Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the launch (Feb. 11, 2026) of the Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework, a bold initiative to protect America’s agricultural heritage and defend farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers from politically motivated lawfare. Secretary Rollins was joined by U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner, country music artist and songwriter John Rich, Representative James Comer, and several farming families who have been targets of agricultural lawfare.
The Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework is a four-pillar comprehensive plan to protect, preserve, and partner with American agriculture, while ending onerous regulations and the weaponization of government against American farmers and ranchers. It formalizes USDA’s ongoing efforts to eliminate systemic agricultural lawfare and restore fairness to rural America. By formalizing this Framework, USDA will continue to help reduce the cost of production for farmers and help them focus on producing the most nutritious, wholesome, and affordable food supply in the world. Agricultural lawfare is the use of administrative, legal, and legislative government systems to adversely impact farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers.
The Framework’s Four Pillars:
- Protect Producers: Defend farmers and ranchers from internal federal bureaucracy and politically motivated enforcement actions.
- Preserve Land and Liberty: Safeguard agricultural land from unnecessary federal projects and eminent domain.
- Purge Burdensome Regulations: Remove punitive rules that stifle productivity and reform environmental laws to balance conservation with common sense.
- Partner for Agriculture’s Future: Unite federal, state, and local leaders, along with industry partners, to fight lawfare and elevate public awareness.
USDA Lawfare Wins to Date:
- Stopping Politicized Prosecutions
- Dropped the Biden-era criminal case against the Pennington County South Dakota Charles and Heather Maude family over a simple civil land boundary dispute, ending an unjust, politically motivated prosecution and restoring fairness to the system.
- Protecting Family Farms & Private Property
- Saved the 175-year-old Henry family farm in Cranbury, New Jersey, by stopping an attempted eminent domain seizure for an unrelated housing project.
- Defended rural property owners from government overreach, ensuring farmland remains productive and in the hands of American families.
- Blocking Unnecessary Seizures of Farmland
- Worked alongside country music artist John Rich and Tennessee stakeholders to prevent the Tennessee Valley Authority from seizing productive farmland in Cheatham County to build a new natural gas power plant.
- Ensured federal agencies consider rural communities, agricultural livelihoods, and private property rights before taking action.
For more information and to report instances of lawfare, visit www.usda.gov/lawfare.
“Being a land owner is a foundational tenet of what it means to be an American. For far too long, powerful companies and agencies have treated American landowners as nothing more than lowly peasants who stand in the way of them, and their billions. Their long train of abuses and unconstitutional actions will be tolerated no more. This ends, today,” said John Rich.
“As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, it is high time to recall a simple but profound truth about our nation: the United States was built by those who work the land. And the ability to work, protect, and own land and property continues to symbolize the American dream today,” said Secretary Brooke L. Rollins. “The strength of America has always been rooted in the hands that till its soil and care for its livestock. When we protect our farmers and ranchers, we protect the very foundation of freedom and prosperity. Together, we will ensure that no law, no regulation, and no agenda will ever stand in the way of America’s agricultural future.”
“Just as Energy Dominance is essential to America’s national security, so too is food security,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “The Department of the Interior is committed to cutting through red tape to restore stability to grazing permittees on BLM lands, and reopening long-shuttered allotments to ensure America’s producers can thrive. Under President Donald J. Trump, we are ending the weaponization of government against those who feed and clothe our families. By standing with farmers and ranchers, we safeguard not only our agricultural heritage but the very foundation of freedom and prosperity. Together, we will protect the land, defend liberty, and secure a future where American agriculture remains strong and unshaken.”
“The hardworking individuals who feed and fuel our nation don’t need Washington managing their fields from a desk,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner. “I am proud to join my friend, Secretary Rollins, to hear firsthand from the American farmers and ranchers who work tirelessly to put food on our tables. Together, we are releasing rural communities from Washington’s overreach, ending the systematic lawfare to help them prosper.”
“After years of policies that drove up costs and created uncertainty for our farmers, today’s rollout marks a long-overdue course correction. This plan puts America’s farmers first by lowering costs, restoring certainty, and protecting the livelihoods that feed and fuel our nation. I’m looking forward to working with Secretary Rollins and President Trump’s administration to ensure these reforms deliver real savings for farmers on the ground,” said U.S. Representative James Comer (KY-1).
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