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auction. Welcome to the Heart of Rural America
podcast. I'm your host, Amanda Radke, an American
cattle rancher and motivational speaker raising
my kids and writing children's books in South
Dakota. There's a David and Goliath story unfolding
in agriculture today. And I don't know about
you, but my money is on the underdog. the hard
-working folks who value faith, family, freedom,
and their farming communities. This show will
highlight the untold stories of these resilient
and determined families who I have the great
pleasure of meeting in my travels across this
nation as an agricultural speaker. It is my hope
that their stories will remind us to live with
great courage because we are not alone in this
fight to keep producers on the land and meet
dairy and eggs on the dinner table. Now let's
hit the dusty trail together as we uncover the
heart of rural America. Hey everyone, Amanda
Radke back for another episode of the Heart of
Real America podcast, the show where we highlight
great people doing inspiring things in their
rural communities to make agriculture and this
country stronger. Obviously the news headlines
lately have been about some of Trump's comments
and thoughts on reducing beef prices. Of course,
naturally beef cattle producers have had a lot
to say on the topic. And today I wanted to kind
of shift gears a little bit to really dive into
the plan that secretary Brooke Rollins laid out
to strengthen the beef industry. And to help
me do that is Tate Bennett. She is the Director
of Role Policy at the America First Policy Institute.
I've gotten to know and work with these guys
and really have appreciated their listening ear,
their willingness to talk to independent producers
like me. And I even got to visit their office
this summer in DC, which is such a treat. But
Tate, welcome to the show. Oh, my goodness. Thank
you so much for having me. One of the things
I really admire about you, Tate, is you and AFPI
have done a really great job of bringing a lot
of independent voices from rural agricultural
communities together. And so I just want to congratulate
and thank you for kind of building this coalition.
I've been working in ag policy my whole adult
life and I've never before really had that access
or listening ear that is so needed for a segment
of the population where less than 2 % of us are
involved in production agriculture. We're feeding
the nation and yet we haven't always had the
door opened to Washington D .C. to be able to
share our stories. So thank you for what you've
done and what AFPI has done to kind of open some
of those doors for us. Well, that is so thoughtful.
I want to give credit where it's due. You know,
Secretary Rollins did found us before leaving
to serve the president. And she, in my view,
is the ultimate convener. She knows how to bring
folks together. And what's been great about getting
to work with you candidly, Amanda, is you're
out there using your platform to tell the story.
of rural America. We are America First Policy
Institute. We understand that policy is driven
from the ground up. So no surprise, it's in our
humble beginnings and our founding values that
we should, when we pursue ag policy, listen to
folks telling those stories on the ground like
yourselves. So it's been fun getting to collaborate
a little bit informally with you and others,
especially in the Midwest. I'm from Kentucky,
so I've learned a lot just getting to learn from
you guys. Kentucky does ag a little bit of most
things, but it's just a different region. Yeah.
I just got home from Kentucky and it was a beautiful
trip and all the horse farms. I could have spent
a lot more time down there, but you have a lot
of livestock too. I think we're what the largest
east of the Mississippi I've heard. So yeah.
So we were on a TV interview while we are down
there and I didn't know that cattle was so big
in Kentucky. So very cool. And the Kentucky Cattlemen's
Association just popped by our offices last week.
My cousin is a member and he was very excited.
He's out there doing the real work. You know,
I'm here in Washington, but he's the one. actually
running the farms back home. Very nice. So Tay,
before we get into this new plan that was rolled
out by the USDA, and I want to just unpack all
the tenets of it, I just got to ask Trump's message
that he posted on Truth Social had the market
in a frenzy and had the industry, you know, pretty
worked up and rightfully so. It was something.
