, it's the boys that we need flying to, uh, sterilize the, the screw worm flies. [1:33:41] And, and I understand you, you broke ground for that in Texas already, is that correct? [1:33:45] That's right, six, about six months ago. [1:33:46] Yeah, I, I, I joined John Corn and we introduced a piece of legislation like eight months ago on this one. [1:33:51] Um, I, I, I was getting concerned that we weren't seeing much activity and things of that nature, so it's good to see that grounds getting broken. [1:33:59] I always ask why couldn't we do it sooner? [1:34:01] I, I, I'd still like to explore that. [1:34:03] Well, if I may, we started that process the minute I walked in the door last February and got permitting done in a couple of months, broken ground. [1:34:11] But also Metapa, Mexico, uh, we outfitted, that was about a $20, $30 million project, that facility's coming online in a couple of weeks, we began that outfit last year. [1:34:21] Very good. [1:34:22] And, Madam Secretary, you know, with, there, there's been decisions in different parts of the administration with funding, you know, people say different things, whatever it is. [1:34:30] Can I just get your commitment that wherever we see this damn screw worm, those states are going to be prioritized? [1:34:36] Like, now I, I get what you shared with on the dog in New Mexico or whatever, but Texas and New Mexico have had it. [1:34:42] So, is that a commitment I can get from you? [1:34:44] Wherever this thing starts popping up, there's, that, that moves that, those states up to the priority with responses. [1:34:48] That's right. [1:34:49] Is that something you can commit to? [1:34:50] No, 100 percent. [1:34:51] And that's, that's been the containment effort. [1:34:53] Every model, Senator, showed it would hit our side of the border, Texas and New Mexico, by last summer. [1:34:59] Yeah. [1:35:00] So, we've been able to hold it at bay for a year while we've been building out these facilities and staffing up. [1:35:05] But absolutely, and the president has been very clear, this is a nonpartisan issue. [1:35:09] We've got to protect our livestock industry, our hunting industry, et cetera. [1:35:12] So, 100 percent. [1:35:13] I appreciate it. [1:35:14] And then, last thing, Mr. Chairman, just as, as we close out here. [1:35:17] Madam Secretary, when it comes to food and nutrition, look, I understand all the conversations in this space. [1:35:24] You know, whether it was Speaker Paul Ryan when I was in the house or everyone that was talking about this stuff. [1:35:29] I want to get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse across the board, everywhere. [1:35:35] There's kids that are losing meals now. [1:35:37] And I certainly hope that there's something we can do to come together. [1:35:40] There's conversations with Democrats and Republicans about implementing what Senator Murkowski did about a two-year delay to give states some more time to look at things and how we can be smarter about stuff as well. [1:35:51] I certainly hope that's something that you could embrace, that you could endorse, that President Trump, I, I can't imagine he wants to see kids not get a meal. [1:35:59] No one wants kids to be hungry. [1:36:00] And so, I certainly hope that's something that we can do together and just say, come on, y'all, like, let's come together. [1:36:06] We have the same goals. [1:36:07] We just have different ways of getting there sometimes. [1:36:10] So, let's just find a way to do this one and make sure that we can, we can do something. [1:36:14] I appreciate your response there and I hope, Chairman, that that's something we can find some commonality with. [1:36:18] Thanks for the time today. [1:36:19] Thank you, Senator. [1:36:20] And, and, Senator, if I may, just one quick point on that. [1:36:23] We sent a letter early last year asking for all the states to partner with us on eradicating fraud. [1:36:28] We had 29 states say, yes, please help us. [1:36:31] 21 states said, no, thank you. [1:36:33] And, and I understand there's some politics in that, although we did have some blue states who said, yes, that we're working with. [1:36:38] I would love to help and partner with New Mexico and get New Mexico's data to help us figure out where the fraud is and where we can really focus on the kids who really need this. [1:36:47] Let's end the fraud. [1:36:48] Let's waste the abuse. [1:36:49] But let's make sure that kids are not going to starve while we're doing all this stuff. [1:36:52] I think we can do both. [1:36:53] I agree. [1:36:54] So I'd be happy to work with you on that one. [1:36:55] But let's make sure that these kids are going to get those meals. [1:36:57] So appreciate it. [1:36:58] Thank you. [1:36:59] Yeah, thank you. [1:37:01] Senator Hattesmith. [1:37:02] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [1:37:03] And I want to thank our secretary for being here today and doing such an outstanding job. [1:37:11] I, along with Senator Welch, think that you are doing a wonderful job when I'm reading the headlines about all of these serious, serious challenges with screw worm. [1:37:24] You give me confidence. [1:37:25] You really do that. [1:37:27] USDA is going to handle these challenges and you've proven that over and over. [1:37:33] So thank you for what you are doing. [1:37:36] And I was thrilled about the department's recent announcement on the Great American Cotton Plan and the initiative to increase the demand to improve trade and to promote U.S. cotton as the alternative to synthetic fibers, which we'll know is safer. [1:37:52] It's a healthier option. [1:37:54] And it could really be a game changer for this struggling economy. [1:37:58] And it just makes so much sense. [1:38:00] In 1991, there were 181 cotton gins in Mississippi. [1:38:06] Big Ted Kendall down in Bolton. [1:38:08] He still is running his cotton gin that he has for many, many years. [1:38:13] In 2000, there were only 62 gins and the total number of cotton gins in Mississippi is down to 33. [1:38:22] So that is so significant. [1:38:24] I can remember as a child seeing the bumper stickers cotton is king. [1:38:28] It's not king anymore. [1:38:30] And, you know, we can bring that back. [1:38:33] And there's no reason why we shouldn't. [1:38:35] There's it's a tremendous economic impact associated with those figures. [1:38:39] When gins disappear, jobs disappear. [1:38:42] And the communities in rural areas, they have very few other options. [1:38:48] But a key pillar of the USDA's Great American Cotton Plan is the Buying American Cotton Act, which you've already mentioned. [1:38:56] And I thank you for bringing that attention there. [1:38:59] And I introduced it in the Senate. [1:39:01] And I already have almost 100 members of Congress on board with that. [1:39:06] So what started out a year ago is some people thought it's a messaging bill. [1:39:11] We've gotten traction because it is so logical. [1:39:15] And but thanks to the unique coalition of the Cotton Belt Farmers fashion brands that we all know and have heard of, [1:39:24] they've gotten on board health advocates and business leaders across the nation. [1:39:29] They are just embracing the Buy American Cotton Act. [1:39:33] And it's become a major priority for the American producers as well as the retailers. [1:39:38] You know, we all love fashion. [1:39:40] We all love going shopping and to think that we're going to have more American cotton in these products because we're buying it anyway. [1:39:48] We just want it safer and healthy. [1:39:50] And thank you for your leadership on that, because it does represent a key step into restoring the textile industry here in the manufacturing and the supply chains from our adversaries. [1:40:03] Tomorrow is seersucker day in the Senate, and it is just an encouragement and started by Mississippi Senator Trent Lott of wearing cotton, [1:40:12] wearing a seersucker suit tomorrow. [1:40:14] And I'm going to encourage my colleagues to do that, to acknowledge the cotton farmers. [1:40:18] And again, I commend the administration for endorsing this effort and appreciate your partnership as you travel throughout the country. [1:40:27] But Madam Secretary, will you discuss how the buying American Cotton Act aligns with the USDA's priorities to expand and this domestic market for agriculture commodities, [1:40:39] as well as we strengthen our national security? [1:40:42] Yeah, your leadership on this has been really incredible and, of course, coming from a cotton state. [1:40:48] I had heard before this job all of the challenges. [1:40:51] I didn't quite fully understand how really bad it had gotten out in the industry with the mills, et cetera. [1:40:58] And it occurred to me that at this moment in time, with Make America Healthy Again, with Putting America First, with opening up the markets around the world, [1:41:07] with working to reshore and protect American markets, that cotton should be at the very top of that list. [1:41:13] And there's certainly been a lot of struggles. [1:41:15] And as I have seen with Secretary Kennedy, these incredible commitments. [1:41:20] I was just with the IDFA, the dairy team yesterday. [1:41:25] And, you know, they've made all these amazing commitments to take, you know, food coloring out of their ice cream and to do this with their ice cream and just to make it