Pentagon, USDA Announce Collaboration to Bolster Agricultural Security

The collaboration will cover efforts to detect threats to U.S. agriculture and protect research.

Sprinklers water a lettuce field in Holtville, Calif., on Feb. 9, 2023. Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, on Feb. 11, announced a new cooperative effort to protect U.S. farmland and agricultural resources from foreign threats.

At a Wednesday press conference, Rollins and Hegseth noted a range of threats to U.S. agricultural security, including Chinese Communist Party-linked entities buying up farmland and Al Qaeda training manuals encouraging attacks on agriculture.