Trump administration unveils program honoring 250-year family farms across the United States
The Trump administration announced the American Family Farm Legacy 250 Program, a new initiative that publicly recognizes farms owned by the same family for 250 years or more.
Half a century before independence, John Lester settled a 150-acre plot in East Hampton, N.Y., which has remained in his family for nine generations and is now operated by Carolyn Lester Snyder, her husband, children and grandchildren. Building on that legacy, the Trump administration, together with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, introduced the American Family Farm Legacy 250 Program to publicly honor farms that have stayed in the same family for 250 years or more.
The initiative spotlights farms from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the hills of western Massachusetts, the South Fork of Long Island and rural North Carolina, emphasizing their role in feeding the nation and preserving rural values. Five families participated in a ceremony on the National Mall, and officials linked the program to the broader Farmers First agenda championed by President Donald Trump. Ambassador Monica Crowley, former Treasury public affairs chief, was cited as a supporter, and the effort invoked Thomas Jefferson’s 1785 praise of cultivators as vital citizens.
Why it matters
It highlights the cultural and economic importance of multigenerational family farms and signals federal support for rural America.
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