The Biden administration announced that it had paid out a total of $2.2 billion to 43,000 qualified applicants under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP). A majority of the payments went to Black farmers and ranchers.
About $1.76 billion in payments have been made to black farmers in the U.S. under a grant program designed to mitigate financial losses caused by discrimination. “Over 80 percent of the recipients were black farmers,” Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torress Small said last weekend at the Congressional Black Caucus’ Mississippi Policy Conference in Tunica, Mississippi. She added, “Over 70 percent of the recipients were from the Southeast (region of the U.S.).”
The program, enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act, indicated that farmers in Mississippi (13,283) and Alabama (10,907) were the most grant recipients. The Mississippi farmers who received the most grants showed that 5,892 producers received payments. Another 7,391 producers who planned to start a farm or ranch operation but “reported they were unable to do so because they could not get a loan from the USDA” also received financial grants.
“Farmers and ranchers work around the clock to provide us with food and manage our nation’s land. Yet for far too long, many farmers and ranchers have faced discrimination in agricultural loan programs and have not had equal access to federal funds and assistance,” President Joe Biden said in a press release.
Launched in July 2023, the program aimed to address the generations-long inequity farmers experienced in the USDA agricultural loan program prior to January 2021. Because the initiative sought to address discrimination by USDA employees and affiliated institutions, the program utilized outside evaluators and integrated aggressive educational strategies with independent organizations to ensure farmers knew about the program and how to apply.
The National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) was involved in the campaign. Led by farmer advocate John Boyd, they launched a national campaign to explain the process and help farmers apply. “No matter how you look at it, the $2.2 billion payout is historic. (…) This victory is not just for the NBFA, but for all black farmers and their families who have endured discrimination and struggled to make ends meet,” Boyd said.
In order to attract as many applicants as possible and to gain time to process the applications, the USDA extended the submission deadline several times. The one-time payments of $2.2 billion were paid out at the end of July this year.
Some farmers said the process was not as smooth as it was portrayed. One farmer said there was so much misinformation about the discrimination program that he had no chance of applying. The farmer spoke to Ark Republic and agreed to remain anonymous. “I sued the USDA and was successful, but I didn’t know I could apply,” he told Ark Republic.
The farmer, who says he is very active in his robust agricultural community, pointed out that even the local USDA Farm Service Agency in his area did not have enough information to share. “While I’m glad others are getting some form of help, I just wish there was a better information campaign.”
In a fact sheet, the USDA reported that there were “attorneys and groups spreading misleading information about (the application process), pressuring people to sign fee agreements and asking them to fill out forms with private and sensitive information.” Two farmers told Ark Republic they received postcards to attend a workshop on the application process. These were from a farming organization they belonged to, but the organizers never showed up. The farmers asked to remain anonymous.
Another farmer who received a payment says it would do little good for his operation, but he will use it if he can. He also questions how decisions were made about how to value farms for the payments. The USDA has not yet provided that information.
“While this financial support is not compensation for the losses or pain experienced, it is recognition. My hope is that this will ensure that many farmers can stay on their farms, contribute to our nation’s food supply, and continue doing what they love,” acknowledged Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who came under fire for his treatment of black farmers in a previous term during Barack Obama’s presidency. President Biden reappointed him to lead the Agriculture Department.
In addition, the Southeastern farmer voiced another concern that is being whispered in the Black farming community. They worry about the mindset of future administrations that see Black farmers as being allowed to “be happy with what they got” and not complain. That kind of perspective can hinder future claims, but according to Dr. Dwayne Goldman, a senior advisor for racial equity to the Secretary of Agriculture, the focus on “equity” will be paramount at the USDA going forward.
The administration said it will use the data collected from applicants to “create a roadmap for the USDA” and “fine-tune” its equity efforts at the national, regional and local levels. One data point that could change is the number of Black farmers in the country. Reported data varies from about 35,000 to 42,000. The applicant numbers could provide insights into who the country’s producers are.
For Deputy Secretary Torress Small, the payments are a step toward a USDA that has been working to redefine itself under the Biden-Harris administration. “We see (DFAP payments) as a pathfinder for the future,” she told hundreds of attendees at the policy conference.
There is more than one way to skin a cat
The bold measure was the Biden-Harris administration’s move to provide some kind of financial relief to minority farmers after an injunction was issued against the Emergency Aid for Farmers of Color Act. Shortly after the bill passed Congress in 2021, two white farm groups, one in Florida and one in Texas, sued the federal government. A judge halted further rollout of the program.
Two years later, under growing pressure from black farmers and advocacy groups, the government changed its mind. Instead of focusing on social identity and ability classification, the DFAP opened its application process to anyone, as long as applicants were discriminated against within the parameters set by the USDA. In the end, of the 53,000 applications submitted, most were underrepresented farmers, ranchers, and forest owners.
Across the country, elected officials and organization leaders welcomed the discrimination payments. “This money will be a lifeline for farmers and ranchers across the country who have historically been wrongfully denied access to USDA loans and social safety net programs,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). Sen. Booker, an advocate for Black farming associations, introduced a bill in 2020 to address longstanding discrimination and land loss among Black farmers under the Justice for Black Farmers Act. The bill was reintroduced in 2023 but did not make it to a vote.
The money is nothing more than a free grant or compensation. The USDA emphasizes that it is a way to mitigate any “financial losses” incurred by producers or those who wanted to start a business but were discriminated against. In addition, the money paid out is taxable.
This historic action is currently being celebrated in agricultural and social justice circles. At the same time, advocates like Boyd have been pushing for the issue of heirs’ property to be included in discrimination lawsuits. The USDA has asked you to comment on the lawsuit.
