Op-Ed: John Rich: Farmers are fighting back and this time Washington is with them

John Rich explains how President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins are the advocates that farmers need.

For years I have watched farmers and ranchers get pushed around by the very government that should be protecting them. Somewhere along the way, powerful agencies learned they could use dense regulations and legal threats to intimidate the people who feed this country. That realization lit a fire in me. As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation, I feel a deeper calling to fight back against what many rural families now know as agricultural lawfare.

This country was built on the idea that ordinary citizens could work hard, earn a piece of land, and build something lasting. It is a belief that shaped my own life. America gave me the freedom to raise a family, grow businesses, and make music that honors this land and the people on it.

Long before that, it gave our earliest settlers the promise that landownership could deliver security, pride, and opportunity. Both of my grandfathers fought in World War II to defend that promise, just as generations before them fought to secure life, liberty, and the ability to prosper.

That promise is under threat today, not from a foreign enemy, but from within. Federal agencies stretch environmental laws far beyond their purpose. They classify ordinary ditches and puddles as regulated waters. They limit long-standing grazing and farming practices because of shifting wildlife listings. They drag ranching families into court over fenceline disagreements that used to be settled neighbor to neighbor. State and local governments pile on too, blocking farmstands, restricting agritourism, and using zoning boards to choke off growth. Farmers may be resilient, but they should not have to wage legal battles just to work the land.

I saw a stark example earlier this year in Cheatham County when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) attempted to run an industrial project straight through prime farmland, backed by the threat of eminent domain. Local families begged TVA to reconsider.

Nothing changed until I reached out to President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. They acted fast. TVA backed down. The community kept its land. I had never seen Washington move that quickly for rural Tennessee, and it told me something important. The tide is turning. For the first time in a long time, our leaders are putting farmers first.

This administration is listening. They have stepped in to help families across the country who faced similar overreach, from the Dakotas to New Jersey to California and Washington. For the first time in a long while, farmers and ranchers can see that the federal government is willing to stand with them rather than against them.

That shift extends beyond the White House. Policy leaders, legal minds, and agricultural advocates are joining together to expose how government overreach harms rural communities. I am honored to serve on the America First Policy Institute’s new Farmers First Lawfare Advisory Council, a group committed to identifying abuses and offering real solutions. Our goal is straightforward. We want to give farmers, ranchers, and small-town families a place to turn when they are targeted by heavy-handed regulation or legal pressure.

There is significant work ahead, but I believe this moment is different. Rural America finally has allies in Washington. With strong leadership from President Trump and Secretary Rollins, along with growing support from those who understand the stakes, I am proud to stand in this fight. The message is clear. Washington is finally listening, and the people who feed this nation are being put first.

John Rich is an AFPI Council Member and a country music star.