Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Rodd Moesel was a part of a group of Oklahoma Ag Leaders who met with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Monday, providing insight into the state’s agricultural landscape and discussing key issues facing farmers and ranchers. The meeting, held in Oklahoma City, allowed agricultural leaders to share their concerns and perspectives directly with the Secretary. Our own Ron Hays caught up with Moesel after the meeting and Moesel expressed his positive impression of Secretary Rollins, stating, “She is a just a very, very impressive leader. Her grasp of a wide swath of issues and the depth of knowledge she had on them for being new to the job is very impressive.” He also noted the productive nature of their 45-minute discussion, saying, “It was very insightful. And I feel much better that that she has a real strong grasp of what’s going on.”
A significant portion of the conversation focused on the contrasting fortunes of Oklahoma’s agricultural sectors. “I talked about in Oklahoma, where it’s very unique situation, and that our beef producers are in pretty good shape right now. These are pretty good times for the beef industry, but our crop producers are under increasing stress,” Moesel explained. He highlighted the added pressure from tariffs, stating, “Certainly the tariff efforts, create additional pressure on the on the commodity growers.”
Moesel emphasized the farmers’ support for President Trump’s long-term vision, while also addressing their immediate concerns. “Many of our members and many farmers, across the globe, are very supportive of President Trump and believe in the long-term potential that some of these moves and tariffs may make, but there’s a lot of concern about surviving the short term until getting to that long term.” He added that they discussed “how to make it over those hurdles and how we can help crop farmers in particular and talked about trying to get the price levels addressed, possibly in a reconciliation bill, instead of waiting for the Farm Bill.”
The ongoing Farm Bill discussions were also a key topic. Moesel suggested a potential strategy, stating, “I think there’s an increasing chance that some of the Farm Bill issues will be dealt with in reconciliation and then an effort later in the year to try to come back and deal with the rest of the Farm Bill issues.” He explained the rationale behind this approach, saying, “Because the farm bill will require 60 votes in the Senate, so I think it may be a two-pronged attack Is maybe where we’re headed.”
Specifically, Moesel pointed to the need to address reference prices. “The reference prices is probably the key effort. If there is an effort to address those and reconciliation, and there’s a real need to address those, since it’s been a long time since they’ve been addressed and the world is a different place now,” he said.
Regarding Secretary Rollins’ message to the agricultural community, Moesel shared, “She was telling how much she was enjoying working with the ag community… how much she enjoys working with farmers and ranchers and what fine people they are and how important they are to the local communities and their states, and our economy, as well as to their own operations.”
Moesel also noted Secretary Rollins’ close relationship with President Trump, saying, “I’ve heard from several pretty reputable sources that she was one of the main contenders to be Chief of Staff to President Trump… I think her access to the president is way greater than most Cabinet members. So, I think that’s good news for rural America and for agricultural producers.”
The Secretary is excited about getting back to Oklahoma in the near future and Moesel believes we will have her in the state several times over the next year or so.
