Xochitl Torres Small Wants Rural America to Thrive

WASHINGTON — In February, Biden tapped Xochitl Torres Small, currently USDA undersecretary for rural development, to serve as the agency’s deputy agriculture secretary. As she awaits confirmation, she’s using every tool at her disposal to ensure rural America is getting the attention and care it deserves. 

“Rural communities really do want to thrive,” Torres Small told the Bipartisan Policy Center during one of the D.C.-based think tank’s “fireside chat” events.

Over the course of an hour, the word “thrive” rolled out of Torres Small in answer to almost every question posed. 

“Rural development recognizes all of the ingredients necessary to support a thriving community in a rural place,” she said, “including investing in independent rural businesses to help them thrive.”

The granddaughter of farm workers who immigrated from Mexico to pick cotton, Torres Small claims this family history helps her to “know the opportunities that exist in agriculture and in rural places.”

And it is this picker-to-policy worker family story, as well as her time spent serving on the Hill — both as a staffer and a single-term congresswoman from New Mexico — that has informed much of her work as she pushes rural communities to grow and flourish.

“In the House, so much of the conversation was about WHAT should we be doing. In the administration, so much of my time is spent on the HOW,” Torres Small said. 

“While Congress is often focused on the WHAT, if we lose sight of the HOW,” — necessary technology and staff were two of her examples — “it can impact the WHAT, so there’s a balance and a challenge between the two.”

Because she insists that “developers aren’t investing in rural communities the same way,” USDA’s rural development team is “about making sure we have support for folks who need it most,” including critical elements of basic infrastructure. 

“We used to say at rural development … that we could literally build a town from the ground up,” Torres Small said, citing everything from rural utility services to community facilities to housing, business and cooperative services. “In many ways, it does truly build from the ground up.”

“We have the tools — like a Swiss Army knife — that allows you to do most of the work. But you also need a blueprint,” she admitted. “It’s not just the tools, but also the place-based work, and helping define and go after a vision.”

Outlining many USDA rural development programs like multifamily housing, electric, energy, telecommunications programs, and business and industry loan guarantees, Torres Small admitted approaching a community holistically was probably the best way USDA could tailor its programs to support, but that it was her current department’s uniqueness that actually made it … thrive.

“My favorite thing about USDA’s rural development is that we have people who are from rural places who love them and who are invested in making sure that other people who love their home can stay there and also choose their best opportunities.”

Torres Small’s nomination as deputy secretary of Agriculture was sent to the Senate on March 2, 2023.

Kate can be reached at [email protected]