Policy Priorities
Drive Rural Prosperity
Right-Size and Reorient Government
Generate Responsible Nutrition Policy

The America First Policy Institute’s (AFPI) Farmers First Agenda is foundational to our prospective rural policy work. Uniquely crafted by individuals with real-world farming and policy experience, the Farmers First Agenda provides rural Americans with peace of mind that AFPI has their best interests at heart. AFPI is working to ensure rural America is prosperous and healthy again, which is important because our rural communities are responsible for providing a reliable, abundant, and affordable domestic food supply to our great Nation and the world.
President Abraham Lincoln once said that “no other human occupation opens so wide a field for the profitable and agreeable combination of labor with cultivated thought as agriculture” (Lincoln, 1859).
As we approach the 250th anniversary of American Independence in 2026, we are reminded that agriculture and subsistence farming are foundational to the United States, as these were primary professions at the time of our Nation’s founding. As the population expanded into the great American frontier, farmers and smallholders rose to the occasion by both fulfilling demand in the domestic market and by generating exports, especially after Industrialization. Farmers faced excruciating hardship when the Dust Bowl coincided with the Great Depression, serving as the major impetus for establishing programs that protect highly erodible soil and conserve water. Modernizations in farming techniques, along with new agricultural policies in Washington, D.C., have afforded our farmers more prosperous future decades. In a sentence: The faith, grit, adeptness, and determination of the American farmer have always carried the profession forward.
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Latest
States Can Reduce Fraud In Snap By Sharing Data
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) alongside a variety of other federal nutrition programs (Congressional Research Service, 2025). Formerly known as food stamps, SNAP is the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program, providing monthly benefits averaging a total of $8 billion per month to low-income households to supplement their grocery budgets.
State Policymakers Can Reduce Fraud & Improve Snap Through Data Sharing
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, is being abused and tax dollars are being wasted. In many states, there is no accountability as data is not being shared publicly by state governments who administer the program.
In North Carolina, Tax Relief Is Finally Catching Up to Work
In North Carolina, the economy runs on work ... long shifts, overtime hours, and industries that still depend on people showing up and putting in the time. More than 5 million North Carolinians are employed, and the state has an unemployment rate under 4 percent.
Alabama is Protecting the Health of Its Poorest Citizens
Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) issued the following statement from Matthew Schmid, Farmers First Campaign Director:
AFPI Celebrates Wins in the WFTC on Tax Day
On Tax Day 2026, American families and workers are experiencing the impact of President Trump’s the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (WFTC). Signed into law on July 4, 2025, this historic legislation is delivering wins for working families, small businesses, parents, seniors and farmers across the Nation. AFPI commends President Trump and America First leaders in Congress for putting more money back in the hands of hardworking Americans.
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