healthier again. [1:41:35] And my vision with your partnership, probably your vision, too, is that all these great American companies should be at the table and say, [1:41:44] from now on, I'm going to start with, let's say, 20 percent. [1:41:47] I'm only going to buy American cotton and then 50 percent and then more. [1:41:50] And let's get back to the days where most of our clothing, et cetera, sheets, et cetera, are sourced with great American cotton. [1:41:57] And then let's talk about it on the world stage and let's make it a priority as we're out across the world. [1:42:03] I think there's so much opportunity there. [1:42:05] And this is this is what our founders envisioned. [1:42:07] Right. It's it's the elected members of the people working together with an executive branch that can go out and fight for the American dream and the American people. [1:42:16] Yeah. You know, just the hotel industry and towels and sheets. [1:42:20] That's right. This is so doable. [1:42:22] Would change everything. [1:42:23] You know, I just am so grateful that we're headed in that direction now, because obviously in the past we took our eye off the ball there. [1:42:31] Another topic I want to discuss is something you've spent a lot of time with the new world screw worm. [1:42:37] And that's been confirmed here in the United States that we were expecting and knew it was going to come. [1:42:44] And the preparedness that your leadership has put forth to be ready for this. [1:42:49] It's outstanding because we certainly thought it would be here last fall. [1:42:53] And, you know, the investments that you've made that, you know, but this pest, this screw worm complicates the challenge of rebuilding the national cattle herd as well from a low record. [1:43:06] And recent discussions about beef imports have concerned me and other members of how it could impact the strength of our domestic industry going into the future. [1:43:16] We know the cattle market. It's a global market. It's like any other agricultural market. It goes through highs. It goes through lows. [1:43:23] And we do need to ensure we're protecting our industry with only the necessary government intervention. [1:43:30] But we've got to address this shortage. That's the only thing that's going to get us where we need to be. [1:43:36] Because when I go to meetings of cattlemen, I look around the room and, you know, our average is like in their 60s. [1:43:42] So we need to incentivize young producers that they want to get into producing fine cattle in this country. And we can definitely do that. [1:43:53] I know so many that want to be a cowboy. We just got to help them get there. [1:43:58] Madam Secretary, what is the administration doing to break down barriers for producers to rebuild their herds? [1:44:04] And what should Congress be doing to help you achieve those goals? [1:44:09] Well, I think Congress did an amazing thing in the Working Families Tax Cut Act when we increase the definition of a young farmer rancher from five to ten years. [1:44:18] That allows more access to a lot more programs at USDA to undergird and to support and to, you know, vision cast for these ranchers. [1:44:25] So they see a future in this business, especially the first and second generationers obviously want to protect the multi generations. [1:44:32] But the incentive to get into the business is really important. [1:44:35] The magic, if you will, of the Make America Healthy Again movement is that almost $400 million a day that USDA spends in nutrition programs, [1:44:45] $400 million a day across across 16 nutrition programs as we're working to localize and get healthier food and real food like protein or great American beef into schools, into school lunches, into the stocking standards for our retailers that are taking the SNAP program. [1:45:01] You know, these are all market moving game changing opportunities that incentivize while ensuring on the back end that we're fighting the law fair fight. [1:45:10] I mean, you all see this as much as I do. [1:45:12] We're leaning in and all the ranchers who, you know, I've got one in Arizona fifth generation who's about to lose his ranch because the state declared it needed more land for solar panels. [1:45:21] The same thing's happening in upstate New York with the same thing with 175 year old farm in New Jersey. [1:45:27] We're fighting for the King Ranch family in Washington. [1:45:30] So it is a multitude of issues, but ensuring that we're preserving these great generational ranches from a national security perspective. [1:45:38] It's not just because it's the righteous and right thing to do. [1:45:41] This is a national security issue while we're incentivizing the next generation to lean in while we're taking the burdens off. [1:45:50] You know that the grazing allotments and regulation under the last administration were pretty severe. [1:45:54] It was very clear there wasn't really an incentive to support cattle ranching. [1:45:58] And so we opened up about 5 million more acres of federal government land for our Western ranchers and given them more access. [1:46:06] So there are a lot of steps we're taking. [1:46:09] But ultimately, I do think this is a national security and a real priority. [1:46:13] Yes, we have to be able to feed our country. [1:46:16] There's no doubt. [1:46:17] And another thing I want to mention, I know my time is out, is with the timber industry, multifamily housing built with wood. [1:46:24] That's right. [1:46:25] There's no reason we should not be going in that direction. [1:46:28] And I would love to see some incentives there for those developers who choose wood, which is safe and a lot of times a lot quicker to put up, which reduces the labor cost on a multifamily housing that we know we have a dire shortage in this country. [1:46:45] Thank you. [1:46:46] That's great. [1:46:47] Thank you, Senator. [1:46:49] Senator Booker. [1:46:50] Very patient over here on the left. [1:46:54] Thank you very much. [1:46:55] It was actually good to hear from everybody. [1:46:57] Madam Secretary, this is bigger than you. [1:47:01] And frankly, both parties, I think, have been rather feckless in dealing with the larger trends we're seeing in our country. [1:47:11] I got here under the Obama administration. [1:47:14] I have seen Trump one. [1:47:16] I've seen Biden. [1:47:17] I've seen Trump, too. [1:47:21] And the trends are staggering what we're seeing in our country when it comes to farmers. [1:47:26] And even since our last farm bill, we've lost over 150,000 farms in our country. [1:47:33] It's 51 farmers, families losing their farms every single day. [1:47:41] It's a staggering reality. [1:47:43] And I've met with so many farmers who tell a story about the economics of farming just not working for them anymore. [1:47:52] We're seeing massive corporate concentration. [1:47:55] We're seeing farmers. [1:47:56] I've sat with Republican and Democratic farmers who tell me their father and grandfather had five buyers for their goods. [1:48:04] Now there's one that's dictating price. [1:48:06] I see them talking about their input costs just going up and up and up, and they're squeezing them. [1:48:13] That their share of the consumer's dollar used to be over 50 cents. [1:48:18] Now it's down to 13, 14 cents per consumer dollar when we buy our groceries. [1:48:23] That's how much of it is going to the farmer. [1:48:25] These are trends that are staggering. [1:48:28] And just since you were confirmed, and again, I'm not placing this on you. [1:48:32] I think we all need to accept responsibility for this crisis. [1:48:36] But just since you were confirmed, 15,000 more farms have gone out of business. [1:48:42] And that's the majority of small farms in our country. [1:48:46] We have a real alarm going off. [1:48:49] And from a lot of farmers I talk to, they really feel like we're heading into the kind of 1980s farm crisis that we saw. [1:48:59] And so I just often think that we're not standing up to the gravity of the crisis to reverse these trends. [1:49:08] The partisan farm bill that came out of the House, it doesn't do anything bold to meet this crisis. [1:49:14] It's not going to stop all of these farmers that you talk to, that I talk to, who are barely making ends meet. [1:49:21] Most farmers now have to take jobs off of their farm just to make ends meet. [1:49:30] And so I just want to say that I just hope this committee, I hope we, when we take our crack at the farm bill on this side, come up with a lot bolder and bigger ideas. [1:49:43] And, yeah, I disagree with a lot of the things that President Trump's doing. [1:49:47] And I believe the tariffs have not been helpful. [1:49:51] I think they've been reckless. [1:49:53] I'm upset with some of the programs we've cut that I know. [1:49:57] Again, I hear from Republican farmers, Democratic farmers, local food purchasing programs for schools and the like, some of the cuts of field offices. [1:50:07] But I, again, think that we're nibbling around the edges and need to start thinking about far bigger approaches and bolder ideas, [1:50:16] or else we are going to witness, as I said, with dozens of farms closing every single day. [1:50:23] We're going to lose our heritage, lose the best stewards of our land, lose what makes, I think, this country secure and its economy strong. [1:50:34] And so I just put that out