Promoting Agriculture and Rural Prosperity in America

This executive order establishes an Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture with 21+ agency heads as members. The Task Force must identify and recommend legislative, regulatory, and policy changes to promote agriculture, economic development, and quality of life in rural America, submitting a report within 180 days. It also revokes the Obama-era White House Rural Council (EO 13575).

Federal Register Open PDF 82 FR 20237

Impact dates

Oct 22, 2017
Task Force report to President recommending legislative, regulatory, or policy changes

Key directives

Establish Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity with Secretary of Agriculture as Chair
Task Force to identify legislative, regulatory, and policy changes across 13 specified areas including regulatory burden reduction, technology adoption, education, estate tax, water rights, food safety, and energy production
Task Force must coordinate with state, local, tribal officials and rural stakeholders for input
Task Force must coordinate with EO 13771 (regulatory cost reduction), EO 13778 (Waters of the US review), and EO 13783 (energy independence)
Submit report to President within 180 days through economic and domestic policy assistants
Revoke Executive Order 13575 (White House Rural Council)

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

Revocation of Executive Order 13575 (White House Rural Council)
Establishment of Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity

Near term (90d)

Task Force begins identifying legislative, regulatory, and policy changes
Coordination with state, local, tribal officials and rural stakeholders for input

Long term

Task Force report due with recommendations
Potential implementation of recommended policy changes across multiple agencies

Risks & tensions

Vague scope: 'identify' and 'recommend' language creates no binding obligation to implement changes
Coordination burden across 22+ agencies may slow or dilute output
Explicit reliance on 'best available science' for crop protection and food safety (sec. 4(a)(vi), (x)) may conflict with administration's broader deregulatory goals
Estate tax and tax valuation changes (sec. 4(a)(viii)) require congressional action, not unilateral executive authority
Water rights and public lands access provisions (sec. 4(a)(ix), (xiii)) may generate conflict with environmental groups and federal land management priorities
Revocation of EO 13575 eliminates existing rural policy infrastructure without guaranteed replacement functionality