Rep. Mary Miller Questions Sec. Rollins on Farmland Protection and Foreign Land Ownership

Protecting Farmland from Renewable Energy Projects

• 💡 Congresswoman Mary Miller is reintroducing the "No Solar Panels on Fertile Farmland Act of 2025" to ban taxpayer funding for solar panels on prime farmland.
• ⚠️ The act specifically targets solar panels, especially those manufactured in China, to prevent their installation on fertile American agricultural land.
• 🚜 Miller criticizes taxpayer-subsidized solar energy, particularly from China, for covering high-quality farmland and driving people out of rural areas.

Addressing Foreign Ownership of Farmland

• 🚫 Secretary Rollins is taking action to stop the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from buying American farmland, emphasizing that hostile foreign powers should not control critical assets like food production.
• 📈 Over the last decade, approximately 400,000 acres of U.S. farmland have been purchased by the CCP, a problem that was not adequately recognized until recently.
• 🤝 The USDA is collaborating across federal agencies to monitor and regulate foreign transactions, especially those involving nations hostile to the U.S., to protect national security.

Countering Anti-Agriculture Narratives

• 🎯 Organizations like the Bezos Earth Fund are criticized for funding initiatives that portray livestock and agriculture industries as drivers of climate change.
• 🐄 These grants raise concerns among cattle producers, as foreign entities often target cattle as environmental culprits to undermine the U.S. beef industry.
• ✅ Secretary Rollins assures that all USDA spending is under review to align with taxpayer interests and the President's vision, working to counter radical anti-agriculture ideologies.

USDA Initiatives and Collaboration

• 🌱 The USDA has launched a "Small Family Farm Initiative" which includes measures addressing the solar panel issue.
• 🗣️ Rollins has discussed these concerns with the President, who is also highly interested in addressing these issues.
• 🤝 The USDA is actively seeking input from members of Congress from both parties to help address these complex threats effectively.