U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins came to Nebraska on Monday for a day-long visit that included three separate stops and two significant announcements. “I’m pleased that Sec. Rollins has had the opportunity to experience the depth and breadth of Nebraska agriculture and what our state is doing to help feed the world and save the planet,” says Governor Jim Pillen.
During a tour of Wholestone Farms in Fremont Rollins greeted employees inside. She also signed off on Nebraska’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program waiver request, excluding soda and energy drinks from the list of approved purchases. Nebraska submitted its waiver in early April and is the first state in the nation to have its application approved by the USDA.
It will go into effect January 1, 2026. “Today’s waiver to remove soda and energy drinks from SNAP is the first of its kind, and it is a historic step to Make America Healthy Again,” Rollins says. Under President Trump’s leadership, I have encouraged states to serve as the ‘laboratories of innovation.’ Governor Jim Pillen and Governors in Iowa, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, West Virginia, and Colorado are pioneers in improving the health of our nation.”
Pillen says there’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks. “SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there’s nothing nutritious about the junk we’re removing with today’s waiver.”
Secretary Rollins also announced a policy initiative aimed at supporting small family farms. It’s called Farmers First and is part of the USDA’s Make Agriculture Great Again agenda and outlines 10 action items that aim to help the 86 percent of small family farms across the nation.
The ag tour kicked off at the Cargill Bioscience 650-acre facility in Blair Monday morning. That facility is Cargill’s largest and directly employs approximately 600 Nebraskans while processing over 340,000 bushels of corn daily to produce products such as fuel grade ethanol, corn gluten meal and meat for poultry, pet food and cattle feed.
The tour of ag businesses wrapped up with a stop at Ohnoutka Family Farm in Valparaiso.