“Prosperity Of Small Family Farms” Outlined As Primary USDA Goal
on May 21, 2025
Make Agriculture Great Again
A new call to action has been made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, asking federal, state, regional and local partners to join the department’s “bold new Make Agriculture Great Again Agenda.”
This agenda was unveiled on May 19, with the USDA noting the first pillar of its policy agenda is hinged upon “the prosperity of small family farms.”
This focus came about following nearly 100 days of USDA officials meeting with farmers across the nation, including a Farmers First Roundtable, held in Nebraska on May 7.
Putting Farmers First
In a document called the Farmers First: Small Family Farms Policy Agenda, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote a letter prefacing the policy, which states:
“While other occupations have overtaken farming and ranching as the predominant trade, America remains a nation underpinned by agriculture and family farms — and agriculture itself stands preeminent, making possible all the rest. At their root, family farms make possible our cities on a hill.”
She goes on to write, “It is family farms, especially small and midsize family farms, that sustain and preserve the American way of life. The defense of the family farm is a defense of everything America has been — and everything we will be.”
Defining a family farm as “a farm in which the majority of the business is owned by an operator and/or any individual related by blood, marriage, or adoption,” the USDA reports that small family farms made up 86% of all farms in the United States in 2023.
“America’s family farms help feed, fuel, and clothe the world, but they also face some of the greatest challenges in getting their farms started and keeping them running,” Rollins said in a May 19 press release, adding, “Putting Farmers First means addressing the issues farmers face head-on.”
This includes removing economic barriers to encourage business creation.
“President Trump knows America’s economic prosperity depends on the success of our farmers and ranchers. That is why we are working to ensure those who want to start and keep their own farms for generations to come are able to.”
Related: Biden-Era Charges Against South Dakota Farmers Dropped By Trump Administration
USDA’s Actions To Support Farmers
With the “profitability and prosperity of small family farms” in mind, the USDA has detailed 10 provisions it is making to meet the needs of small family farms.
Of those actions, eight were defined in depth, and are as follows:
- Streamlining & Digitizing USDA Application Processes: This is intended to expedite response times from the USDA while reducing “the barriers to entry for many programs while saving time and enhancing accuracy.”
- Generating Reliable Access to Credit: The USDA is evaluating access to Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Rural Development (RD), which “can be utilized by small farmers to build credit and invest in their operations.”
- Providing Greater Access to Farmland: “USDA is reforming the FSA and RD loan programs” to ensure “small producers can have reliable access to credit and farmland. USDA will also disincentivize the use of federal funding at USDA for solar panels to be installed on productive farmland,” adding, “Farmland should be for agricultural production, not solar production.”
- Transitioning Farms to the Next Generation: “USDA calls on Congress to ensure that the vast majority of farms and ranches are protected from an increase in the death tax.” The USDA also advises that Congress should “expand Section 179, which allows eligible small businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying farm and business equipment upfront.”
- Providing Small Family Farms With Greater Access to Markets and Infrastructure: “USDA will work to improve and strengthen the state and federal food inspection agreements to expand access to processing capacity.”
- Providing All Family Farms with Affordable and Reliable Labor: “USDA is aggressively exploring coordinated solutions with agencies and Congress to ensure a stable, reliable, and legal workforce for agriculture. Small farmers can’t diversify or grow their business without access to labor, and we must take action to relieve this persistent issue,” the USDA writes, noting reform is needed regarding H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant visa classifications.
- Enhancing Risk Management and Business Planning Tools: “USDA is working to make our programs simple and transparent, which is why we recently announced the disaster portal for all upcoming disaster programs, as a resource producers can access far in advance of their scheduled release.”
- Ensuring the Definition of Small Farm Adequately Captures U.S Agriculture Today: “USDA is currently reviewing farm size definitions to ensure they adequately reflect modern-day realities while also helping to ensure that the extensive resources that USDA makes available are appropriately tailored to the needs (and size) of farms.”
The two additional actions include hosting webinars and educational series for small farmers and providing resources for all farmer needs on farmers.gov.
To read the full agenda policy, and actions the USDA will be taking to put small family farms first, visit www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/farmers-first-small-family-farms-policy-agenda.pdf.
