Trump USDA's Latest Move Paves Path for Agricultural Prosperity by Unleashing Reliable Energy
The U.S. Department of Agriculture continues to make rulings and decisions that prioritize American farmers and the American food supply.
Last Friday, USDA announced it was streamlining program delivery for the Rural Energy for America Program.
This final rule with comment period was issued by the Rural Business Cooperative Service, a USDA agency that boosts rural economic viability.
This ruling ensures that the systems currently in place to develop energy prosperity in America’s rural communities will be greatly improved from a simplification of the application process to greater government efficiency that protects taxpayer dollars.
Regarding the final rule, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “The final rule from USDA will restore integrity and stability to the Rural Energy for America Program. For too long many applicants have prioritized unreliable energy sources and have not fully delivered on their stated goals, as of today that ends.”
Glen Smith, Under Secretary for Rural Development, said, “We’re protecting productive American farmland from oversized solar developments and ensuring taxpayer-supported energy investments don’t put components from foreign adversaries on American farms. REAP should work for rural America, not foreign supply chains or projects that take good farmland out of production.”
The comments from both high-ranking officials at the USDA send a message that’s been gaining traction in mainstream conversations.
Wind, solar, and other renewable sources of energy are mildly reliable at best, exceedingly expensive, difficult to predict and manage, dependent on foreign sources for materials, and surprisingly harmful to our environment.
While our energy grids are aging and energy prices are nominally increasing year over year, according to Federal Reserve Economic Data, all Americans, particularly farmers and Americans in rural communities, will benefit from prioritizing affordable and reliable energy — energy that will always be available when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.
Energy is the “lifeblood of our economic system,” as the Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman noted. It is the master resource.
Affordable, reliable, and plentiful energy is the foundation of economic growth and prosperity. Energy is at the core of nearly everything we do, particularly agriculture and farming.
In 2025, family farm bankruptcies surged 46 percent from the previous year, marking the second consecutive year of increases. These family farm bankruptcies are the result of a confluence of record-high debt, dramatically increasing operational costs, and volatile commodity pricing.
Prioritizing the development of affordable and reliable sources of energy for American farmers by recommitting federal policy to reliable domestic energy production will work to unleash American prosperity across the heartland.
Affordable and reliable energy, economic growth, and protecting the environment from degradation need not be at odds with one another.
The energy sources that are most abundant and affordable are surprisingly environmentally friendly when we look at the full-spectrum environmental impacts of the various energy sources. Often, the best way to be pro-environment is to be pro-energy.
When a full-spectrum environmental analysis is conducted on the effects of large-scale wind and solar plants, they are hardly as environmentally friendly as advertised.
It requires approximately 60 square miles of solar panels to generate the same amount of power as a conventional power plant — and approximately 320 square miles of wind turbines to do the same. It’s impossible to have land loss at that rate without ecological and environmental impact.
This ruling by USDA emphasizes energy security for the present state of rural communities across America and secures economic prosperity for the future.
Prioritizing affordable and reliable sources of energy aligns environmental stewardship with economic strength. Safeguarding this economic strength in our rural and farming communities ensures that the American people have access to the safest, most affordable, and most abundant food supply in the world.
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