USDA Urged to Reinstate Four Women Ousted from United Soybean Board

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Democratic Women’s Caucus is formally urging the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reinstate four women to the United Soybean Board (USB) after the agency rejected their appointments earlier this year. The 96-member caucus argued the decision undermines female farmers and sent a letter to top USDA officials on Monday calling for a reversal, according to a report by Reuters.

Caucus Demands Reversal

In a letter dated July 13 and addressed to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and USDA Agriculture Marketing Specialist Sarah Aswegan, the caucus condemned the USDA's move. The letter, seen by Reuters, stated the decision "takes the USB and American farmers in the wrong direction" and "sends a message to women farmers that their voices do not matter."

The USDA has not publicly provided an explanation for its rare intervention, which rejected all four women and one man chosen by their peers for leadership roles. The caucus's letter implored the agency to "allow these nominees to serve their rightful terms."

Impact on Board Representation

The rejection of the nominees has had a significant impact on the composition of the influential agricultural board, which oversees market development funds for U.S. soybeans.

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• The United Soybean Board manages over $121 million in funds collected from farmers.
• The purge left the 77-member board with just five women.
• This represents the lowest level of female representation on the board in at least a decade.

While women make up more than a third of farmers in the United States, they have historically been underrepresented in leadership positions within major commodity groups, according to the source report.

Political Context

Democratic Representative Angie Craig of Minnesota, the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, characterized the move as "targeted discrimination." She stated the nominated women were qualified and "deserve to be reinstated."

The USDA's decision comes amid a broader context, as the source notes the Trump administration has rolled back some equal pay and equity-focused programs across the federal government. The White House has argued that such programs can conflict with laws against gender discrimination and work against merit-based advancement.