FARGO – State leaders on Tuesday welcomed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to Fargo, where she announced $340.6 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture disaster assistance to farmers, ranchers and rural communities impacted by natural disasters.

In North Dakota, USDA is delivering more than $5 million to help rebuild electric infrastructure following damage from severe storms and wildfires.

“My heart goes out to the families across our great country who have lost loved ones, homes, businesses and livelihoods,” Rollins said. “As one of his first executive actions, President Trump made it a top priority for his administration to deliver fast and fair relief to communities impacted by disasters. USDA is fulfilling the president’s promise today and ensuring we are doing everything we can to support state and local efforts to rebuild these communities to be even stronger than before.”

Rollins’ visit to North Dakota comes less than 70 days after her confirmation as the nation’s 33rd agriculture secretary on Feb. 13. She was hosted in Fargo by U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong, who participated in a roundtable discussion with Rollins, called the Trump administration’s responsiveness to farmers and ranchers, a “huge benefit” to North Dakota and its agriculture sector.

“North Dakota farmers and ranchers are the best in the world, and we appreciate Secretary Rollins coming to Fargo to hear firsthand about the challenges and opportunities facing our ag producers as they feed and fuel the world,” Armstrong said in a prepared statement.. “We look forward to working with Secretary Rollins and the entire Trump administration to strengthen U.S. food security, expand markets and restore fairness to international trade relationships, and roll back unnecessary regulations that restrict producers and increase costs for consumers.”

The roundtable at North Dakota State University included ag producers, researchers, agribusinesses and commodity groups. Afterwards, Rollins met with members of NDSU’s Student Ag Ambassadors.