MYERSTOWN — Speaking before a crowd of farmers and federal lawmakers, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture stressed the importance of passing policies to help farms in Pennsylvania.
Secretary Brook Rollins, on a tour of the Martin Family Dairy Farm near Myerstown in Jackson Twp., Lebanon County on Monday, spoke about how the USDA and the Trump administration will continue to push for measures to protect, and benefit, those who drive Pennsylvania’s leading economic industry. She was joined by U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick and Congressmen Dan Meuser (R-9), Rob Bresnahan (R-8) and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-15). It was one of several Lebanon County farms the delegation visited on Monday.
Rollins was asked about President Trump’s reciprocal tariff plans, and how she and her department have placated farmers amid the environment of trade uncertainty.
To illustrate what the plan hopes to accomplish, Rollins recalled Founding Father Alexander Hamilton’s vision of America: that the country “should never be a neutral arbiter, but a fervent proponent of our own people, our own goods.”
Trump’s goal, the secretary said, is to lead the country away from being a neutral arbiter and restore its status as “the greatest economic power known in the history of mankind.”
“What I didn’t realize until I took this job two months ago was how unbelievably unfair our own products and our own trade is treated.”
She described the trade system as one that is “fundamentally broken” and dysfunctional, and said it does not work for American producers and agriculture.
“President Trump, frankly, is one of the few or the only one who is willing to stand up and say, ‘No more,’” Rollins said.
Rollins said that while farmers and ranchers have expressed some concern about the trade uncertainty, saying they are “operating at such thin margins of profitability already,” they do understand and support Trump’s vision for the economy.
“They’re still with him, they’re still with us, they understand the vision,” Rollins said, “and I believe sincerely it will move us into an unprecedented era of prosperity for our farmers and ranchers.”
McCormick said, despite the trade uncertainty, there are “a lot of certainties” that policymakers will aim to accomplish, including a big push for deregulation, energy dominance and tax cuts.
Meuser said that several state governments are in favor of Trump’s plan for a “new era” and are working with his administration to deliver the desired results. He is concerned that states like Pennsylvania, however, seem to be actively fighting against the plan.
“I’m afraid Pennsylvania will be left behind,” Meuser said, “unless we get our act together, and appreciate what President Trump is trying to do and, frankly, how easy and effective it is to just work with him and his administration.”
Rollins was also asked if there had been any progress made on a potential avian flu vaccine, and the USDA’s efforts to combat the avian flu in poultry.
She noted that the USDA is following its five-step plan, which it approved in February, to battle avian flu in poultry and help lower egg prices. The plan includes $500 million in biosecurity measures for farms, as well as temporary egg imports and deregulation.
“The good news was that right after that plan was announced, we saw the price of eggs coming down,” she said.
“This USDA, under my leadership and at the direction of President Trump, will not stand by without doing everything we can to solve for this,” she continued. “Having said that, it is a very complicated issue … There are a lot of moving parts to this. Ensuring we have the best research and the best researchers, that we’re able to produce the safest, the healthiest and the best food supply in the world, is our goal. Certainly, for our chicken farmers and our egg layers, that’s the very top of the priority list, especially right now.”