He was the son of Irish immigrant parents Margaret (née Byrne) and Patrick Rodgers; his father was a farmer.

He campaigned on a platform that included increased migration, a national insurance scheme, sharefarming, and opposition to a land tax.

[1] In June 1922, he stated the government was considering anti-dumping legislation to prevent the Australian market from being flooded with cheap German goods.

[5] He was in favour of a "national brand for all export goods made in Australia", and announced that the government would preference other British Empire countries in negotiating reciprocal trade agreements.

[6] Rodgers lost his seat to the ALP candidate John McNeill at the 1922 federal election, one of five ministers to be defeated.

[1] In addition to his farm near Horsham, Rodgers owned a grazing property in Bringenbrong, New South Wales, on the Murray River.

In 1932 he co-founded the Primary Producers' Restoration League with barrister Eugene Gorman, to seek debt adjustment for farmers.