Facing a Land or Grazing Dispute? USDA’s New Partnership May Offer a Path Forward

Producers dealing with grazing allotment disputes, land seizures or enforcement actions from federal agencies now have a new formal channel to seek help, following a Memorandum of Understanding announced July 2 between USDA and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the partnership alongside SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Special Envoy for American Landowners John Rich, Bureau of Land Management Director Stevan Pearce, and members of Congress, along with affected producers and representatives from several legal advocacy organizations.

The MOU formalizes a working relationship between USDA and SBA’s Office of the National Ombudsman, creating a joint process to route, investigate and help resolve complaints producers file against other federal regulatory agencies — including agencies like EPA, Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service — through USDA’s existing Lawfare Portal.

What the Partnership Does

According to USDA, the agreement includes:

• Joint complaint resolution — a unified workflow to route, investigate and resolve disputes involving other federal agencies, submitted through the USDA Lawfare Portal.
• Pattern analysis and reform — shared data between USDA and SBA to identify systemic regulatory issues and pursue policy fixes.
• Interagency coordination — USDA says it will work with partners including DOI, EPA and DOJ on producer and small-business cases.
• A formal path for redress — intended to prioritize rural communities and agricultural producers.

Why USDA Says It’s Needed

“Producers and ranchers who feed this nation should never face the full power of government alone,” Rollins says. “This partnership with the SBA creates clear pathways for redress, ensures fairness in enforcement and demonstrates that Washington stands with, not against, the hardworking Americans who sustain our country.”

Loeffler explains the goal is to give producers a direct line for complaints they may not have the resources to pursue on their own.

“Farmers and ranchers do some of the hardest and most essential work in America, yet they have faced a growing burden from costly federal regulations — crushing generational businesses that lack the time, money, or legal resources to fight back,” Loeffler says. “With our MOU, the SBA and USDA now offer America’s producers a direct line to report lawfare, with a new infrastructure to deliver lasting regulatory reform.”

Cases USDA Points To

USDA highlighted several lawfare wins during the announcement, including ending the politically motivated prosecution against the Maude family stemming from a simple civil dispute over 25 acres of federal land.

They also mentioned several ongoing disputes, including a Montana ranching family facing repeated lawsuits over irrigation practices tied to bull trout habitat concerns, despite what USDA says were federal surveys finding no trout in the affected diversion. The agency also cited an Arizona ranching family whose U.S. Forest Service grazing allotment has been affected by delayed fence repairs and stock-tank maintenance following wildfire damage.

Special Envoy John Rich framed the partnership as a response to years of producers spending time and money on regulatory disputes instead of their operations.

“I’ve traveled across this country and met families who have spent years fighting bureaucrats instead of tending their cattle, working their land, or passing their operations on to the next generation,” Rich says. “This partnership sends a clear message: the federal government is done standing on the sidelines while producers are buried in red tape and abusive enforcement.”

Rich is best known in the country music sphere. He was a member of Lonestar and is now half of the band “Big & Rich.” He has been an outspoken supporter of President Trump and rural America. He is tasked with advocating for landowners in his new role.

How Producers Can Use It

Producers with an active dispute involving a federal regulatory agency can file a complaint through USDA’s Lawfare Portal. USDA says complaints submitted through the portal will now be jointly reviewed under the new MOU process with SBA’s Office of the National Ombudsman.

Rollins says since launching the reporting portal in late April, more than 600 complaints have been filed. Prior to the portal, Rollins launched a Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework in February to end what she calls “abusive government overreach.”