Rollins talks local school food cuts, travels to Georgia

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Tuesday talked about cutting local food purchases for schools on Fox News, and on Wednesday traveled to Georgia where she spoke to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and then met with local agriculture leaders.Rollins said on Fox News that the $1 billion in local food purchases that USDA canceled had been a leftist project, but she acknowledged that USDA could reverse the decision.Iowa farmers and institutions lost an estimated $11.3 million in federal funding to support the purchase of locally raised foods, following the recent termination of the two programs, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.NRECA in a news release thanked Rollins for making a commitment “to cutting bureaucratic red tape by expediting environmental permitting reviews for infrastructure projects that allow cooperatives to maintain and expand their energy systems.”

USDA said in a news release Rollins also visited the University of Georgia’s Iron Horse Plant Sciences Farm to engage in a roundtable discussion on topics including combatting avian flu, expanding global markets, and farm bill priorities with local farmers. Rollins wrapped up her trip with a tour of Precise Cattle, a family farm in Watkinsville.

–The Hagstrom Report