On July 8, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DoJ), and the Department of Defense (DoD), released a National Farm Security Action Plan to elevate American agriculture as a key element of the country's national security.
Plan Details
The action plan will enable USDA to work closely with governors, state legislators, and federal partners to further integrate agriculture into the broader national security efforts over the coming months and years.
The USDA and its government partners will take "aggressive action" across seven critical areas:
- Secure and Protect American Farmland – Address U.S. foreign farmland ownership from adversaries head-on. Total transparency. Tougher penalties.
- Enhance Agricultural Supply Chain Resilience – Refocus domestic investment into key manufacturing sectors and identify non-adversarial partners to work with when domestic production is not available. Plan for contingencies.
- Protect U.S. Nutrition Safety Net from Fraud and Foreign Exploitation – Billions have been stolen by foreign crime rings. That ends now.
- Defend Agricultural Research and Innovation – No more sweetheart deals or secret pacts with hostile nations. American ideas stay in America.
- Put America First in Every USDA Program – From farm loans to food safety, every program will reflect the America First agenda.
- Safeguard Plant and Animal Health – Crack down on bio-threats before they ever reach our soil.
- Protect Critical Infrastructure – Farms, food, and supply chains are national security assets and will be treated as such.
The action plan is the next pillar of the USDA "Make Agriculture Great Again" initiative and seeks to protect the country's agricultural supply chains from security vulnerabilities.
Increased Enforcement
Notably, the plan also states that the federal government is looking to increase enforcement on "logistics providers, customs brokers, and other trade intermediaries" that are responsible for importing "dangerous biochemicals and biological agents."
According to the plan, the USDA intends to review and modernize import restrictions to prevent the spread of dangerous chemicals and agents. USDA will work with federal partners, including CBP, "to strengthen our nation's borders against entry of restricted goods that could carry animal disease, plant pests, and biological pathogens that can be weaponized against the American public."
Response and Next Steps
Several members of Congress, governors, and state Agricultural Secretaries issued statements praising the plan, calling it critical to the agricultural economy and to the national security of the United States.
The action plan contains a lengthy list of action items for USDA to take, including an assessment of security risks in the agriculture infrastructure sector, modernizing import restrictions, and eliminating support programs to countries of concern.
Diaz Trade Law will continue to monitor developments as the USDA implements the plan.
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