there because I just want to sound the alarm every chance I get and really challenge all of us to meet this crisis, [1:50:43] because right now we're not. The trends are continuing. [1:50:47] They've continued under multiple presidents. [1:50:49] And we're spiraling to a point where I think the very idea of the American farmer is going to go from the kind of hallowed ideas of independent family farms [1:51:02] to a corporatized system that just undermines the health, well-being, safety and economic security of our country. [1:51:10] I want to go to some specifics really quick and just talk about the Food for Peace program. [1:51:17] U.S. foreign aid cuts that we saw triggered this real collapse in the humanitarian funding. [1:51:25] I was happy to hear my colleague talk about the power of that program for American farmers. [1:51:30] We've seen hundreds of thousands of people died as a result of these cuts. [1:51:34] And the USDA's restart of commodity purchases for the Food for Peace program is something I'm very grateful for. [1:51:43] The $450 million of emergency food assistance that the USDA announced in February, you decided that the food should be sent to seven different countries. [1:51:51] Last month, you announced another $360 million. Again, I celebrate this in emergency food assistance. [1:51:57] I'm glad to see the commodity purchases and the difference it's making for farmers. [1:52:03] Globally, it's estimated that there are over 320 million people facing crisis levels of hunger, 40 million people on the brink of starvation. [1:52:11] It's just something that we need to continue moving forward, and I'm hoping that we can continue to work together and make sure that those farmers that are involved get even more of a benefit of being a part of meeting a humanitarian crisis. [1:52:29] So I want to say that in a sense of gratitude. [1:52:32] I also want to talk about this idea of ultra processed foods. I think it's an area where I'm willing to lean in and partner with you and with Secretary Kennedy. [1:52:44] Diet related chronic diseases is the number one killer of Americans. One out of four of our teenagers are pre diabetic. Half the children living in the country are projected to be obese by the time they're 35. [1:52:56] I mean, we should be ringing alarm bells. And the science is now tying much of this health to really these ultra processed foods that now make up two thirds of the calories for our children. [1:53:08] Again, I was really glad to see the dietary guidelines call out the need to reduce ultra processed foods. [1:53:15] I think we need to move more aggressively and I'm really hoping that maybe even for Q QF ours. [1:53:22] You can really let us know how you're going to really update and align the dairy to dietary guidelines so that we can get these ultra processed foods out of our out of our schools are hoping that you and your team could move with a with a really great sense of urgency. [1:53:38] And the last thing I'm going to say, and then you can respond to anything you want, is just something that Chairman Thune or leader Thune and I really agree with, which is this idea of country of origin labeling. [1:53:53] As you know, we've worked extensively with the Biden administration to get voluntary country of origin labeling, requiring any beef label this product that you say come from cattle that are born, raised and slaughtered in the United States. [1:54:09] I really want to thank you for implementing that policy change. But what what I am seeking with a sense of urgency, what I believe our cattlemen need is mandatory country of origin labeling that that be reinstated. [1:54:23] And I'm proud to be on a bill with Senator Thune, and I'm really hoping the Trump administration will get behind that it protects American cattlemen and women, it protects our own industry, as opposed to letting people undercut us, who don't have the same labor laws, don't have the same practices. [1:54:43] It's clearly unfair and American consumers want truth in labeling American consumers want to support American beef producers. [1:54:51] So I just want you to know those all the things are on my mind. I love the fact that I can have a dialogue with you. You're of all the secretaries, one of the easiest accessible. [1:55:00] But with that, I'll give you a chance to respond to anything you want or we can move on. [1:55:04] Just very quickly, because I know we're out of time. As you were speaking, thank you for all of that. [1:55:09] By the way, as you were speaking, I was reminded of and I think this kind of checks all the boxes that you just outlined in a way. [1:55:16] I was reminded of two farmers that I met in Albuquerque, New Mexico, about a year ago, two brothers. [1:55:22] Dad is a doctor. Mom's a professor. They grew up in New Mexico. Both went off and got fancy degrees from fancy schools. [1:55:30] Both wanted to be farmers. First generation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, not the most conducive environment to be a farmer. [1:55:37] But about 15 years ago, they decided to grow lettuce and I visited. So I have it's still in my mind. I can see it. [1:55:43] They have six employees. They grow together and support both of their families. They're both married with children. [1:55:49] They grow about 250,000 heads of organic lettuce on about three acres in the desert of New Mexico. [1:55:56] Their source goes directly to the school and to the hospital. [1:56:01] And again, never, America is the breadbasket of the world. [1:56:06] The support and the honoring of our big farmers are the ones that farm thousands and thousands of acres. [1:56:12] We have to have that to feed the world. But as we're looking to make America healthy again, [1:56:17] and as we're looking to open the aperture of the market for first generation farmers, [1:56:23] and as we're looking to completely recalibrate our nutrition programs, our 16 nutrition programs in America, [1:56:29] just through USDA that spend $400 million every single day, [1:56:33] there's such an almost a perfect storm right now. [1:56:36] And then you add the chronic disease on top of that for that sort of farm to come along. [1:56:41] So you're going to be hearing a lot more from us on that, and I would welcome the opportunity to work together. [1:56:46] Obviously, New Jersey is maybe on the front end of some of that urban farming [1:56:49] and the opportunity to do a lot more with a lot less land and bring more first generation farmers in. [1:56:55] Thank you. [1:56:57] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [1:57:03] Senator Justice. [1:57:04] Hey Brooke, how you doing? [1:57:07] Good to see you. [1:57:08] Good to see you. [1:57:09] Madam Secretary, you know what an incredible superstar you are. [1:57:17] And I mean that from the very bottom of my heart. [1:57:20] Thank you. [1:57:21] What President Trump has done and what his heart and I know his heart. [1:57:27] I know his heart really well and what he's done and what he's trying to do. [1:57:33] He's trying just as hard as you to try to fix an enormous problem. [1:57:39] You know me well enough to know that I'm a I'm a business guy and I'm an organizer. [1:57:47] I'm a coach. [1:57:49] I'm the guy really and truly this almost the fix it guy. [1:57:55] You know to where you got 18 parts of the puzzle and they're flying in 500 different directions. [1:58:02] And you know you got to some way be able to put them together. [1:58:05] We have an incredible chairman here. [1:58:08] We have great ranking a great ranking member. [1:58:11] We have great committee people that really have their hearts in the right spot. [1:58:16] We do. [1:58:17] I am absolutely positive as this of this as I can be in every way. [1:58:21] Now I'm telling you the problem is enormous. [1:58:29] It is enormous beyond all comprehension and every single moment. [1:58:35] And I don't know how in the world that you have your sanity at all right now because with every single moment there's somebody coming to you. [1:58:43] But it may be fertilizer, it may be specialty crops, it may be forestry, it may be whatever. [1:58:51] But it's coming in every direction known to man and you're doing great stuff. [1:58:56] You're absolutely doing all kinds of great stuff. [1:58:59] Now my advice would be just this. [1:59:02] You know I heard a long long time ago you know people would maybe go to church. [1:59:12] And then it'd get up in church after they got you know they walk outside and then it'd be belly aching about something. [1:59:19] They'd say well you know the minister didn't look very good today wasn't dressed up very good or whatever it may be. [1:59:25] And I was told over and over. [1:59:29] Son don't listen to the specifics. [1:59:34] Hear the message. [1:59:37] And what I think we're doing and this is really concerning to me. [1:59:45] I don't think we'll get there. [1:59:46] I really don't. [1:59:47] Because this has been an ongoing problem for decades and decades and decades. [1:59:55] And we put all kind we put really all kinds of resources in trying to fix the problem. [2:00:01] And at the end of the day it's almost like sticking your finger in the dike and 5000 holes and blowing and everything else and you running out of fingers. [2:00:11] Now look if I could give you anything from this white hair. [2:00:18] The guy that's done lots