In her speech during Commodity Classic that focused on market stability, trade expansion, and regulatory reform, U.S. Agriculture Brooke Rollins emphasized the administration’s commitment to lock in permanent, year-round E-15, slash input costs, and supercharge export markets for America’s farmers. She also highlighted efforts to improve crop insurance programs and expand rural infrastructure investments, which drew steady applause from the crowd.
“The tone of this year’s speech was so much different than the tone of last year’s speech,” said Allen Dunn, President of the Indiana Corn Growers Association (ICGA) and Clinton County farmer. “Let’s cut her some slack. Last year, she’d been on the job a week when she spoke to this convention. But, this year, I felt like it was a much more realistic tone. She could talk about actual accomplishments that had happened in the last year, and then goals for the administration moving forward.”
“I thought there was a realistic tone in the sense that there was an underlying acknowledgment that things aren’t great, and that steps were needed to happen in order to improve the farm economy. It was not about words. It was not trying to raise our spirits. There was a definitive list of actions that this administration wants to take and that was very encouraging,” he said.
Dunn added that he appreciated the direct tone of Rollins’ address and the recognition of challenges facing the industry.
“I wanted to hear if she was going to bring up [year-round] E-15. Not only did she bring it up, she listed it as a priority item and called for Congress to get it done now, and that was music to my ears and music to the convention’s ears. I’ve come out of this thinking E-15 still has a pulse, and I’m hopeful that that we’ll have progress in the next two weeks,” he said.
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