May 21, 2025

Rollins Announces New Small Family Farms Policy 

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins released a set of policy proposals under her newly launched Make Agriculture Great Again Initiative. Her initial proposals are a comprehensive set of policy solutions aimed at improving the variability and longevity of smaller-scale family farms for generations to come. About 86 percent of all U.S. farms are small family farms. To ensure small family farms can start and stay in business, the USDA has outlined a toolkit of actions like streamlining application processes. The new policy agenda also includes solutions like ensuring simple, streamlined, and transparent tools and applications. It ensures reliable access to credit for small family farms. One of the key proposals is to ensure small farms can be passed on to the next generation for generations to come. Another proposal would enhance access to risk management and business planning tools. USDA also wants to ensure the farm size definitions reflect modern-day realities. 

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Farm Groups Comment on Upcoming MAHA Report

The Make America Healthy Again Commission will release a report this week that may have a significant impact on America’s farmers, producers, and ranchers, and the public’s trust in the food system. Groups like the American Soybean Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers, and the International Fresh Produce Association are asking the administration to consider the consequences of the report before it’s finalized. “American agriculture’s strong relationship with President Trump is based on his longstanding commitment to farmers and ranchers,” the groups said in a joint statement. “We’re hearing disturbing accounts that the report may suggest farmers are harming Americans through their practices and creating a chronic disease crisis. Nothing could be further from the truth.” The groups also say nutrition matters, health matters, and the confidence of American consumers in the food supply matters tremendously. Those groups represent hundreds of thousands of farmers across the country. 

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Clean Fuels Applauds Letter on RFS Volumes

Clean Fuels Alliance America thanked 28 representatives who sent a letter to President Donald Trump, encouraging the administration to adopt a timely, robust Renewable Fuel Standard rule for 2026 and beyond. Representatives Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Angie Craig (D-MN) led the effort. “A strong Set 2 will benefit our constituents by lowering prices at the pump, creating and maintaining U.S. biomanufacturing jobs, and driving economic growth,” the letter said. “A strong RVO will support market growth for farmers at a time when global markets are experiencing uncertainty.” The representatives said the domestic biofuels industry stands ready to increase the availability of affordable fuel options and support the administration’s goal of American energy dominance. The letter specifically supports a 2026 Biomass-Based Diesel volume of 5.25 billion gallons and increasing volumes for future years. Kurt Kovarik of Clean Fuels says biodiesel and renewable diesel production are essential markets for American farmers.

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Vietnam and U.S. Begin Second Round of Trade Negotiations

The U.S. and Vietnam have begun their second round of trade negotiations in Washington. The Vietnamese government is working to establish a new trade agreement that will help it evade a possible 46 percent tariff, a move that could destabilize its export-oriented growth model. Vietnam, a crucial regional manufacturing hub for many Western firms, reported a trade surplus of over $123 billion with the U.S. in 2024. Investing Dot Com says to shrink the surplus, the Vietnamese government has taken multiple steps, such as limiting shipments of Chinese goods to the U.S. through its territory and increasing its purchases of American goods. The U.S. has postponed enforcement of the 46 percent tariff on Vietnam until July, replacing it with a ten percent tariff rate for now. If imposed, the larger tariff could hamper Vietnam’s growth, considering its significant dependency on exports to the United States, by far its largest market. 

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Broadband Data May Not Be Accurate

The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a study that raises questions about the accuracy of broadband availability data in the FCC’s National Broadband Map. The study says the Commission hasn’t documented or assessed the sufficiency of its processes for ensuring the map is as accurate as possible. That, in turn, could jeopardize agencies’ ability to make the most efficient and effective funding decisions. The GAO also recommends that the Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the Departments of Agriculture and the Treasury better coordinate on broadband policy and funding. This report comes three years after the GAO told federal agencies how to coordinate over 100 federal broadband programs administered by 15 agencies. The Government Accountability Office also noted that most of the work from the 2022 assessment remains undone. 

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May 2025 Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook

The USDA’s May Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook calls for tighter anticipated supplies of beef cattle after the U.S. banned cattle imports from Mexico. Tighter supplies will reduce beef production in 2026 to 25.14 billion pounds. Also, the 2025 milk production forecasts have increased to 227.3 billion pounds. Wholesale dairy and milk prices are also revised upward, with the all-milk price forecast increased to $21.60 a hundredweight. U.S. pork production in 2026 is forecast at 28.4 billion pounds, up 1.3 percent from the expected 2025 production. In poultry, May broiler production for 2025 is adjusted lower from last month, but annual growth of one percent is expected in both 2025 and 2026. Projected broiler exports in 2025 are adjusted higher and expected to rebound in 2026, but remain below pre-2022 levels. In the lamb/sheep sector, actual production of lamb and mutton was higher than last month’s forecast, but imports were lower. 
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