of stuff. [2:00:20] The guy that you've got to remember his grandparents never had indoor plumbing. [2:00:27] I mean what is the chances of this guy that used to be skinny and had brown hair. [2:00:33] I mean what is the chances of him being here. [2:00:36] It's absolutely just like zero zero zero. [2:00:40] Look I would highly highly recommend if there was a way to do it to where you could pick a couple people that had the confidence of the people that are around them in the house. [2:00:55] And maybe a couple people on both sides of the aisle in the house and couple people on both sides of the aisle here. [2:01:01] Now you can't get it too big. [2:01:03] That had the real ear and the real confidence. [2:01:06] Challenge him to come up with a list of every single thing that they absolutely needed to be able to get into a farm bill to where we could get through it. [2:01:17] And we could absolutely make something of it. [2:01:20] Don't make the members that we're talking to a committee because and I've said it before but the definition of committee is really simple in my word world. [2:01:33] It's most generally a collection of individuals that have never accomplished anything by themselves. [2:01:40] But collectively they can all get together and decide nothing can be done. [2:01:44] That is the definition of committee. [2:01:47] Now what you need Brooke. [2:01:50] You need some folks that have the ear and the confidence of the people in the house and the ear and the confidence of the people in the Senate. [2:02:00] And absolutely then you need a plan. [2:02:04] You need a great big plan. [2:02:06] And I know you think you've got all that right now. [2:02:10] And I love you with all my soul. [2:02:11] And I think President Trump and you have done unbelievably good stuff. [2:02:15] But I'm telling you in Jimmy's world we're not going to get there. [2:02:21] And there's lots of folks out there that are really hurting. [2:02:25] And they really are dependent on us. [2:02:28] And nobody, nobody, there's nobody in this room that has a soul any better than this great secretary right here. [2:02:35] I'll promise you that. [2:02:36] Nobody cares more in this room than her. [2:02:41] But you see, I'm that guy. [2:02:43] I'm the business guy. [2:02:46] I'm the fixer. [2:02:47] I'm the kind of the organizer. [2:02:49] I'm the farmer. [2:02:50] For crying out loud, I understand this stuff. [2:02:54] Really understand it. [2:02:56] And I'm a coach. [2:02:58] So with all that being said, I would highly, highly recommend that what we don't do is spin around three or four times. [2:03:09] Do a lot of stuff that we're proud of. [2:03:11] You know, do stuff absolutely that we're really proud of. [2:03:16] And then we can absolutely step back and throw back, you know, on previous administrations and say, well, they didn't do this. [2:03:22] They didn't do this. [2:03:23] Look what we did. [2:03:25] And we did move the ball, but we're not going to solve the riddle. [2:03:29] So I would just tell you, and you've got to have you've got to have people around you that really have the ear and the confidence of the people because they're going to have to go back and sell this whole thing. [2:03:41] They're going to have to sell it on the House side and sell it on the Senate side. [2:03:45] And literally, you've got a lot of great people to choose from. [2:03:49] They'll have to be really senior people. [2:03:51] So they'll kick me out of the process and everything. [2:03:53] But I am telling you, I mean it when I say everybody on this committee is on board. [2:04:01] Everybody on this committee wants it to happen in a good way. [2:04:04] Our chairman and ranking member wanted to happen in a good way. [2:04:08] All of y'all wanted to happen in a good way. [2:04:11] And I will promise you to God above to God above. [2:04:15] I know President Trump better than anybody. [2:04:18] And I am promising you he wants goodness for our farm communities, our forestry, our ranchers. [2:04:25] He wants goodness for us. [2:04:27] And this lady right here is a superstar. [2:04:33] I am really pessimistic that we're going to get there, that I'll do anything in the world I can to help. [2:04:40] I'm sorry I didn't ask any questions. [2:04:43] You can comment all day long on what I said, but thank you so much for being here. [2:04:47] Thank you, Senator. [2:04:48] I think that was well said and look forward to doing just that. [2:04:52] Thank you. [2:04:53] And thank you for your friendship. [2:04:55] Thank you. [2:04:58] Senator Schlotkin. [2:04:59] Thank you. [2:05:00] Hi, Secretary. [2:05:02] I have a couple of comments and a couple of questions. [2:05:06] First of all, on tariffs, no matter the intention, as Senator Justice was talking about, anyone's intentions, I enjoy facts. [2:05:16] And as a former CIA officer, the facts on the tariffs and what they have done to farmers are really, they're pretty hard to dispute. [2:05:25] In the president's first term, before your time, he put tariffs on a bunch of different ag products. [2:05:31] And then this body had to approve $23 billion in assistance in essentially welfare for farmers, and farmers hate getting welfare. [2:05:40] In the second term, the sloppy tariffs have been thrown on. [2:05:46] Now we have $12 billion in assistance that, again, welfare for farmers. [2:05:51] That's $35 billion that this body has approved because of President Trump's tariff policy. [2:06:00] And we can dispute whether you think in the long term it's going to work. [2:06:04] All I know is that taxpayer dollars, $35 billion. [2:06:08] Now some of that, a small portion was set aside for specialty crop farmers. [2:06:14] And I understand you were on Team Michigan versus Team California on who has the most diverse specialty crops. [2:06:21] We appreciate that. [2:06:22] And I appreciate you taking my call and trying to expand both the amount of money that my farmers get, small and medium sized farmers, [2:06:30] and also the deadline for which they could apply. [2:06:33] But I just have to say, you know, if we're talking and you're highlighting 19 new trade deals that this administration has done, [2:06:40] why do we need the sloppy tariffs? [2:06:42] Why do we need them? [2:06:43] May I respond to that? [2:06:44] Because I bet you have a couple of different things. [2:06:45] Very quickly. [2:06:46] It'll be very quick. [2:06:47] The $30 billion you're talking about was approved before we came in. [2:06:50] So you all voted on that late 2024, that $30 billion. [2:06:54] We came in and implemented the tariffs in 2025. [2:06:57] So just so you know. [2:06:58] But is there not $12 billion in assistance that you are currently farming out to farmers, including mine, [2:07:04] because they do not have enough money and have lost access to foreign markets? [2:07:09] Yes or no? [2:07:10] We've cut the ag deficit in half. [2:07:11] So we're actually expanding the foreign markets. [2:07:13] So that $11 billion you're talking about that came in December of last year, [2:07:18] that was to address the very high input costs. [2:07:21] And again, that ag trade deficit. [2:07:23] And then bringing around the specialty crops into the back end, [2:07:26] as we were looking at the China route negotiations. [2:07:28] Yeah. [2:07:29] All I know is that we cut off markets. [2:07:32] We never get them back. [2:07:33] Soybeans never came back in the way. [2:07:35] You know, the Chinese are now buying soybeans. [2:07:37] So I don't want to move on to other things. [2:07:39] Actually, no. [2:07:40] The soybeans are back and even stronger today, as is sorghum. [2:07:42] So that's all in the last month. [2:07:43] So you may not have the most up to date information. [2:07:46] Well, I will tell you, I think it's hard to explain why there's literally assistance being farmed out by your agency for a policy that's working. [2:07:56] Why would you need welfare if you have access and are going gangbusters on being able to sell abroad? [2:08:03] And I think that's a rational thought for the use of taxpayer dollars. [2:08:08] Separately, I think, again, there's widespread agreement, I think, on this committee on E15 now. [2:08:13] I'm on team E15. [2:08:15] And I think there's some Democrats who are against it and some Republicans who are against it. [2:08:20] But there's a good coalition of us in the middle. [2:08:22] And I think that it means letting our farmers have more opportunities to sell their product, corn farmers, ethanol. [2:08:31] If this doesn't get done, the only explanation I have is that the oil and gas community has such sway over members of Congress on the Republican side, [2:08:43] and that others maybe on the environmental side have so much sway over Democrats that we can't do a rational policy on E15. [2:08:53] We have all the pieces in place to get it done. [2:08:55] I would just say your personal engagement on this issue. [2:08:58] We keep hitting a log jam for a rational policy. [2:09:02] I want to get this done. [2:09:03] I think if we do not get it done this year, it's not getting done. [2:09:06] And I want you to help own that up here because we need some help. [2:09:10] It's at a log jam. [2:09:11] Yes, 100% on board. [2:09:13] Thank you. [2:09:14] On Chinese Communist Party buying U.S. farmland and other adversaries of the United States, not just Chinese. [2:09:22] So