It had us all a little taken aback. I guess,
can you speak to that message from the president
and just from your vantage point of being in
Washington, D .C., boots on the ground? certainly
don't necessarily speak for the president. I
can share a little bit of what I observed is
sort of a bystander. You know, I think there
were some comments made leading up to about a
week and a half ago, the president had issued
an ex post about looking at Argentina or made
a comment, I can't really recall. But there was
a comment about perhaps considering imports pricing
might be too high. And there were responses,
many of your listeners I'm sure saw, and the
response that the president then gave the following
week to this sort of ripple effect online. I
actually totally, I think it's warranted on his
end. I would be frustrated too because if I'm
President Trump, I ran on closing the border
and I ran on groceries. That's very public. That's
very out there. The administration worked tirelessly
earlier this year to lower the price of eggs
because that had gone unharnessed under the prior
administration. And so it's no surprise that
when information was brought his way about beef
prices, you know, on behalf of the consumer,
you know, he vowed to take a look. And if I'm
him, that shouldn't be news or surprising. The
amount of work the president has done, you know,
he and I agree view himself as the most pro farmer,
pro rancher president in history. And it's true
if you look at his proven track rather, whether
it's rewriting the Water City United States rule
twice, delivering on the one big beautiful bill,
you know, that's permanent death tax repeal.
That's permanent section 179, expensing so many
tools farmers and ranchers use. whether it's
the current USDA with DOJ looking into prices
when it comes to inputs and consolidation. Like
they are bent over backwards to help the American
farmer rancher break. The prior administration
thought that cattle ranching was a large contributor
to climate change. They were not open to opening
up our public lands to increase grazing access.
They focused on climate smart and clearly cattle
probably didn't have a part of that. And so I
would be frustrated too if I were the president
that how come everything I've done is not, you
know. being driven home and understood in farm
country. Yeah. And I think coming from cattle
country, I can just say that I think a lot of
the frustration is that for the first time in
a very long time, prices have been to a point
where producers can actually maybe pay down some
debt, get their operating notes back squared
away. It's not like they're rolling in money
because everything is high right now. Your inputs,
your equipment, you know, all of these things
that producers have to pay for. And so it's been
a great time in the markets. It's given some
optimism to cattle producers. But the reality
is, and it's in this USDA report, that since
2017, the US has lost over 17 % of its cattle
ranches, and that's more than 150 ,000 operations.
The herd is at a nationwide 75 -year low. And
so we're looking at, there's so many reasons
that we've gotten to this point, a lot of it
being over -regulation that's been so burdensome,
it's pushed producers off the land and out of
business. You know, if I look at the last administration,
everything was focused on climate smart policies
that did nothing to keep producers on the land
and beef on the dinner table and did a whole
lot to just reallocate wealth to certain people
using our taxpayer dollars to propel this Green
New Deal agenda. And so that's why I was really
excited amidst the chaos that kind of had resulted
in the comments coming from the White House that
the USDA and the Trump administration and Secretary
Rollins have this very thoughtful plan that has
come out to help strengthen the industry. And
a lot of the talking points, if I look through
it, really are things that we've been talking
about and asking for for years and years. And
so can you take some time to kind of unpack what's
in this plan for producers? Of course. And to
your point earlier, certainly understand that
we've lost over 17 percent of our cattle ranchers.
We are at a 75 year low as far as our heard.
But I think the president, we can totally walk
into them. And I think that's exactly what the
president is thinking about doing. Clearly, Secretary
Rollins is in lockstep with him on it. They did
propose a U .S. plan to fortify the American
beef supply and strengthen our farms and ranches
and rebuilding capacity and lowering costs for
consumers. They put that out at the same time
as a lot of the chatter online was ramping up.
And I don't want it to be lost on the American
people. How much is really in this plan for our
farmers and ranchers. To your point, the plan
opens up public land access, millions of acres
that's currently not being utilized to actually
be ranched and utilized by our cattlemen, which
is super exciting. A lot of untapped assets there
with vacant allotments and what have you. There's
a lot of strong coordination with the Bureau
of Land Management in doing that, which is great
because they oversee those types of federal lands
while USDA has four service lands. So great to
see that collaboration there. The department
has said that there's a joint effort between
HHS and USDA to collaborate on getting the next
iteration of the dietary guidelines for Americans
out there. That's something I know you followed.
