Thursday marked the first visit to Indiana for U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins since she was confirmed to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February. Her visit coincided with a formal agreement made less than 18 hours earlier that ended China’s five-month long boycott of U.S. soybean purchases.
While in Indiana, she visited Everett Farms and Seed LLC in Lebanon, followed by a visit to the 98th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis to deliver the keynote address during the 2nd delegate session on Thursday afternoon.
While at Everett Farms, Rollins provided further details of the trade deal that President Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping had agreed upon during their face-to-face meeting in South Korea on Wednesday.
“12 million tons of soybeans in the next two months will be purchased under that deal—this is a floor by the way, so it could be more—and at least 25 million tons of soybeans in 2026, 2027, and 2028, plus additional commitments to buy sorghum, hardwood, and the removal of unwarranted retaliatory tariffs on a whole suite of our ag products, so all of the above including our livestock, etc.,” said Rollins.
Since China is now back to buying U.S. soybeans, Hoosier Ag Today’s Eric Pfeiffer asked Rollins what that means for the Trump administration’s plan to provide $10-$15 billion in aid to America’s farmers who were impacted by China’s boycott, and whether that plan for farm aid is still on the table.
“That money that has been identified will be there. We are analyzing right now, exactly what this means. The plan is being put together. We have worked very hard across the entire cabinet, so this isn’t just me. It’s also [Secretary] Scott Bessent in Treasury and [Secretary] Howard Lutnik in Commerce and [Administrator] Kelly Loeffler [in] Small Business—how we can put a package together for our farmers that make sure that any sort of harm they have incurred under this renegotiation that’s happening, that we will step in the gap. So, I don’t know that, right now, at this moment, we know exactly what that looks like. I mean, we’re in harvest right now, so we’ll see what the market does, and we will be ready to continue to step, in if in fact, we believe it’s necessary,” she said.
Rollins added that any further decisions regarding a farm-aid package would have to wait until the shutdown of the federal government comes to an end.
Hoosier Ag Today’s coverage of the 98th National FFA Convention & Expo is presented by Keystone Cooperative.
CLICK BELOW to hear U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins during her press conference at Everett Farm and Seed LLC in Lebanon on Thursday.