I have a bill on this. [2:09:23] There's a million bills on this because the average American just understands that someone who is a potential adversary of this country [2:09:30] shouldn't be able to buy both our farmland and our agribusinesses, like the things that really make sure we can feed ourselves by ourselves. [2:09:38] So, again, we have a coalition ready to do this. [2:09:43] The president goes off and meets with Xi Jinping in this summit with the head of China, and he was asked about this on Fox News. [2:09:50] And they said, shouldn't we ban selling of farmland, particularly around military bases? [2:09:56] And he said, quote, you want to see the price drop? [2:10:00] You want to see farmers lose a lot of money? [2:10:03] Just take them out of the market. [2:10:05] So that is officially, as I understand it, that the president of the United States is fine with the Chinese Communist Party being able to buy farmland or agribusinesses. [2:10:15] Please state your official position on whether you agree with President Trump or you do not. [2:10:21] The president is very focused on protecting farmers as part of our national security plan. [2:10:27] Obviously, understanding the Chinese purchase of our chemicals, our seed, our farmland, all of the above is very concerning. [2:10:35] And I've talked to him about that. [2:10:36] He agrees with that. [2:10:37] Okay, well, again, when the Republicans have the White House, the House, and the Senate, whether it's E15 or, in this case, banning the Chinese from buying our farmland, you want it done, you guys own everything. [2:10:49] And you're the Secretary of Agriculture. [2:10:51] So it's hard to believe that the president is okay with selling land to the Chinese. [2:10:59] It's hard for me to understand it. [2:11:00] If you're saying there's something different, then prove it by passing it through this body. [2:11:05] We're ready for it. [2:11:07] And then just lastly- [2:11:08] I wish I could personally pass things through your body. [2:11:10] Yes. [2:11:11] We'd probably be, all of us, a lot farther along. [2:11:12] I understand. [2:11:13] But I got to tell you, if you started calling people, like the senator was saying, you have play here on the Hill. [2:11:19] The Republicans own the House and the Senate, at least for the next six months. [2:11:23] So could we please get some personal engagement? [2:11:26] Because I believe that this is the window of time to do it. [2:11:30] And if we are headed to divided government, things get even harder on things that I think there's a coalition on. [2:11:36] So that's my request. [2:11:37] And lastly, I just have to say on SNAP, you know, we have, you know, the big, beautiful bill was the single largest cut in food dollars, $187 billion in our history. [2:11:49] And we can disagree on our responsibilities in government. [2:11:54] But all I can tell you is the facts. [2:11:56] And the facts are, A, 100,000 Michiganders have lost their food benefits. [2:12:03] 35,000 of that 100,000 are children. [2:12:07] And because of the delay in, in how you kind of penalize states for, in cost share issues, it's going to cost my state another $330 million. [2:12:17] I want to pass a farm bill. [2:12:19] I'm desperate for it. [2:12:20] But we've got, like, I can't be expected to watch my people go hungry and my state incur $330 million just this year and be part of the team. [2:12:30] So please, let's work together on some compromises. [2:12:33] And I'm saying that to you, but also to my chairman. [2:12:35] I yield back. [2:12:36] Senator Hogan. [2:12:37] Senator Hogan. [2:12:40] Senator Hogan. [2:12:41] Senator Hogan. [2:12:42] Senator Hogan. [2:12:43] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [2:12:44] Secretary, thanks so much for being here and for your good work. [2:12:46] I want to start out on, I know Howard, you've worked on making sure fertilizer is available to our farmers and on the price. [2:12:54] You've worked with us on our, on the AgTech initiative with Grand Farm in North Dakota [2:12:59] and our efforts to link with energy and produce more fertilizer here at home. [2:13:04] Is there anything else on the fertilizer front that you'd like to bring up? [2:13:07] and I know how active and aggressive you've been working on this issue. [2:13:11] Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Chairman. [2:13:15] I think that it's really a testament, [2:13:19] and thank you for giving me a little space to talk about this. [2:13:22] This administration is different. [2:13:24] I was in the first one. [2:13:25] I'm very proud of the work that was achieved, [2:13:27] and I think we did a lot together, but this one is different. [2:13:31] And what I mean is when we saw what was happening, [2:13:33] and just as a level set, fertilizer was down 50% before the Iranian conflict from the Biden highs, [2:13:41] but even today, even with the conflict, even though fertilizer is way too expensive, [2:13:47] it's still less than it was during the Biden years, and I think that's an important point. [2:13:52] But the opportunity for me to call Chris Wright, the head of the Army Corps of Engineers, [2:13:58] Howard Lutnick, Lee Zeldin, not their staffs, not two months of time in meetings, [2:14:03] but to literally call my colleagues and say, [2:14:06] we have a fertilizer crisis in this country. [2:14:09] We have a moment in time to fix it while everyone's looking at fertilizer. [2:14:13] We're going to do all the short-term things. [2:14:15] Fertilizer prices are now coming back down, even with the straits still closed. [2:14:18] But for the long term, I am so bullish on this is a model, [2:14:24] not just fixing fertilizer, but what we can do for other inputs for our farmers for the long term. [2:14:29] And I think this is an incredible first step. [2:14:31] And I'm so proud and grateful to my partners in this who've stepped up and said, [2:14:35] we're going to help with this. [2:14:36] I agree with you. [2:14:37] And I think that important point is that you're focused on not just addressing it now, [2:14:41] but bringing it down with real solutions that will make a difference for the long term. [2:14:45] That is a vital point that we have to keep in mind. [2:14:48] That's how to approach these things to make them better for the medium and the long term, [2:14:52] not just right now. [2:14:54] So I really appreciate that. [2:14:56] Same thing on screwworm. [2:14:57] And in a way, I want to commend you because, I mean, you're on the front lines. [2:15:00] You're in Texas. [2:15:00] Nobody knows that. [2:15:01] And you were talking to me about that before there were any here in this country [2:15:06] and addressed it by closing the border as well as the sterile fly facilities. [2:15:12] I mean, you've been on this from the start. [2:15:14] Really important. [2:15:15] Anything else on screwworm efforts you want to bring up? [2:15:17] You know, I walked in to this job, I was with you all, February 13th of last year. [2:15:26] Then, or January 27th, I went to the vote February 13th and went over to Justice Thomas, [2:15:30] got sworn in, walked in the door of USDA, and within the first two hours was briefed [2:15:35] on both HPAI and screwworm. [2:15:38] The screwworm briefing was, it's coming. [2:15:41] It will be here in a couple months this summer. [2:15:43] We are only producing 100 million flies a week. [2:15:46] We're years away. [2:15:47] Like an actual big facility will take at least five years, two years of permitting, three [2:15:52] years of build. [2:15:53] But we, you know, oh well, I guess we're just going to do what we have to do. [2:15:57] And I said, this is not acceptable. [2:16:00] We've got to try to do something. [2:16:02] So, of course, we closed the ports. [2:16:03] I went and talked to the president. [2:16:04] We got almost a billion and a half in immediate funding. [2:16:06] I asked what this breached the Darien Gap in 2021 after decades of being, you know, eradicated, [2:16:15] if you will. [2:16:16] But that, you know, tens of millions of people moving north to America, bringing their livestock [2:16:20] with them. [2:16:20] The Mexican cartels with the illicit cattle traffic. [2:16:24] We knew it was coming. [2:16:25] Put it off for a year. [2:16:26] But in the meantime, amped up by a thousand percent. [2:16:29] Our staffing over the last year, I had FDA emergency approve half a dozen or so treatments. [2:16:37] Texas Animal Health Commission and the other states will lead now the front line, but we're [2:16:42] right there with them. [2:16:44] Opened up the new facility in Kerrville, Texas, the new research facility. [2:16:47] Outfitted the new facility in Metapa, Mexico. [2:16:50] Tens of millions of dollars. [2:16:51] We're going to have more sterile flies in the next few weeks. [2:16:53] We started that last summer. [2:16:55] And, of course, broke ground within years ahead of schedule. [2:16:58] And we'll hopefully be opening that next spring, again, years ahead of schedule. [2:17:01] I say all of that because what I don't understand, Senator Hoven, is how did the last USDA watch [2:17:10] it coming for years? [2:17:12] It broke the gap in 2021, moving up 2022, moving up 2023, spreading, spreading, spreading. [2:17:21] Hits Mexico 2024. [2:17:23] There's no stopping it. [2:17:24] If there's not enough sterile flies, why did no