I have to really closely and putting beef and
protein back in the center of those recommendations
is huge. You know, they've been kind of on the
fence with no pun when it came to those recommendations
in recent years. There are efforts in the white
paper that USDA put out to shore up local processing
and help facilitate fewer regulatory hurdles
to being able to process more locally. There
is a transparency aspect of the plan. The U .S.
Department of Agriculture under Secretary Ron's
leadership is putting forward a product of the
U .S. label, which is super exciting. I know
folks have been asking a lot about origin labeling
and AFPIs use on it recently. We certainly think
customers should know if their products are America
first and born, raised, slaughtered, processed.
in the U .S., my gosh, it could be able to bear
a label. So that is something super exciting
they're gonna be putting forward. It looks like
come January of next year. In addition to all
of this, there are some actions to look at some
ESA, Endangered Species Act reforms, at the Department
of Interior and USDA are certainly, it appears
their leadership sick of hearing from ranchers
where their livestocks are being slaughtered
by, and horses and pets, right, and community.
are having to watch this, where predators, because
they're protected under the Dangerous Species
Act, are getting at their livelihoods. So it
looks like they'll be taking a big look there.
So it looks to me like there's something in this
plan a little bit for everyone in the ranching
and cattle community. And I really look forward
to hearing their feedback on it. And I bet the
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it. You touched on so many great things. I mean,
I see in this package, there is some grants or
some opportunities for beginning farmers. There's
some opportunities for veteran owned ranches.
And, you know, really at the end of the day,
I love the transparency and the labeling and
just kind of the move to can we really promote
and get market access in front of the consumer
for America first beef and USA beef. And I think
there's a lot of good in this. Now, I guess the
question I have for you is with this government
shutdown. What can we expect for like a timeline
of some of this stuff rolling out? Is there any
information on the USDA site that people can
access if they want to learn more about these
programs? Or are we kind of in a waiting period
of how this is actually going to roll out? Well,
gosh, I hope we're at an inflection point where
it's time for folks in the Senate to realize
the government needs to reopen. So hopefully
not for too much longer. We're watching that
closely. You know, the Office of Partnerships
at USDA is designed for colder engagement. There
are multiple mission areas working on this plan
and implementation. I will say, while it's great
that this was an opportunity for Secretary Rollins
to apparently present this and the president,
this very popular plan to the American public.
I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these actions
were already underway before the shutdown. And
so I'm really excited after they reopen to see
them come to fruition. Well, and I think this
is another great continuation of really strong
leadership coming from the Trump administration
and Secretary Rollins. I have so appreciated
their understanding and grasp of keeping our
border closed, especially as it relates to New
World Screwworm. Of course, USDA came out with
their, you know, five -pronged approach to, to
manage for that and protect our nation's cow
herd. And I guess what I've been telling people
is I've reviewed this plan and kind of heard
all the chatter online following, you know, some
of the president's comments and the purchase
of more beef from Argentina. is that if we really
look at the big picture here, there's open lines
of communications here. There's an opportunity
to work with this administration to really get
meaningful solutions coming into cattle country
and keeping ranchers in business. And so I'm
very grateful for Secretary Rawlins. And I guess
the question for you is, what do producers need
to know? You have had a great career working
in Washington, D .C. You've had a lot of opportunities
to shape agricultural policy for the better.
I know you've worked on the dietary guidelines
and a lot of great things that you've been a
part of. What do you think ranchers need to know
back in cattle country about DC? And do you have
any advice for them of how to continue these
conversations to continue to advocate for the
beef cattle industry in a place where they are
far, far away from? Well, I think you are an
exemplary example of how to ensure that farmers
are telling their story. and giving them a platform
to share so that policies are written from the
ground up, right? So my experience, and then
my experience with AFPI, as founded by Brooke
Rollins, who's now obviously left us, is we are
America first. We are very strong believers in
a ground up policy when it comes to designing
the agendas and policies that we pursue. And
by your giving farmers and ranchers a platform
to tell their story, it's huge. I think while
there have been a lot of lessons learned about
social media pros and cons my goodness like farmers
and ranchers are so busy y 'all don't have time
to come to Washington all the time and put on
your suits and come and roam the halls of Congress
the federal government on the administration
side all the time but you guys are using these
platforms to your advantage to really show how
farmers and ranchers are being impacted by the
policies they're seeing out of Washington and
it is working from the Andy Henry case to this
plan that a lot of groups, ranchers, upper Midwestern
ranchers. They've been working on a lot of these
policies for a long time. Clearly that is being
heard loud and clear by the current administration.
