WASHINGTON — US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins touched on myriad challenges faced by the food industry and the vital nature of agriculture to the United States’ survival during a virtual address to attendees of the US Department of Agriculture’s 101st Agricultural Outlook Forum on Feb. 28.

Rollins, who held positions in the first administration of President Donald Trump and co-founded the America First Policy Institute, said it is an honor to lead USDA. She reminded the crowd of the essential nature of agriculture to the fabric of America, then and now.

“Your work is vital to our nation, not only because it feeds and fuels America and the world, but because it represents a way of life,” she said. “We all know that that way of life is indispensable to the American experiment. I believe the same thing our founders did, that farming is essential to the American occupation and that without it we do not have a republic. In fact, our revolution was fought all those years ago, 250 years ago, by a bunch of farmers, and I think we should never let that go. It is in that light that what you do is not just supporting our coffers and our interests, it is sustaining our next generation and preserving freedom around the world.”

The foundational nature of US agriculture comes with an obligation for straight-forward examination of the state of the industry, Rollins said.

“The state of our agriculture economy is dire,” she said. “Perhaps one of the worst in the last 100 years. Our trade deficit is set to hit a record $45.5 billion. There has been a rapid decline in the number of American farms. One in 10 farms has disappeared in the past decade. The cost of production is up by nearly 30% in the past year alone. And the average age of the American farmer is 58 years old. For those of us in our 50s, that doesn’t sound too old, but it is not realistic to sustain a healthy and robust industry that is a necessity to the future of our country with an aging leadership.”

Some “big ideas” to change those trends will be presented in the coming months and years, she said, adding that critical work already has begun under President Trump, “who will accept no less and has little patience for anything other than success very quickly.”

Rollins reiterated the administration’s commitment to a fair deal in trade, acknowledged the concerns of the industry about the tactics, such as tariffs, being used and said she would be a champion of American agriculture second only to the president.

She touched on several other topics, including:

• $30 billion in disaster relief the department is fast-tracking: “My commitment — even though we are only 14 days in — is that we are moving at lightspeed, we call it ‘Trump-speed,’ to get that out quickly. Congress gave us a deadline of March 21. We’ve already got the process in place and hopefully are able to beat that deadline.”

• The yearslong outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that has been linked to egg shortages and egg prices skyrocketing: Her released five-pronged approach “includes repopulation, biosecurity, importing short-term and significant funding for additional research.” That could include vaccines, therapeutics and work to increase immunity.  

• The “all-of-the-above” approach and the importance of crafting a comprehensive agenda for rural America: As US agriculture has grown to feed the world, “the small towns and rural communities that sustain it have fallen into decline. We must reverse this trend.” Rollins said she discussed with Trump and Vice President JD Vance long-term plans in that regard, “and this daughter of Glen Rose, Texas, population 2,000, will do everything she can to reverse that trend as well.”

Flight delays kept Rollins from the traditional in-person address and media availability at the forum.

“I’m just heartbroken I’m not there in person, but our plane was still sitting on the runway on its way to DC at 1:48 am and it just couldn’t get there in time,” she said. “Though it’s not ideal, I insisted on joining you this way because it’s important to me to be a part of this amazing event. It’s the 101st Ag Outlook Forum, so we are standing literally on the shoulders of giants. What an amazing gathering of producers and innovators and industry leaders and dignitaries from all over the world. I am looking forward to getting to know you and the farmers and industries you represent over these next four years.”