President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick for Secretary of Agriculture, choosing Brooke Rollins. She previously served as the acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council under President Trump in his first term. Rollins was most recently President and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank founded in 2021 to promote President Trump’s public policy agenda. Rollins grew up on a family farm in Texas and participated in FFA. Rollins attended Texas A&M University, where she became the first woman to be named student body president and graduated with an undergraduate degree in agricultural development in 1994. Rollins then earned her law degree from the University of Texas. The US ag industry needs an administration that will put the interests of farmers across America first. It was rural America that has been supportive of Trump and was critical in helping him win re-election; that fact should never be forgotten.
On the flip side of this, currently Trump’s pick, RFK Jr. for the Department of Health and Human Services (still needs to be confirmed by the Senate), has vowed to “weaponize” regulatory agencies against modern agriculture and undo decades of farm policy. RFK Jr. is known for opposing modern agricultural practices and has repeatedly advocated against large-scale producers. The threat of RFK Jr. attempting to reshape how farming is conducted in the US is real. Giving tremendous authority and oversight without any prevention could dramatically alter the way producers are allowed to farm in the US. This needs to be counterbalanced by having a strong Ag Secretary and administration that will not allow someone like RFK Jr. to dramatically change the landscape of US farming. It was US farmers that helped get Trump re-elected; that doesn’t mean they voted for RFK Jr. to change the industry they have been in their whole lives. Whether RFK Jr. is confirmed in this role remains to be seen, but US farmers interests must be put first by Rollins and Trump.
Sow mortality rates continue rising across the US. MetaFarms has determined that almost a quarter (23%) of US sows in 2023 were caused by uterine and rectal prolapses. Another 24% of deaths were attributable to structure/body condition and 12% to general health issues. Causes of death for the other 34% of the sows include PRRS, PRRS-related infections, and unknown issues. Nearly 50% of sow mortality is stemming from prolapses and structure/body condition. That unfortunate reality is being felt by far too many producers, and the sow mortality rate continues climbing. MetaFarms calendar year 2024 data isn’t available yet. Since 2014, sow mortality has gone from 9.0% to nearly 16% in 2023, a 78% increase. When nearly 50% of sow mortality is stemming from prolapses and structure/body condition, it is a wakeup call for our industry. The world’s largest genetic company can try and make excuses for why this is happening, including your feed, water, management, electrical current, etc., but they know it’s a genetic issue. As producers, you shouldn’t be made to feel that the way you are raising pigs (as you have done your whole life) is now a problem and you are doing something wrong. It isn’t that you stopped caring or trying; it is that inferiorly weak European genetics have been introduced that cripple, collapse, and die because they are feeble. The sow mortality issue will not improve if these sickly genetics continue being widely used.
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