one do anything about it until we walked [2:17:30] in the door in January and February of last year? [2:17:34] It is a question that I still don't understand, but we're making a lot of progress. [2:17:38] And walked in the door is the right term because I think the second or third time you and I [2:17:42] talked, you were already moving on getting funding for sterile fly facilities. [2:17:47] And, of course, it shows the importance of CCC like we've talked about, too. [2:17:50] But you were on this right from the get-go. [2:17:53] Thank you. [2:17:54] And, obviously, we're seeing why it's so important that you were and are and continue to be. [2:17:59] We need to pass year-round E15. [2:18:02] The House passed it. [2:18:03] Deb Fisher, Senator Fisher, has a bill in the Senate. [2:18:07] And I think, along with our great chairman here and Senator Thune, that we're really ready [2:18:13] to go and get that done. [2:18:15] I think we're good to go. [2:18:17] Any thoughts there or encouragement that you want to add to that effort? [2:18:21] Yeah. [2:18:22] Again, we're very supportive. [2:18:25] This president has been unequivocal in his support. [2:18:28] When he was in Iowa a couple of months ago, which I think helped hopefully hustle this along [2:18:33] a little bit. [2:18:34] He's been very- [2:18:34] It did. [2:18:35] It absolutely did. [2:18:36] Yeah. [2:18:37] Yeah. [2:18:37] I mean, since he came out on it, I think we've been making progress. [2:18:41] And I think we're going to get it done soon. [2:18:43] Knock on wood. [2:18:44] I mean, our guys need it. [2:18:46] Thanks for your great support of it. [2:18:48] On the Farm Bridge assistance, we continue to work on that. [2:18:52] The Farm Bridge assistance you provided, so important. [2:18:55] Any thoughts there? [2:18:56] Again, it's about in the one big, beautiful bill. [2:19:00] Again, thanks to our great chairman. [2:19:01] We updated ARC-PLC. [2:19:03] We've got my crop insurance bill in there. [2:19:05] That's going to kick in in October. [2:19:06] But again, getting our guys through with that Farm Bridge assistance you've provided has been critical. [2:19:12] Any additional thoughts on that? [2:19:13] Well, I know we have- the three of us continue this conversation. [2:19:18] You two up there and me and how important this is. [2:19:22] And the good news is, you know, aside from what Senator Jim Doomsday Justice outlined for us a minute ago, aside from that, the good news is, with these 19 new trade deals, surging exports, we're bringing input costs down. [2:19:35] Once this Iranian conflict is over, I mean, fuel was down 50 percent, fertilizer was down 50 percent, labor was down 46 percent. [2:19:42] And that's just in the first year of this administration. [2:19:44] And you marry that to the Make America Healthy Again movement and putting real food back in the middle of our policymaking, the people that will benefit the most, other than Americans eating better and health, is our farmers and ranchers. [2:19:57] So I am very bullish on the future. [2:19:59] But that Farmer Bridge assistance was just that. [2:20:01] It was a bridge. [2:20:02] And we've talked about this at length. [2:20:04] These farmers don't want government checks. [2:20:05] They want to sell their goods and make a decent living, which they have not been able to do for some time. [2:20:11] But I do believe we're making the right moves to get there. [2:20:13] The last thing I want to bring up, and I beg the chairman's indulgence here, but I'll finish with this. [2:20:18] I talked to USTR Jameson Greer, who I think is incredibly capable, along with Scott Besson. [2:20:25] And I believe that the Trump administration is working very hard to get us access to foreign markets. [2:20:31] That was a conversation with Jameson Greer. [2:20:33] He talked about additional $17 billion in Chinese sales. [2:20:38] And, of course, Chairman Xi is coming over here in September. [2:20:44] And I really think that that is going to, again, kick up more of these sales that we want in these foreign markets. [2:20:52] And that's very, very important. [2:20:54] But in addition to that, we have to make sure as part of America, first, we're forcing, you know, our trading partners around the country to play fair. [2:21:05] We need free and fair trade. [2:21:07] But they're taking advantage of us, and they have been taking advantage of us for a long darn time. [2:21:13] And so I'll give you an example right now. [2:21:15] We need a 301 investigation on sugar. [2:21:19] Brazil and other countries are absolutely dumping and taking other actions against our producers. [2:21:25] And our sugar industry is up against it. [2:21:27] They're in tough shape. [2:21:29] And, yes, you reported about $1.8 billion in losses over recent years because of that. [2:21:35] So we need to have a 301 investigation on sugar, and we need to adjust that Tier 2 tariff. [2:21:41] Last time it was done, year 2000. [2:21:44] Now, Bozer and I have been around for a while, but I'm not even, you know, you were very, very young then. [2:21:49] Still young. [2:21:50] But that's over 25 years. [2:21:53] This needs to be addressed. [2:21:55] Last, we do have to make our trading partners play fair. [2:22:01] Agreed. [2:22:01] I would welcome your thoughts. [2:22:02] Yeah, one quick thought on that, and I agree with you. [2:22:04] I'm not sure I've ever worked with anyone as capable as Ambassador Greer is. [2:22:09] He's been an incredible partner. [2:22:11] We don't agree on everything, but we agree on most things, and he's been incredible. [2:22:15] In 2023, I believe, for the first time in American history, we became a net importer of food instead of a net exporter. [2:22:22] The fact that Brazil has taken our markets in corn, soybean, all kinds of beef, all kinds of other things is really, really disturbing, and that's on top of China and other countries, that we have to be able to solve for this for national security reasons, and that's how important I think this is. [2:22:43] Yes, I agree. [2:22:43] Thank you, Madam Secretary. [2:22:44] Appreciate it. [2:22:45] Thank you. [2:22:45] And your team as well. [2:22:47] Yeah, they're the best. [2:22:48] They're the best. [2:22:49] Senator Warnock. [2:22:50] Thank you, Brother Chairman, and good to see you again. [2:22:53] You too, Senator. [2:22:54] Secretary Rollins. [2:22:55] I've heard you say that we're entering the, quote, golden age of American agriculture. [2:23:01] I have to tell you that that statement could not be further from what I'm hearing from farmers and from families all across Georgia. [2:23:10] Georgia farmers are telling me that they continue to struggle with high costs, costs exacerbated by President Trump's war in Iran and his tariffs, which is a tax on all of us, on virtually everything. [2:23:25] Secretary Rollins, last week, the administration did lower its tariffs on farm equipment by 10 percent. I think that's a good move. It's a start. [2:23:34] I'm afraid that it might be a little too late and a bit too little. [2:23:41] Was this action an acknowledgment by the Trump administration that its tariffs have increased the cost of farming? [2:23:50] So I really appreciate the question. [2:23:53] I think the president, as our chief negotiator, is constantly tweaking. [2:23:57] But what I will say, and I realize you and I could have a much longer conversation about this, that the very tariffs that you're speaking of have instituted or led to the 19 new trade deals that we've implemented. [2:24:10] We're going to have higher corn exports, higher ethanol exports, higher tree nut exports, higher dairy exports than practically in American history. [2:24:18] So we're cutting that $50 billion agricultural trade deficit in half that we inherited a year and a half ago. [2:24:23] And for the farmers, nothing's more important than that market access. [2:24:28] But has it increased the cost of farming? [2:24:30] You're forecasting what you think will be the result, but has it increased the cost of farming? [2:24:36] Well, again, the cost of fertilizer was up almost 100 percent in what we inherited, the cost of doing business. [2:24:42] On average, I won't go through all the numbers, we don't have time, but on average, what we inherited was a 50 percent input cost. [2:24:49] So working, we brought all of that down. [2:24:51] As to the farm equipment, I think the president is very focused on what can we do to get our farmers to profitability. [2:24:58] It's a national security issue. [2:25:00] So if by removing certain barriers we can bring down the cost just a little bit, then that's a big win for everyone. [2:25:06] What he has said, though, is that what he doesn't want to see happening is the equipment manufacturers pocketing that extra dollar, [2:25:14] which a lot argued would actually be the result, that the farmers themselves would not see it. [2:25:19] So as part of that announcement, it was to make sure the farmers got that benefit, not the big equipment guys. [2:25:25] So according to Farm Policy News, the president's tariffs have increased input costs by $1 billion for farmers, [2:25:33] while erasing billions in access to export markets, markets that you're saying are going to come online [2:25:39] if farmers just hold on a little while longer. [2:25:41] They're struggling. [2:25:42] They are struggling right