Trump’s ag secretary Rollins can’t continue to snub California’s farmers | Opinion

It’s time for Brooke Rollins, in her role as U.S. secretary of agriculture, to book a flight to California to see what makes our state the top source for farming.

More than seven months after she was confirmed on a 72-28 Senate vote, Rollins has visited at least 15 states. None of them are California.

She announced plans to visit Vietnam, Japan, India, Perú, Brazil and the United Kingdom within her first six months in office to discuss market access for American agriculture. She visited the United Kingdom and Italy in June, but has yet to visit the world’s fourth-largest economy: California.

She is more than welcome to visit the Golden State, said Sen. Adam Schiff, a Democrat and the first California lawmaker to sit on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

Schiff extended an invitation to Rollins on Sept. 4. The senator’s office said the USDA confirmed receipt of the letter.

“Following up on your commitment to do so earlier this year, I am writing to respectfully request that you visit California, the nation’s most bountiful agricultural state,” Schiff wrote.

On Monday, the California Department of Food and Agriculture said the state’s agricultural production hit a record $61.2 billion last year. That is a 3.6% increase from 2023. That is 61.2 billion reasons Rollins needs to visit the state, especially the San Joaquin Valley, which has the lion’s share of farm produce and employs about 340,000 people.

Schiff notes that California grows more than a third of the country’s vegetables and over 75% of its fruits and nuts.

“California farmers are eager to showcase their operations and share the unique challenges they experience in producing the world’s highest-quality commodities,” said Schiff.

When Rollins announced plans in late July to deconstruct the USDA offices in Washington, D.C. and set up five regional sites, California was not allocated one of those offices. The change was not shared with Congress before Rollins released the plan. The USDA is accepting comments on the reorganization through Sept. 30..

At the time, the Bee Editorial Board wrote: “Overlooking the country’s top ag-producing state for a hub is a mistake. No other state comes close to California’s $59.46 billion in cash receipts for all commodities. Corn-rich Iowa is a distant second at $38.8 billion.”

There’s plenty for Rollins to discuss

In a July 4 message, Rollins said President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” marks “the start of a new golden age for America and American agriculture.”

There’s a problem with that optimism. Soybean farmers in the Midwest are finding out that China is sitting out this year’s American harvest, opting for soybeans from Brazil and other markets, while the country retaliates against Trump’s tariffs. Last year, China purchased more than half of the U.S. soybean production, totaling $12.4 billion.

California farmers can sympathize with their those farmers. Tree nut growers in the Golden State suffered $239 million in losses in 2018 due to Trump’s tariffs in his first administration. That year, U.S. farmers took a $27 billion hit from retaliatory tariffs.

The Trump tariffs are a subject Rollins should discuss with California farmers if she visits. She could also explain if Trump will dole out financial assistance ($23 billion in 2018) to soften the impact of his tariffs.

Or she could explain what’s going on with the long-awaited farm bill. Or she can find out firsthand from growers why her suggestion that able-bodied folks on Medicaid can replace deported farmworkers won’t work.

In his invitation to Rollins, Schiff suggested she could learn about the worldwide reach of the state’s produce, the role of water and ag, USDA conservation programs, specialty crops and their importance to Americans’ health, the agricultural workforce, ag research and the USDA nutrition assistance program’s connection to farmers.

“These topics are of critical significance to farmers in California,” Schiff said. “The hope is that a visit to the state will support greater collaboration between USDA and Congress to strengthen California agriculture and bolster the U.S. economy.”

Madame Secretary, this is an invitation you should accept.