And so I really want to applaud folks like you
for providing a platform for folks back home
in your neck of the woods to be able to share
what is needed from their policymakers here in
DC. It's huge. Yeah. Well, I just got to say
it's a breath of fresh air to finally be able
to talk about, I don't know, cattle grazing and
making sure cattle are on the range instead of
worrying about cow farts and some of that nonsense.
So thank you for explaining this plan to us,
Tate. I really think this is going to be exciting
to see some of these policies roll out. Yes,
ma 'am. And happy to do an update once folks
are a little bit further down the line. But again,
I think they've been working on these policies.
I wouldn't be surprised. I don't speak for the
administration. But I would imagine they've been
working on these for some time. You don't just
roll this out out of nowhere. So the silver lining
is, gosh, what a great forum with the president
to introduce such a bold plan that he and Secretary
Rollins came up with. Absolutely. This show is
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at my ranch, North of Mitchell, South Dakota.
See you there. As we kind of switch gears here,
we have good news to share. Exciting, breaking
news that came out. There is a family, and I
have reported on this on the podcast previously,
but if you guys recall, there is a family in
New Jersey, Andy Henry and Chris Henry. They
have a 175 -year -old, 21 -acre livestock operation
in Middlesex County down in New Jersey, and they
had declined a $25 million development offer
to preserve their family farm. there was going
to be a affordable housing project going in there
and they said no. And Andy Henry had caught the
attention of Secretary Rollins and the USDA and
we have good news on this benchmark court battle
case. So tell us. What happened here and how
is the Henry family doing now? Well, we had excellent
news to report last week. AFPI has our robust
New Jersey chapter that was just as excited.
Andy Henry's farm will no longer be subject to
imminent domain. Two things are kind of taking
place here. One, I think the state did find an
alternative site for the affordable housing plan,
meaning they will no longer need to subject his
farm as 175 year old a farm to imminent domain
and then separate. I know the USDA had actually,
through Secretary Ron's leadership, invited Scott
Turner, Ed Wingren, the Secretary of Agriculture
from the state of New Jersey, and then Commissioner
Suarez, Scott Turner, one of his counterparts
there in New Jersey, up to headquarters to discuss
not only what was announced, but other ways to
preserve the farm. just shy of a month ago about.
We actually had Andy Henry during his trip here
in our office and spend a little bit of time
with him just to spitball different ways we as
a think tank could be helpful. And lo and behold,
it was announced this last week that an alternative
site was found. They're additionally working
on other ways to preserve his farm. So this doesn't
happen to him again in the future. And the biggest
takeaway, the neatest thing about Andy Henry,
and I know you've covered others in his story
before, is he's so humble and his biggest takeaways.
He does not want this to happen to other farmers.
He is so proud that his legacy will be getting
to work with Secretary Rollins on a larger plan
to ensure that lawfare like this. that you've
covered for some time now, Amanda, is no longer
systemic state government, federal government,
and he's just happy to play a part in fighting
this off for future farmers. So I just think
that is so cool. I've noticed that in other stories
I've covered too, and in fact, my own battle
here in South Dakota with eminent domain and
a carbon pipeline. But even if a farm family
had, like in our case, the route was moved and
it got off their land, they cared just as much
about their neighbors having to go through a
similar nightmare. And, you know, in all this
talk, I see probably more on a local or state
level, but politicians talking about economic
development and, you know, it's taxpayer funded
economic development. And the one thing I always
want to say is, you know, these farms, the land
is our business. We are already in economic development
in our own right. And so it becomes almost a
mob rule situation if someone bigger and stronger
and more powerful than you can come in and say,
I can do better. I can make more money than you
on that property than you. You can, but I was,
oh, my heart was just so happy. I was down at
that cattle sale in Kentucky and just randomly
got the news that secretary Brooke Rollins had
tweeted or she'd posted on X. I'm so pleased
to announce that the Henry farm has officially
been saved. God bless America. After months of
bipartisan federal and state collaboration, the
state of New Jersey has secured an agreement
that would spare the 175 year old Henry family
farm from the state's affordable housing plan.
