USDA and SBA open federal complaint portal for producers fighting agency enforcement

Agricultural producers, ranchers, and small-business owners facing federal regulatory or enforcement actions can now file complaints at www.usda.gov/lawfare, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Small Business Administration announced a memorandum of understanding formalizing a joint complaint-resolution workflow and a public-facing portal. The agreement gives rural businesses and agricultural producers a new complaint channel by formalizing collaboration with SBA's Office of the National Ombudsman, the office within SBA that exists specifically to receive and investigate complaints about federal regulatory actions against small businesses.

The MOU routes complaints about enforcement actions by the EPA, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, and other agencies through that ombudsman office. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler joined USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins at the announcement. Shared data analysis is intended to feed findings into deregulatory policy changes. The administration cited 73 deregulatory actions and roughly $136 million in cost savings in fiscal year 2025, figures drawn from the USDA announcement. The initiative also includes stated goals of transparency, accountability, and coordination with partner agencies including DOI, EPA, and DOJ, according to the announcement.

Rollins framed the portal, which USDA calls its "Lawfare Portal," as a corrective to what the administration describes as abusive or disproportionate enforcement practices. "Producers and ranchers who feed this nation should never face the full power of government alone," she said. "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."

USDA presented several real-world cases at the announcement to illustrate the initiative's purpose: a Montana family farm facing repeated lawsuits over irrigation practices affecting bull trout habitat; an Arizona ranching family whose U.S. Forest Service allotment was affected by administrative delays and what the agency characterized as unjustified archaeological clearances; and a New York farmer whose land faces pressure from state-accelerated solar development. The announcement framed the new MOU as advancing what USDA calls the Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework, a broader administration effort to defend producers from what it characterizes as weaponized regulatory enforcement.

The two agencies have worked together formally since at least 2018, when they signed a memorandum of understanding to improve collaboration and investment in rural America. A 2023 agreement expanded that partnership with a focus on small and underserved communities, rural technical assistance providers, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, and small-business owners. The new MOU adds the complaint-routing and portal functions, which USDA labels "lawfare" functions, to that existing relationship.