now. [2:25:43] There's no question about it. [2:25:44] I talk to them all the time. [2:25:47] Since the Supreme Court struck down the president's illegal tariffs, [2:25:50] giant corporations have lined up to receive tariff refunds. [2:25:56] Madam Secretary, are you pushing in cabinet meetings for farmers to also be reimbursed [2:26:01] for the billions in tariff taxes that were passed on to them? [2:26:05] Well, again, the tariff taxes passed on to them, we now, other than a $50 billion ag trade deficit, [2:26:13] we've cut that in half. [2:26:14] So we've opened up $20-plus billion in additional sales for our farmers under this trade renegotiation. [2:26:20] So you're not, these big corporations, though, they're lining up and they're getting reimbursed. [2:26:24] I'm asking you. [2:26:25] I'll be happy to look into that. [2:26:25] I'm actually, I think that's, I'll talk to Secretary Lutnick. [2:26:28] I'm not familiar with all the corporations lining up, but I will look into that, Senator. [2:26:32] All right, so, so, and it's not just the tariffs and, and, you know, you've been, you know, [2:26:38] you and I have talked before and I'm, I'm, you know, trying to make sure that I'm doing everything I can for farmers [2:26:44] and families in Georgia. [2:26:45] So I'm concerned about the ways in which they're struggling. It's planting season. [2:26:50] And it's a business, as you know, where the margins are narrow to begin with. [2:26:56] Mm-hmm. [2:26:57] And, you know, there's not, there's so many things that they don't control. [2:27:02] And so these margins become really important when you're talking about tariffs. [2:27:08] Um, but it's not just the tariffs. [2:27:10] The Strait of Hormuz has been closed now for over 100 days. [2:27:14] And President Trump's war in Iran has destabilized international fertilizer and fuel markets, [2:27:21] skyrocketing costs right in the middle of planting season. [2:27:24] Is the administration planning to ask Congress for more taxpayer dollars, more taxpayer money to aid farmers [2:27:31] so that they can afford the cost of this war? [2:27:36] Well, the, the war, the worst, so I, I know what you're asking. [2:27:39] So, yes, let me respond to that directly. [2:27:41] And, and specifically, fertilizer and diesel fuel have been the two, I think, that we've seen significant increase in costs [2:27:48] since the, uh, Strait was closed. [2:27:50] But what I think is important that, uh, the fertilizer costs that were inherited increased almost 100%. [2:27:56] That had come down 50% before the Iranian conflict. [2:27:59] Um, the costs went back up with the Strait of Hormuz closing. [2:28:02] Those costs are still lower than the high peak of the Biden years for fertilizer. [2:28:07] Having said that, there's still a tremendous amount to work. [2:28:10] By the way, that's the same for diesel fuel as well. [2:28:12] Uh, it come down 50%, uh, the Iranian conflict happened. [2:28:15] It popped up, but still lower than during the Biden years. [2:28:17] But, but yes, opening up the markets, reshoring fertilizer back to America. [2:28:22] In, in two or three weeks, we're going to break ground in Louisiana on what will be the largest fertilizer plant in the world. [2:28:28] So, let me, let me, let me, let me just point out, let me just, let me just point out, because it's, it's really important, uh, that, that context matters. [2:28:37] I agree. [2:28:38] That, the high peak of the fertilizer costs, we're in the middle of a pandemic, which, you know, we didn't have any control over. [2:28:43] It's one thing to have high fertilizer costs, uh, because of those kinds of extraneous circumstances. [2:28:49] Uh, the president took us into a war of choice, which blocked the, the, uh, Strait of Hormuz. [2:28:55] And as a result of that, farmers in Georgia are struggling with both increased, uh, fuel and increased, uh, fertilizer costs. [2:29:05] Um, uh, but it's not just farmers that I'm concerned about. [2:29:10] I'm also concerned about Georgia families. [2:29:13] According to the USDA, grocery costs increased about 3% in the last year and expected to increase by another 3.2% this year. [2:29:21] And at the same time, this administration has celebrated kicking 3.5 million Americans, including children, off SNAP, a program designed to help our most vulnerable neighbors afford groceries when times are rough. [2:29:36] And those neighbors, by the way, are disproportionately in red rural districts. [2:29:41] Those communities are struggling. [2:29:43] You've supported aid packages for farmers hurt by Trump's policies. [2:29:47] Would you also support a food aid package for working families who are just struggling to afford groceries due to increased costs? [2:29:56] So, Senator, the 3% is actually an average cost of food increase over the years. [2:30:01] Under the last administration, it went up 20%. [2:30:04] But the SNAP, I think, is really important. [2:30:05] Do you realize, Madam Secretary, with all due respect, how sterile that answer sounds? [2:30:10] Let me finish. [2:30:10] For the person who's just, who's trying, you say, well, you know, that's the mean cost. [2:30:15] But right now, somebody's trying to buy groceries in Georgia, and they can't afford it. [2:30:18] Well, but that's because of the Biden administration is the reason. [2:30:21] Two years later, that's your answer because of the Biden administration? [2:30:24] Look at this. [2:30:25] Look at all the prices that have come down. [2:30:27] Avocados down 20%. [2:30:28] Berries down 13%. [2:30:30] Butter down 13%. [2:30:31] Eggs down 90%. [2:30:32] Grocery costs are up. [2:30:34] You don't dispute that, right? [2:30:35] Even as you call these individual items, you don't dispute that grocery costs are up in America. [2:30:40] The affordability question in America is real, and the work to bring those costs down continue. [2:30:46] And within one year, the costs have significantly come down, with a few outliers, coffee, beef, etc. [2:30:52] But on the SNAP program, sir, no one in Washington or in America wants to see a family go hungry. [2:31:00] But the 40% increase in SNAP under the last administration, the four, you said 3.5, it's actually 4.3 million that have moved off of SNAP. [2:31:10] No one was kicked off. [2:31:11] We have more people working today than ever before. [2:31:14] This is a celebration of work and the dignity of work, and wages are higher than they've ever been before. [2:31:19] No one has been kicked off. [2:31:21] If they're not on the SNAP program, they have chosen not to reapply, or they're an able-bodied adult that can either work for 20 hours a week or volunteer. [2:31:30] Those are the only requirements. [2:31:32] Anyone with small children is not eligible for SNAP. [2:31:35] Well, there are wages, you say, are going up. [2:31:41] The costs are certainly going up. [2:31:43] Health care has been doubled from millions of Americans, and they're having to figure out how to make their lives work in the midst of this, many of them choosing between food and health care. [2:31:53] Will you reinstate the $500 million in funds for food banks the Trump administration canceled last year, or do you have an alternate plan to help to keep their stocks, their shelf stock? [2:32:05] Listen, we have moved out, I think, a couple of billion dollars into the pantries in the last year and a half. [2:32:12] I know Secretary Rubio said the government is not a charity. [2:32:15] We spend $400 million a day on nutrition programs just out of USDA. [2:32:20] There is so much money in the system, so much taxpayer dollars, and that's just the federal USDA nutrition programs. [2:32:27] That's not state or local. [2:32:29] We've got to figure out how to do it better. [2:32:30] We've got to figure out how to get it to the people who really need it, the Georgians, as you say, and all across the country. [2:32:35] And that's what we're working to do. [2:32:38] I would respectfully disagree with your characterization regarding SNAP. [2:32:43] There are a lot of children all across Georgia who are suffering, families trying to put it together, and I think we can do better than that. [2:32:52] But thank you so much. [2:32:52] If they're young children, they're available. [2:32:54] So I appreciate that, too. [2:32:55] And I appreciate the opportunity to actually have a civil conversation about it. [2:32:59] Of course. [2:33:00] Thank you, sir. [2:33:01] Thank you. [2:33:02] Senator Grassley. [2:33:03] I don't think I'll need 10 minutes to get through this. [2:33:07] You get to use whatever time you want. [2:33:11] Thanks for being a spokeswoman for Family Farmer. [2:33:17] I appreciate that. [2:33:19] It wouldn't surprise you if I was talking about E-15. [2:33:23] I'm shocked. [2:33:23] My purpose isn't to put you on the spot. [2:33:27] My purpose is to get some things on the record from somebody other than the oil and ethanol business so we can refute some of the lies that are going on about E-15. [2:33:42] Does the Trump administration support legislation for a year-round sale of E-15 nationwide? [2:33:50] Yes. [2:33:51] The president, in a speech, he did the first term but then reiterated in the second term in the great state of Iowa a couple of months ago his full and unequivocal support. [2:33:59] Will year-round E-15 boost America's rural economy? [2:34:04] Correct. [2:34:05] Have