Dive Brief:
- Black farmers and others who faced discrimination from the U.S. Department of Agriculture received more than $2 billion in direct payments following years of delays due to legal challenges.
- Approximately 43,000 individuals received payouts up to $500,000, with the majority of awards going to farmers in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and other southern states.
- Congress authorized $2.2 billion as part of the Inflation Reduction Act to support farmers who faced discrimination in USDA lending programs, plus another $3.1 billion for loan relief. The bill broadened the criteria for applicants to address legal challenges to a pandemic debt relief package for Black farmers.
Dive Insight:
Black farmers have struggled to access USDA lending and assistance programs for close to a century, or when the department first began taking more of an active role to support farmers following the Great Depression.
Even today, minority farmers find themselves locked out of funding. A 2022 NPR analysis found that the USDA rejected loans for Black farmers more than any other demographic group, granting loans to only 36% of applicant farmers who identified as Black.
Congressional and USDA efforts to address racial discrimination in recent years, however, have been held up by lawsuits from white farmers in other states who say their exclusion is a violation of civil rights. Around $5 billion was approved to provide Black farmers with 120% debt relief in a 2021 pandemic relief package, though several courts blocked the program.
In 2022, Congress amended the law to offer financial support to a broader group of farmers and avoid more potential legal fallout.
The USDA did not include a racial demographic breakdown of $2.2 billion in payments. More than 20,000 awards, or 46%, went to individuals who planned to have a farming operation but were unable to because of USDA actions.
The payout announced Wednesday is "not compensation for anyone’s losses or pain endured, it is an acknowledgement," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
The National Black Farmers Association called the payments a "significant step towards justice for Black farmers."
"No matter how it is sliced, the $2.2 billion in payouts is historic," said NBFA President John Boyd.
