# Farmers Are Going Broke Amid Rising Gas Prices, While the Ag Secretary Profits Off Them

- Link: https://www.widthness.com/farmers-are-going-broke-amid-rising-gas-prices-while-the-ag-secretary-profits-off-them/
- Published: 2026-09-08T09:45:00-05:00
- Author: Curated by Theresa Wysocki

Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins delivers a speech from the main stage at the Farm Progress Show – September 1, 2026. Photo credit: “20260901-USDA-OC-CRL-0122” by U.S. Department of Agriculture, (Cecilia Lynch) via Flickr. Public Domain Mark. Article by Georgina Gustin. Inside Climate News – September 6, 2026. As farmers grapple with soaring diesel and fertilizer prices and the Department of Agriculture yanks support for cheaper, renewable forms of energy, the agency’s chief, Brooke Rollins, is carrying millions in highly profitable oil and gas investments. In disclosure reports filed in July, Rollins indicated that she and her husband, Mark Rollins, an oil and gas industry executive, together hold as much as $2.5 million in fossil fuel investments. At least $1 million of that is in HKN II, a limited partnership with oil and gas interests in the Kurdistan region of Iraq; another $1 million, at least, is in Hillwood Energy New Ventures, which has interests in oil and gas operations in Texas, Rollins’ home state. […] Click here to view original article at www.insideclimatenews.org Related articles: Brooke Rollins – Explore Financial Disclosures From President Trump and 1,600 of His Appointees – ProPublica Trump Signs Executive Orders Attempting to Rebuild Trust With Cattle Producers – Drovers Trump’s New Beef Orders Draw Praise and Pushback From Ag Groups – Successful Farming Tyson Foods disputes USDA claim on buyer limits for shuttered U.S. beef plants – Traders Union Rollins defends administration at Farm Progress Show – Farm Progress Wyoming ranchers struggling amid drought, higher costs and new pressures from beef imports – CBS News Washington farmers tell top Trump official wildfires only part of ‘firestorm of things’ affecting bottom lines – The Spokesman-Review Curated by Theresa Wysocki See Full Bio