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Rollins: Buy Time With Aid
Wednesday, July 22, 2026 2:45PM CDT
Rollins: Buy Time With Aid 07/22 14:44
Rollins Points to Ag Consolidation as Reason for Aid; Senators Seek Disaster
Funds
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said $11.1 billion in farm aid would
give producers relief while the Trump administration addresses long-term
economic pressures and consolidation in agriculture.
Jake Zajkowski
DTN Ag Policy Editor
WASHINGTON (DTN) -- Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joined military
leaders on Tuesday to urge Senate appropriators to pass an $87.6 billion
supplemental spending package, arguing the farm aid portion would give the
administration time to overhaul U.S. agriculture policy while the military
funding represented a "generational investment" in national defense.
The hearing before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee focused on
President Donald Trump's supplemental funding requests announced the day after
the president welcomed farmers to the White House in late June.
"We are confident that the direction of American agriculture is changing for
the better, but many producers continue to face economic pressure as we build
that economic intro out," Rollins said.
The $11.1 billion agriculture aid request -- $10 billion for crops and $1.1
billion for Florida disaster relief -- "buys the nation the security that we
need and it buys us time to deconstruct and reconstruct a new system," she
said. "It provides a bridge and extends a hand to Americans who need it."
Rollins attributed the need for additional farm aid primarily to
consolidation in the agricultural economy and pressures from foreign and
hostile countries.
A similar effort is moving through the U.S. House of Representatives as part
of "reconciliation 3.0" that could provide $12 billion in agricultural aid. But
from the perspective of the cabinet officials testifying Tuesday, the
agriculture funding request has little to do with the war in Iran.
In the hearing, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked U.S. Secretary of Defense
Pete Hegseth, "Does it have to do with the war in Iran?"
He responded, "No, this is rebuilding our military from what was not funded
in the mass of the Biden administration."
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., expressed concerns that the president's request
was not meant to cover the war anymore. "This request is chock full of asks to
fund unrelenting DOD priorities, which should be considered through our annual
appropriations process," she said.
DISASTER AID
Similarly, senators questioned Rollins about why the administration's $11.1
billion agriculture request was characterized as a national security need
rather than disaster assistance.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, asked why the administration was focusing on
the 2026 freeze rather than disasters declared in 2025.
Rollins responded by saying the administration is being flexible with its
approach.
"There's a lot of farmers, a lot of producers who are really hurting, not
just in Florida and not just from the freeze," she said. "So, it's important
that we work together to solve for that."
In 2025, 1,012 counties were declared secretarial designated for crop loss
disaster, compared with 1,152 counties so far in 2026, according to USDA data.
Other senators urged the secretary to expand the list of potential
beneficiaries to include forestry producers, shrimpers and fishermen in Alaska.
It is ultimately the decision of the committee to determine how much money
will be appropriated for the agency to use and how far to deepen the spending
deficit.
CAUSE AND EFFECT
Between senators and administration officials testifying, there were clear
differences over exactly what the proposed aid was intended to address.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., responding to Rollins' testimony, said: "I just want
to reiterate a point that Sen. (Alex) Padilla (D-Calif.) made. We have a $10
million request for Midwestern farmers who are struggling because of the
interruption of fuel and fertilizers because of President Trump's war."
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., said the purpose of the aid was to ensure
the next generation of farmers can remain on the land.
"If we want the next generation to stay on the land, Congress, we're going
to have to take this opportunity to provide this critical market assistance for
our farmers," she said.
The war still looms over the farm economy.
Input costs have been affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Rollins, however, placed much of the blame for elevated input costs on
consolidation among major agribusiness companies rather than the war itself.
"We are doing these supplementals and these bridge payments, which we have
to do for these farmers to survive," she said.
"But what we're seeing is just survival, and we're seeing a lot of the input
companies -- equipment, seed, fertilizer -- make record profit. So, we've got
to be able to dig into that as well."
Watch the Senate Appropriations hearing here:
https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/defense-secretary-hegseth-others
-testify-before-senate-panel/682884
Find USDA Disaster Designation Information here:
https://www.fsa.usda.gov/resources/disaster-assistance-program/disaster-designat
ion-information
Jake Zajkowski can be reached at jake.zajkowski@dtn.com
Follow him on social platform X @jzajkow
(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.
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