Earlier this week, we recognized National Ag Day, and like most farmers, I spent it the same way I spend every other day, working the land alongside my three sons and thinking about what we are building for the next generation.
I am a sixth-generation cattle and crop farmer from Fredericksburg, Indiana. My family has been farming this land since 1813, just a generation after our country was founded. That is something I carry with me every time I step out into the field, because farming is not just a business. It is a responsibility to preserve what came before us and to leave it stronger for those who come next.
That is why the direction we are seeing from the Trump administration right now matters so much.
For years, farmers like me have watched as the “Product of the USA” label lost its meaning. Beef could be born and raised overseas, shipped here, processed, and still be sold to American families as if it came from farms like ours. That is not just frustrating, it is wrong. It puts American producers at a disadvantage and it takes advantage of consumers who are trying to do the right thing and support American agriculture.
President Donald Trump and Secretary Brooke Rollins are taking steps to restore integrity to that label, and that is long overdue. When something says it is a product of the United States, it should reflect American land, American labor, and American standards. That is not a complicated idea, but it is one that carries real weight for families like mine.
Because what we produce here is held to a higher standard, and we take that seriously.
When I look at the cattle we raise or the crops we plant, I know exactly what went into it. I know the care, the time, and the cost. I also know that American farmers operate under stricter safety, environmental, and animal welfare standards than most countries in the world. We do it because it is the right way to farm, and because we stand behind what we produce.
When imported products are allowed to compete under a label that suggests they meet those same standards, it undercuts that work and erodes trust with the very people we are trying to feed.
That is why this change matters. It gives consumers a fair choice, and it gives American farmers a fair shot.
The same principle applies when it comes to energy.
The administration’s decision to allow summer E15 sales is a meaningful step, especially at a time when fuel prices are putting pressure on both farmers and families. On our operation, fuel is not a small expense. It is part of nearly every decision we make, from planting to harvest, and when prices rise, it affects everything.
E15 offers a practical solution. It expands demand for American-grown corn, it provides a more affordable option at the pump, and it reduces reliance on foreign energy at a time when that dependence comes with real consequences.
Those benefits are not theoretical. They show up in our input costs, in our margins, and in our ability to plan ahead.
But what farmers need most is consistency. A seasonal waiver helps, and I am grateful to see it happen, but agriculture does not operate on short timelines. We make decisions months in advance, sometimes years, and we need policies that reflect that reality. Year-round E15 would provide that certainty and reinforce a commitment to American energy and American agriculture that does not change with the calendar.
That is where Congress needs to step up.
There is a clear shift happening right now, and it is one that farmers have been waiting for. The Trump Administration understands that agriculture is not just another sector of the economy. It is a cornerstone of our country’s strength. Food security and energy independence are not separate conversations. They are directly connected, and both begin with American farmers .
I think about that often when I am out there with my boys, knowing that one day this responsibility will be theirs. What we do today, the decisions that are made in Washington, and the policies that are put in place will determine what kind of future they have in agriculture.
Restoring the meaning of the Product of the USA label and expanding access to E15 are steps in the right direction. They reflect a commitment to American producers, to American consumers, and to the idea that if we are going to say America First, we ought to mean it.
Because for those of us who live this every day, that is not a slogan. It is a way of life.
Todd Armstrong is the owner of Armstrong Cattle & Crops in Fredericksburg, Indiana.
