Central ND News

Senator John Hoeven, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, met with President Donald Trump and key administration officials at the White House to discuss agricultural concerns. The meeting included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer. Later, Hoeven also held talks with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to address livestock issues.

“We had a good opportunity to meet at the White House with President Trump, Secretary Bessent and Ambassador Greer, and later in the day with Secretary Rollins on the need to support our farmers and ranchers through this tough stretch,” said Hoeven. “We had productive discussions about trade, rising input cost and other challenges facing rural communities. We appreciate President Trump and his administration’s commitment to support our producers, including their announcement today that USDA will resume critical FSA services for our farmers and ranchers.”

During discussions with Secretary Bessent and Ambassador Greer, Hoeven addressed trade issues and expressed optimism about potential agricultural sales following upcoming meetings with Chinese officials in South Korea.

In his meeting with Secretary Rollins, Hoeven focused on challenges faced by cattle ranchers, particularly how increased input costs over four years have affected beef prices.

Secretary Rollins announced that USDA would resume Farm Service Agency operations this afternoon. These operations include processing farm loans as well as Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments starting Thursday.

Hoeven plans further meetings with administration officials as Congress continues efforts to support agriculture producers across the country.