By Staci Gamble
Always unseen and never documented, the struggles of black farmers are constantly overlooked because of discrimination and insufficient data collection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA is an extraordinarily powerful entity that accounts for allotments, credits, information, and access to government funding.[1] In 1997, the USDA took over the Census of Agriculture, making a number of changes that reduced its historic undercounts of farmers of color.[2] This change included better outreach, methodological refinements, and new statistical adjustments.[3] In 2012, the Census of Agriculture created by the USDA reported there was a nine percent increase in Black farming, yet this never occurred. This inaccuracy further obscures discriminatory, damaging and ongoing practices by the USDA.[4]
Background
Based on discriminatory practices, Black farmers lost their land throughout the 20th century. Historically, the injustices of Black people were heavily reported; however, certain groups were overlooked “Battles over school desegregation, public transportation, accommodations, and voting rights were news. Farmers were not.”[5] President Lincoln created The United States Department of Agriculture also known as “the People’s Department.”[6] Yet, to the Black community, the USDA simply became the “last plantation” forcing minority communities out of the farming profession with a the lack of access and repeated bullying. This creation was the beginning to the end for Black farmers and has created a long-standing history of denying farmers access to low-interest loans, subsidy payments, grant programs, and other forms of assistance.[7] As a result, many groups filed lawsuits against the USDA and received settlements to rectify these injustices.
The USDA’s discriminatory practices became evident in the Pigford class action lawsuit, in which a group of Black farmers, led by Timothy Pigford, sued the USDA in 1997 for discrimination practices against Black farmers regarding allocation of farm loans and assistance.[8] Although the case was settled in 1999, many individuals never received their settlement due to a lack of organization.[9] In 2010, settlements known as Pigford Part II amounted to $1.2 billion, yet again, many individuals did not receive these funds due to a denial of their claims, coupled with deadline and processing issues.[10] Despite these victories, the USDA’s failure to collect and accurately report race data, many black farmers are still struggling to find justice and equality in agriculture.
Data Gaps Role
Prior 1997, the USDA failed to include black farmers in its agriculture census, either through omission from official records or insufficiently locating their farms.[11] Soon after the General Accountability Office (GA) criticized these practices thus a congressional mandate was created in the 2008 farm bill to have accurate data collection in all subsequent census reports.[12] Though the USDA improved its census methods after 1997, these changes created a facade of an increase in Black farmers. Many experts have come forward to clarify this “increase” was simply a reflection of better counting rather than a genuine increase in the number of black farmers. In 2012.[13] The USDA claimed a nine percent increase in Black farmers but omitted the data counting caveat. [14]Lloyd Wright has noted, “when the statistics would indicate that they are one of the few groups that are increasing, it’s hard to convince people on the Hill that they should take initiatives … for Black farmers.”[15] Despite the USDA’s claims, many black farmers are continuously reporting discrimination and deceptive practices that are not being taken seriously due to the false perception of growth within the black community. Rather, it is quite the opposite, sociologist Spencer Wood states, “There’s very little evidence to support that there’s a growth in the number of Black farms.”[16] Insufficient data tracking and a lack of transparency by the USDA waves any strides for equity and justice black farmers are trying to achieve.
Consequences of Insufficient Data
Failure to accurately report racial data creates a false perception for other groups to bring lawsuits. The USDA in the past few years has claimed to be prioritizing equity but the lack of accountability of the inaccurate data representation prevents Black farmers from receiving fair aid.[17] Without accurate representation from the USDA, any programs focused on equity fail to holistically approach black farmers concerns. Recently, the USDA has faced lawsuits claiming reverse discrimination.[18] Initiatives like this cloud the initiatives aimed at providing equity for black farmers. Thus, creating a false narrative of increased black farmers benefits lawsuits aimed to murder any diversity aspiration of advocates in agriculture.
Faulty reporting leaves black farmers without resources to sustain their farms and lack of standing for their claims. In 2008 a GAO report stated that the department’s credibility to correct problems with its complaints process “continues to be undermined by faulty reporting of data on discrimination complaints.”[19] Between 2006 and 2016, black farmers accounted for thirteen percent of foreclosures, making them six times likely to lose their farm despite only representing three present of USDA loan recipients.[20]
Conclusion
While the USDA is trying to rectify its transgressions to black farmers, these efforts are clouded by the lack of transparency and accountability of data. Their lack of accountability in recent years clouds black farmer advocates who are fighting for justice and equity when the data is non consistent. To truly benefit the black farmer population, the USDA needs to (1) clarify their Census of Agriculture to reflect the miscalculation for previous years and (2) create mandatory practices of race based data collection in their future issues.
[1] Matthew Wills, The USDA Versus Black Farmers, JSTOR Daily, (Mar. 11, 2022), https://daily.jstor.org/the-usda-versus-black-farmers/.
[2] Nathan Rosenburg & Bryce Wilson Stucki, How USDA Distorted Data to Conceal Decades of Discrimination Against Black Farmers, The Counter, (June 26, 2019), https://thecounter.org/usda-black-farmers-discrimination-tom-vilsack-reparations-civil-rights/.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Wills, supra 1.
[6] U.S. Dep’t of Agric., RBS Research Report 194, Black Farmers in America, 1865-2000: The pursuit of Independent Farming and the Role of Cooperatives, (Oct. 2003), https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/RR194.pdf
[7] Precious Tshabalala, A Brief History of Discrimination Against Black Farmers—Including by the USDA, Union of Concerned Scientist, (Aug. 27, 2024), https://blog.ucsusa.org/precious-tshabalala/a-brief-history-of-discrimination-against-black-farmers-including-by-the-usda/.
[8] Tadlock Cowan , The Pigford Cases: USDA Settlement of Discrimination Suits by Black Farmers, Congressional Research Service, (May 29, 2013), https://nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/RS20430.pdf.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Congressional Research Service, Racial and Ethnic Equity in U.S. Agriculture:
Selected Current Issues, R47066, (Apr. 11, 2022) https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R47066.pdf.
[13] Id.
[14] Rosenburg & Stucki, supra 2.
[15] Id.
[16] Id.
[17] Rosenburg & Stucki, supra 2.
[18] Jerry Hagstrom, Vance Challenges USDA for Providing Farm Benefits Based on Color, Progressive Farmer, (Aug. 12, 2024), https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/blogs/ag-policy-blog/blog-post/2024/08/12/vance-challenges-usda-providing-farm.
[19] Office of Inspector General, USDA Oversight of Civil Rights, U.S. Dep’t of Agric., (Sept. 2021), https://usdaoig.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2024-11/60601-0001-21FR508FOIAredactedpublic930-signed.pdf.
[20] Id.
