New US ag secretary Brooke Rollins schedules first Iowa visit on Monday

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins will make stops in Iowa Monday in her first visit to the leading farm state since her Feb. 13 confirmation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Sunday.

Rollins will visit an ethanol facility, a hog farm and a soybean seed producer, then deliver the keynote address at the Iowa Ag Leaders Dinner Monday evening in Ankeny.

Gov. Kim Reynolds also will speak at the dinner and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig will serve as host, presenting awards to three organizations and one business.

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Prior to becoming head of the 100,000-employee agriculture department, Rollins, 52, was president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a pro-Trump think tank. A conservative lawyer, Rollins also served in the final year of Trump’s first term as acting director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council. She also was among the speakers at the Republican National Convention in 2024. 

A lawyer, Rollins also served in the final year of Trump’s first term as acting director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council. She was among the speakers at the Republican National Convention in 2024. 

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She was raised on a farm in Texas and her mother was a member of the Texas House of Representatives.