ITHACA, Nebraska — The heart of America’s agricultural belt saw a flurry of political and policy activity on August 9, 2025, as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins made her second visit to Nebraska in as many months. The trip underscored the mounting pressures facing the state’s farmers and ranchers, as well as the Trump administration’s attempts to shore up support and deliver relief to a sector battered by economic headwinds, trade uncertainties, and shifting federal priorities.
Rollins’ itinerary was packed. She convened with Senator Deb Fischer and Representatives Don Bacon, Mike Flood, and Adrian Smith at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center (ENREEC), a hub renowned for connecting academic research to practical solutions for the state’s producers. These meetings brought together political heavyweights and local agricultural leaders, all seeking answers to a set of stubbornly persistent questions: How can Nebraska’s farmers survive years of depressed prices, unpredictable tariffs, and the ever-present threat of weather disasters?
“It’s really an honor to be here. I look forward to coming back and hopefully having a little more time,” Rollins told attendees, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. Her visit came on the heels of a Saturday storm that left cornfields battered—an all-too-familiar reminder of the risks that define life on the land. But the weather was just the beginning. Rollins faced pointed questions about the economic disruptions caused by on-again, off-again tariffs with key trading partners such as Mexico and Canada, as reported by the Nebraska Examiner.
Farmers and ranchers at the closed-press roundtable didn’t hold back. They described how years of low commodity prices, compounded by trade uncertainty, have put their operations in jeopardy. “Row croppers have been operating at a loss for a number of years,” Rollins acknowledged. “That’s not sustainable.” She went on to stress the importance of baseline protections for crop pricing, which were included in the recently passed GOP tax and spending bill—dubbed the “big, beautiful bill” by President Trump. “Our wheat, soybean, corn producers, they’ve been hurting and they’ve been hurting for a long time. And you can’t, you can’t have a nation as the world’s superpower if you can’t feed yourself,” Rollins said, echoing a sentiment that resonated throughout the day.
The legislative package, which included provisions for agricultural safety nets and inheritance tax relief, was celebrated by the Nebraska delegation. Senator Fischer, whose own family runs a cattle ranch near Valentine, highlighted the need for tax certainty at a time when input costs are rising. “There’s a lot of risk involved in agriculture,” Fischer said. “You can’t control the weather. When you drove up today, you probably saw some corn that was stripped by the wind. That’s why these safety nets are so important for crop producers, that they have that.”
National statistics underscore the urgency: Nebraska and neighboring Iowa lost more than 6% of their gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2025, the sharpest declines in the nation, with agriculture leading the downturn. Mike Flood, whose district includes Lincoln, didn’t mince words about the economic reality. “Corn’s at $3.80 a bushel. That doesn’t pay the bills,” he said, relaying the concerns of growers and bankers worried about loan defaults.
Trade, of course, was never far from the discussion. Don Bacon, who represents the Omaha area and sits on the House Agriculture Committee, called for expanded markets for corn and soybeans—particularly through biofuels in aviation fuel and higher ethanol blends in gasoline. “It’s the only way you’re going to move enough corn and soybeans,” Bacon argued. “Otherwise you’re going to have a depression, and … we’re going to see it pretty squarely.” Bacon also noted the Trump administration’s progress in opening markets in Japan, South Korea, and Australia, while acknowledging that tariff uncertainty and labor shortages—exacerbated by crackdowns on migrant workers—remain pressing issues.
Adrian Smith, whose district covers much of rural Nebraska, defended President Trump’s use of tariffs as a negotiating tool, even as he admitted he’s “no fan” of them. Smith, a frequent critic of the Biden administration’s approach to agricultural trade, said more could have been done in previous years, pointing to recent deals as evidence of renewed focus.
Throughout the visit, Rollins and the delegation emphasized the importance of research and innovation. Rollins toured the university’s feedlot technology alongside Derek McLean, dean of the Agricultural Research Division at UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Flood and Fischer highlighted their efforts to secure the final $60 million needed to complete a USDA research facility on Lincoln’s Nebraska Innovation Campus, which will house 300 federal researchers. “In the ag appropriation bills, there is an increase in funding for research. There is an increase in funding for trade. So, we’re picking the priorities that we hear from back home from ag producers,” Fischer told Brownfield.
Rollins addressed recent funding hiccups, revealing that some university research dollars had been temporarily frozen by the Department of Government Efficiency. “We would immediately work with the White House to unleash those funds, so that has been the process, again, an imperfect process, sometimes clunky, but I think we’ve gotten to the other side of it where we now understand what the priorities look like, where taxpayer dollars should be spent, and we’re doing it in the way that supports our agriculture community,” she said. Rollins credited senators and congressmen—particularly those from Nebraska—for advocating on behalf of critical research programs. She reiterated the administration’s commitment to supporting agricultural research and development, a message that appeared to reassure many in attendance.
Despite the challenges, optimism flickered. Rollins hinted at the possibility of a new farm bill coming in the fall, suggesting that while “a lot of the priorities of the farm bill” had made it into the recent legislative package, “there’s still some left.” Mike Flood expressed confidence in Rollins and the administration’s efforts: “I’m anxious to see this roll out. We need wins in rural America, and I think we’re about to get them.”
Senator Fischer summed up the mood of the Nebraska delegation: “Our delegation understands the importance of agriculture. We are really, really fortunate to have a secretary like Secretary Rollins. She is easy to reach out to.”
After a whirlwind morning of meetings and tours, Rollins departed for the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, where she was slated to join Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. Yet the echoes of her visit lingered in Nebraska’s fields and meeting rooms—a promise of more federal help to come, and a reminder that the fate of rural America remains a central concern in Washington’s corridors of power.