you heard a figure of E-15 by law that would bring $14 billion back into the farm economy? [2:34:14] That's what the corn growers economist has said. [2:34:18] Correct. [2:34:19] I have heard that. [2:34:19] Okay. [2:34:20] I agree. [2:34:21] Will E-15 give consumers a cheaper option at the gas pump? [2:34:29] Yes, it will. [2:34:31] In the Midwest, it seems to be somewhere between 20 and 40 cents a gallon. [2:34:37] And in a time where we're working so hard on affordability, that becomes even more important. [2:34:41] Does year-round E-15 bolster our national security? [2:34:48] There is no national security without farm security. [2:34:51] This administration, for the first time in the history of our country, has put agriculture as part of the national security plan. [2:34:59] And so, yes, being able to protect those farmers and what E-15 means to them and opening up a domestic market while we're opening up the international market is a priority. [2:35:11] EPA Director Zeldin testified before another committee in the Senate that during the eight years of presidential waiver for E-15, [2:35:22] that means no small refineries have ever shut down. [2:35:26] I do know of any information about small refineries shutting down. [2:35:31] I have not heard of any small refineries shutting down. [2:35:36] It's been a couple months, maybe three months, since I talked to you about vaccination for screw worms. [2:35:44] You may not remember that conversation, and I don't expect you to, but we talked about it, and you were going to look into it. [2:35:54] So what's the chances of use of vaccination to get us beyond this? [2:36:00] Because when I called you, there was no screw worms noticed in the United States. [2:36:05] Maybe they were here, but they weren't verified. [2:36:07] Right, so the screw worm is a flesh-eating pest and not a virus or a disease, but there are so many ways to treat it. [2:36:17] First, we eradicate it with the sterile fly technology, which is what we're building out in America and in Mexico and in Panama. [2:36:24] That's the billion-plus dollars that we put into the system over a year ago to make sure that that happens. [2:36:31] There is ivermectin, there's feed and treatment to basically, which would probably serve like a vaccination, but as far as specific vaccinations. [2:36:40] Now, you and I talked about the vaccination on the HPAI when we talked, which is the other sort of big challenge to our chickens, and we had a big conversation about that. [2:36:49] We continue to run that down, but the good news with HPAI, still a lot to do, is that in Iowa and other significant chicken states, egg-laying states, [2:37:00] that the case of HPAI has come down almost 60 percent since last year through the use of biotechnology, et cetera. [2:37:06] Obviously, a move toward vaccination in that lane is continuing to be discussed. [2:37:12] There's a lot of big, different opinions on that, so I want to make sure that we get it right. [2:37:17] The virus, HPAI, will often beat and jump to humans, so that's what we've got to be very careful of, [2:37:23] and we're working with partners around the world and seeing what they're doing as well. [2:37:27] Let me give you some advice that you don't have to respond to. [2:37:31] In fact, I'd rather not have you respond to it. [2:37:34] But I know that there are voices in the Cabinet that don't like vaccinations, [2:37:40] and from that standpoint, I expect you to speak for agriculture and not listen to any of those other people [2:37:48] that might be trying to convince you that for the screw-worm thing, we should be vaccinated, [2:37:54] because they don't know anything about agriculture, and you do, and you shouldn't be listening to them. [2:38:00] And if you're getting pressure from higher up to do that, let me know so I can defend you. [2:38:08] Yes, I can assure you there is no pressure, but taking very seriously the vaccination to ensure that it actually works [2:38:20] and it doesn't cause the virus to mutate to then jump to more dairy cattle, to beef cattle, to other livestock, et cetera. [2:38:26] And if we move too fast, that's what will happen. [2:38:29] So while we're bringing the case of HPAI down through biosecurity and through other options, therapeutics, et cetera, [2:38:37] sir, please know we are studying very carefully the potential for what that could look like as well. [2:38:44] Last week, your department announced that it would be delaying the poultry grower payment system [2:38:52] and capital improvement systems rulemaking under the Packers and Stockyards Act. [2:38:57] During your confirmation hearing, I brought up this rule and the others that were finalized under the previous administration. [2:39:06] I said then that the Packers and Stockyards Act is the most effective tool to make sure that the marketplace works for the American farmers. [2:39:16] You said you would be looking forward to working with me to focus on our small family farmers. [2:39:23] So first of all, going back to your becoming secretary and maybe going back 10 or 15 years, [2:39:33] I've been involved in trying to help these poultry farmers not be screwed by the people that they're producing the chickens for. [2:39:41] So how does this delay help our small family farmers, and does this delay help meatpackers more than family farmers? [2:39:52] Sir, obviously that was a Biden rule. [2:39:54] We are very sympathetic. [2:39:56] I know you don't have time, but if you were to dig around, you'll see a lot of anti-consolidation work from our USDA, [2:40:05] whether it is a DOJ investigation into the Big Four Packers, [2:40:10] whether it is an investigation into understanding why a Chinese company owns one-fifth of our pork production, [2:40:16] whether it is an investigation and movement and action toward investing in smaller processors, smaller farmers, etc. [2:40:23] So it may be true of other USDA secretaries, but it sure isn't of me that I'm a defender of those actions, [2:40:32] but fully understanding what the challenges are, what that rule did, and making it better is certainly on my list, [2:40:39] and I look forward to working with you on that. [2:40:41] But how does the delay help the small family farmer? [2:40:47] Well, can I circle back to you on that? [2:40:49] I want to get fully up to speed on exactly why. [2:40:53] I do know there were some real concerns with the way that the Biden team wrote the rule, [2:40:56] and there were some real concerns with the profitability and ensuring we are protecting all American agriculture, [2:41:03] but let me go back and dig in a little bit more. [2:41:06] I'll let you do that, because I want to make sure that we consider everything, [2:41:12] and you should consider everything, but I'll sum this up by saying that in the USDA's notice in the Federal Register, [2:41:20] it said that of the 2,800 comments and 225 unique comments, [2:41:28] quote, one large poultry integrator, integrator, two meat and poultry trade associations support the delay, [2:41:39] but the real poultry growers and grower organizations oppose this proposal. [2:41:45] My last question will deal with this. [2:41:51] Again, fertilizer, as other people brought up, [2:41:55] I'd like to thank you and Secretary Rollins and the Trump administration [2:42:02] for all the work of addressing fertilizer prices. [2:42:06] It continues to be a top issue in Iowa, [2:42:11] from lowering tariffs to adding phosphate and potage to the critical minerals list and more. [2:42:18] I appreciate all the administration's doing to provide relief and provide you support, [2:42:26] and I hope you support my legislation that would provide transparency, and I'm sure you do. [2:42:33] I understand that the department is seeking to hire an inputs economist [2:42:38] to focus on providing insight to farmers on the prices they pay for inputs for fertilizers, [2:42:45] inputs, and economists. [2:42:48] Is the position filled, or is it involved in a revolving door? [2:42:55] Well, hopefully, I know we've already started interviewing, [2:42:58] that we're able to really bring in a superstar and build an entire team. [2:43:03] We have a whole focus in my office on inputs, [2:43:06] and this is just one more step, I think, in the right direction, [2:43:09] as you all work to pass your legislation. [2:43:12] Okay. [2:43:12] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [2:43:14] Thank you, Secretary. [2:43:15] Thank you, Senator. [2:43:16] Thank you, Senator Grassley. [2:43:18] I've got to read my thing so I don't leave out. [2:43:28] Again, thank you so much for appearing, [2:43:30] and I think this was a really good session, [2:43:34] and I think everybody learned a lot, [2:43:37] which is what these are all about. [2:43:39] So we appreciate you being here, [2:43:42] your insights in today's hearing, [2:43:44] and the hearing will remain open, [2:43:47] hearing record will remain open for five business days. [2:43:50] Today's hearing is now adjourned. [2:43:53] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [2:43:54] By the way, these are the USDA interns [2:43:56] who are so studiously paying attention behind me, [2:44:01] so very happy to have them here. [2:44:02] Very good. [2:44:02] We appreciate you guys very much. [2:44:05] Thank you. [2:44:05] Thank you so much, Senator. [2:44:07] Thank you.