Rollins negative on solar, mixed on data centers, avoids Bayer petition

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins spoke negatively today of efforts to convert farmland to solar installations, was cautious in discussing the placement on data centers on farmland, and on Wednesday declined to comment on Bayer’s petition for tariffs to protect the company from Chinese-made glyphosate.

At a signing ceremony on a memorandum of understanding with the Small Business Administration to work together to “combat weaponized regulatory and enforcement actions against America’s producers, ranchers, and small businesses,” Rollins was critical of solar companies that come into communities to convert farmland to produce solar energy.

Rollins gave the floor to Alexandra Fasulo, a New York farmer who said that the New York state government’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting is overriding local control and fast-tracking industrial solar and wind projects without adequate evaluation of long-term effects on agriculture, the environment, and rural economies. This includes threats to the long‑term health and stability of local bald eagle populations, Fasulo said.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks at the USDA-SBA event as Stevan Pierce, director of the Bureau of Land Management, a division of the Interior Department, stands behind.

Efforts to establish data centers have become controversial all over the country, but neither Rollins nor Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler mentioned them.

Asked by The Hagstrom Report for her views on data centers, Rollins said, “Obviously that is an ongoing debate even among friends,” a veiled reference to debate within the Trump administration over the impact of data centers.

Rollins said that maintaining private property rights is not “incompatible with data centers,” but she said there should be “plenty of land” in the country to build them without taking prime farmland.

Some farmers have said they don’t want the government to discourage the sale or rental of farmland for solar developments, especially because commodity prices are so low. Asked by The Hagstrom Report about that issue, Rollins acknowledged that farmers “have been struggling,” but she blamed the Biden administration for their troubles and said the Trump administration is taking actions so that farmers can make money and stay in business.

On another issue embroiling agriculture, The Hagstrom Report asked Rollins at another event on Wednesday for her views on the Supreme Court decision that users of Roundup, a weedkiller, cannot bring state-law failure-to-warn claims based on the absence of a cancer warning on the product’s label.

Rollins noted that the Trump administration had “leaned into” the view that glyphosate, the key ingredient is safe, and that she supported that view. Rollins did not comment on the petition that Bayer filed this week to ask for tariffs to protect its domestic production from cheaper glyphosate imported from China.

At the event today with the Small Business Administration, Rollins said “Producers and ranchers who feed this nation should never face the full power of government alone.”

“This partnership with the SBA creates clear pathways for redress, ensures fairness in enforcement, and demonstrates that Washington stands with, not against, the hardworking Americans who sustain our country. Through the USDA Lawfare Portal and interagency collaboration, we are delivering real protection under the Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework.”

Loeffler added, “With our MOU, the SBA and USDA now offer America’s producers a direct line to report lawfare, with a new infrastructure to deliver lasting regulatory reform. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are eliminating barriers and supporting small businesses in their mission to keep America fed, clothed, and fueled.”

Country music performer John Rich, appointed by President Trump as the special envoy for American landowners, said he searches social media for cases in which farmers and ranchers post stories about their troubles with government at all levels.

Noting that his position is unpaid, Rich said, “This partnership sends a clear message: the federal government is done standing on the sidelines while producers are buried in red tape and abusive enforcement. We’re standing up for the people who feed America.”

Instances of what the Trump administration calls “lawfare” may be reported online.

-The Hagstrom Report