Can $3 billion convince Black farmers to trust the USDA?
In FERN's latest piece, produced in partnership with NPR's Climate Desk, Amy Mayer scrutinizes the likelihood that USDA's climate-smart partnerships will meet its ambitious equity goals.
A cultural history of a controversial fruit
In FERN's latest story, produced in partnership with Switchyard magazine as part of a special food issue, Jori Lewis explores the complicated racial history of the watermelon in America, using her own life as the critical lens.
House Ag chairman: Use tax code to encourage purchases from Black farmers
Black farmers "don't have access to the same markets our white farmers have," said House Agriculture chairman David Scott, but the tax code could put them on equal footing. Scott is working on legislation to offer tax incentives to processors and other companies if they buy crops and livestock from Black producers.
Biden to sign bill with $4 billion in debt relief for minority farmers
With Republicans complaining of discrimination against white farmers, the House passed a coronavirus bill on Wednesday that would provide an estimated $4 billion in debt relief for socially disadvantaged farmers.
After 20 years of advocacy, Black farmers finally get debt relief
Congress is poised today to pass one of the most sweeping relief programs for minority farmers in the nation’s history, through a provision of President Biden’s pandemic stimulus bill. Although the landmark legislation, which would cancel $4 billion worth of debt, seemed to emerge out of nowhere, it actually is the result of more than 20 years of organizing by Black farmers.(No paywall)
‘Justice’ bill would transfer up to 32 million acres to Black farmers
Black-owned farmland could expand sevenfold under a bill filed by three Democratic senators on Thursday to reverse decades of discriminatory practices by the Agriculture Department, sometimes called "the last plantation." The Justice for Black Farmers Act would enable Black farmers to acquire up to 160 acres apiece at no charge through a USDA system of land grants. (No paywall)
Juneteenth celebrated by African American farmers
For Juneteenth, the holiday that commemorates the emancipation of African American slaves in the United States, an organization known as A Growing Culture hosted a day-long internet broadcast on Friday featuring the voices of black farmers and gardeners and the fight in black communities for a just food system.(No paywall)
Senate to vote on funding for ‘heirs property’ initiative
The 2018 farm bill included a provision to make it easier for farmers operating on so-called heirs property — land that passed from one generation of a family to another without a clear title — to obtain a USDA farm number and thus gain access to a multitude of government programs. The Senate is scheduled to vote this afternoon on an amendment by Alabama Sen. Doug Jones to provide $5 million for a re-lending program that would be a step toward resolving ownership issues.
At USDA listening session on heirs property, an emphasis on education and preservation
At a listening session on Wednesday, landowners and advocates spoke to the Department of Agriculture about the importance of reforming how the agency aids heirs property owners. The listening session was convened to collect input on a series of heirs property reforms mandated by the 2018 farm bill.