Further efforts are also underway by USDA and
the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to protect
this prime farmland in perpetuity. I look forward
to continuing the nonstop work with Andy's team
and the New Jersey Government Administration
to ensure these plans are fully effectuated.
A war against Andy's family farm is a war against
all farms. This is why USDA is finalizing plans
to end systemic lawfare and weaponization of
government against American agriculture no more.
victory is more than one farmer's triumph. It's
a reminder that rural America still stands tall,
rooted in grit, faith, and the timeless bond
between people and the soil. Defending America's
farmers should be a top priority for every American.
Thank you to all of those who supported the effort
to defend Henry's family farm, including America
Unwon, John Rich, Amanda Radke, and many others.
To every farmer out there, hold fast, protect
your land, preserve our way of life. The heart
of the countryside beats So this was a really
exciting post to see on X and people across the
country are really so excited. And so one of
the things that she had said in her X post was
to every farmer out there, hold fast, protect
your land, preserve our way of life. And so are
they hearing from other producers across the
country that are going through similar? I know
she was instrumental in helping with the Maude
family as well in South Dakota. You know, I would
think so. They did set up a portal, a lawfare
tip line. I believe after the Maude family, which
you reported on so diligently after they had
that celebration with them on the front steps
of USDA, I'd imagine they're getting a ton of
tips through there. I know separately at AFPI,
the America First Policy Institute, we do take
a hard look at some of these individual cases
on our own. It seems to be some interest here
as far. in America First Agenda. Clearly in her
ex post, there's clear interest to prioritize
these cases and maybe formalize a plan. It looks
like she alluded to address systematically some
of the issues, the over -criminalization, whether
it's civil or criminal penalties, some of the
other weaponization of government tools they've
used, try to end some of those prospectively
moving forward so that there's no longer a culture
of that. Ideally, I'm hoping that's what she's
alluding to. That sure could be a great legacy
issue for this administration, my goodness, just
to take a fine look. And it's been so refreshing
to see them dig in on individual cases. I'm sure
Andy Henry never thought he would be meeting
at the U .S. Department of Agriculture with two
different cabinet secretaries about his farm.
That just speaks to the character of the current
administration and really digging in, rolling
up their sleeves to help real families and preserve
prime American farmland. Absolutely. I couldn't
have said it better. And as we run out of time
on today's show, I just want to thank you for
your time today, your energy and passion towards
helping family farms and ranches and everything
that AFPI does. And thank you to Secretary Rollins
as well for having a heart to listen to independent
producers across this country and being willing
to fight for them and keep them on the land and
keep this nation free and fed. Until next time,
I'm Amanda Radke. We'll see you next week on
the heart of rural America. While I've got you
here, I would love to invite you to check out
my website, amandaradkey .com. Each week I share
my column, this podcast, and new items to shop
for farm and ranch families, including my children's
books that celebrate agriculture. Use code dusty
trail to save 15 % on your next purchase. Thank
you from the bottom of my heart for supporting
my small business and for your continued support
and keeping me on the road fighting for farm
and ranch families. I'm thankful to each and
every one of you who tune into this show each
week. New episodes drop every Wednesday, so be
sure to subscribe, share, and leave a review
to let me know how you're liking the content
and our guests. Until the next time we meet on
the dusty trail, I'm Amanda Radke and this is
the heart of rural America.