By Staff Reporter |
Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) has backed an arrangement to secure lawfare protections for American farmers and ranchers.
Crane was present for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Small Business Administration (SBA) that establishes a joint process to intake, investigate, and resolve lawfare complaints.
As part of the signing, the two agencies hosted a roundtable where farmers and ranchers shared personal testimonies of alleged regulatory and legal overreach.
Two Arizona rancher families impacted by that kind of alleged overreach were present at the event: Dustin and Becki Ross of Windmill Mountain Ranch, and Casey and Meggan Murph of H Bar and Y Ranch.
The Ross family has endured a two-year-long stall on their grazing allotment due to archaeological-clearance requirements, affecting their property maintenance and herd management.
The Murph family faces the potential loss of their grazing leases to a foreign company’s solar project. Their family has worked the land for over 100 years, predating Arizona statehood.
In a press release, Crane accused the federal government of historically siding with environmentalists to target farmers and ranchers. However, Crane said the Trump administration has taken a novel, friendlier approach to the welfare of families like the Rosses and Murphs.
“Farmers and ranchers are the foundation of a strong and thriving nation. Despite their tremendous contributions to our way of life, the federal government has too often stood by as radical environmentalists targeted them,” said Crane. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, Secretary Rollins, and Administrator Loeffler, those days of bureaucratic neglect are over. This Memorandum of Understanding will help protect America’s producers from senseless red tape and litigation. We look forward to continuing this critical partnership and laying the groundwork for a healthy, robust industry for generations to come.”
Under this lawfare protection arrangement, the USDA will collect complaints and the SBA will handle case management and resolution.
The SBA said in its announcement of the memorandum of understanding that the Trump administration has taken a posture of believing the plight of farmers and ranchers first, and seeking justification for the regulations and legal actions that allegedly burden them.
“The goal is to identify patterns of abuse and eliminate regulations that drive up costs and drive down productivity,” stated the SBA. “Family farmers do not have the time or legal resources to fight back when Washington gets it wrong. Under POTUS, we are answering to the producers who power this country, not the bureaucrats who hold them back.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said their agency’s Lawfare Portal received over 600 submissions from producers across 47 states, including Arizona, who she says were “unfairly targeted by their own government.”
The USDA launched its Lawfare Portal last April in the wake of a high-profile criminal trespass trial involving a South Dakota ranching couple in a land dispute with the U.S. Forest Service. Like the Arizona families at Thursday’s event, the South Dakota couple’s family have worked the land for over 100 years.
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