Policy Priorities

  • Drive Rural Prosperity

  • Right-Size and Reorient Government

  • Generate Responsible Nutrition Policy

Download Farmers First Agenda Press Kit

The America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) Farmers First Agenda is foundational to our prospective rural policy work. Uniquely crafted by individuals with real-world farming and policy experience, the Farmers First Agenda provides rural Americans with peace of mind that AFPI has their best interests at heart. AFPI is working to ensure rural America is prosperous and healthy again, which is important because our rural communities are responsible for providing a reliable, abundant, and affordable domestic food supply to our great Nation and the world.

President Abraham Lincoln once said that “no other human occupation opens so wide a field for the profitable and agreeable combination of labor with cultivated thought as agriculture” (Lincoln, 1859).

As we approach the 250th anniversary of American Independence in 2026, we are reminded that agriculture and subsistence farming are foundational to the United States, as these were primary professions at the time of our Nation’s founding. As the population expanded into the great American frontier, farmers and smallholders rose to the occasion by both fulfilling demand in the domestic market and by generating exports, especially after Industrialization. Farmers faced excruciating hardship when the Dust Bowl coincided with the Great Depression, serving as the major impetus for establishing programs that protect highly erodible soil and conserve water. Modernizations in farming techniques, along with new agricultural policies in Washington, D.C., have afforded our farmers more prosperous future decades. In a sentence: The faith, grit, adeptness, and determination of the American farmer have always carried the profession forward.

Team

Christie Mullin

Chair, Rural Policy

Kip Tom

Vice Chair of Rural Policy

Sarah Frey

Senior Advisor for Rural Policy

Matthew Schmid

Public Affairs Director, Rural America and Security, Midwest

T.J. Wilson

Deputy Director, Rural Policy

Hayden L. Ballard

Senior Policy Analyst, Rural Policy

Paden Hughes

Analyst, Rural Policy 

Latest

Statement | September 11, 2026

AFPI Applauds Success in Protecting American Cattle from New World Screwworm

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) applauds the success of the Trump Administration’s proactive measures and rapid response to contain and stop the spread of the New World Screwworm (NWS), which has resulted in, this week, the reduction of NWS cases to only one active case in the United States. After going on offense in a multi-agency, international effort for more than a year, the Administration has all but eliminated the pest’s presence, with continued efforts ongoing.
Statement | September 11, 2026

AFPI Applauds Executive Orders on Gray Wolf Delisting, MCOOL, and Rancher First Actions

he America First Policy Institute (AFPI) has issued the following statement in response to the Presidential executive orders initiating the due diligence process for potential delisting of Mexican and Gray Wolves and directing implementation of every executive action that can be taken tied to Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) for beef.

Statement | August 27, 2026

AFPI Applauds USDA’s Harvest to Hallways Initiative to Bring Real Food to School Cafeterias

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) celebrates USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’s announcement of the Harvest to Hallways initiative, the next large step in the Trump Administration’s effort to implement responsible nutrition policy. Through its policy work, AFPI has advocated expanding access to high-quality protein, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and other real foods while creating greater opportunities for America's farmers and ranchers and strengthening the connection between federally supported nutrition programs and local communities.
Statement | August 18, 2026

Progressive Lawfare Is Hurting American Grocery Budgets 

he America First Policy Institute (AFPI) has issued the following statement from Leigh Ann O’Neill, Chief Legal Affairs Officer, in response to further progressive environmental lawfare, this time brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, and aimed at restricting the Administration’s new federal lands grazing directive.
Statement | August 14, 2026

AFPI Launches Investigation into PG&E’s Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project Decommissioning

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) today announced that it has launched an investigation into Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s (PG&E) decision to decommission the PotterValley Hydroelectric Project, a move that could have significant consequences for the water supply, agricultural economy, energy reliability, and wildfire preparedness in one of America’s most productive agricultural regions.

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