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Although there are more opportunities and revamped avenues for socially disadvantaged farmers to participate in federal agricultural program since Pigford v. Glickman, the first Black farmer class action lawsuit against USDA and subsequent billion dollar settlement, there is not a lot of scholarly research on Black farmers' perspectives and experiences in accessing and using these programs today. Using data from nine focus groups in Mississippi with 89 Black farmers, we find that Black farmers and ranchers identify several barriers to program participation, namely communication about programs and problems with the application and approval process, including a lack of standardization and transparency. Inter-woven throughout the discussions of barriers were conversations about racial and gender discrimination, with producers soundly in agreement that the former persists, and the latter is an issue. This research informs our understandings of Black farmers' experiences of how racial hierarchies and networks continue to shape their ability to access and participate in federal farm programs; policy recommendations are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article makes the case that the legacy of institutional racism by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is connected to the encroachment of the invasive species Juniperus virginiana (eastern red cedar) on farming land. Red cedar's encroachment impacts Black farmers disproportionately in Oklahoma, even as it undermines broader USDA conservation goals and ability to adapt to climate change. As such, this case study illustrates the shortcomings of Farm Bill Conservation Title programs to address ecological issues across the landscape—shortcomings that hinder farmers' ability to carry out long-term adaptation and mitigate risks. Conversely, we show how the work of Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project, Inc. and the Rural Coalition has been vital allies in Black farmers inter-related struggles against racial injustice and red cedar. Thus, we argue community-based organizations have a pivotal, but under-supported, role to play in the shaping and application of farm bill programs and funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the financial plight and credit needs of Black farmers has received limited attention in the literature, Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a novel approach that can contextualize these problems in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm loan programs (FLPs). Using a critical race methodology to interpret 11 semi-structured interviews with Black Michigan farm owners, we investigate experiential perceptions of farm ownership loans. Findings indicate that farmers hesitate to use government farm loans, because of histories of racialized experiences, racial discriminatory lending practices, and non-existent outreach from Farm Service Agency lenders. Farmers' perceptions of racial disadvantage in farm loan acquisition suggest a serious need for greater fairness and better education in the administration of FLPs, as the USDA aims to embark in a new civil rights era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since their emancipation Black farmers have fought to become economically independent and for the right to self-determine the paths of their lives. Land acquisition has been central to this struggle. Impressively, by 1920 Black farmers neared the one million mark and owned roughly 15 million acres of farmland. Yet, in subsequent years their numbers declined at an alarming rate, approaching 50 percent nearly every 10 years during the second half of the Century. Arguably the most united attempt to rectify the racially motivated decline of Black farmers and the loss of Black-owned farmland across America has been the collective support of the classaction lawsuit Timothy Pigford et al., v. Dan Glickman, Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture in 1996. Based on firsthand accounts, primary documents and existing literature, this essay situates an historical recounting of the Pigford case from its historical and grassroots beginnings to the recent signing of Pigford II and the racially and politically motivated accusations against Shirley Sherrod within a theoretical framework of institutional racism. Furthermore, it illustrates that the problems faced by Black farmers are deeply racial, particularly given the unfortunate racist legacy of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). In our conclusion, we acknowledge factors to deter the growth of young Black farmers in America and highlight those innovative urban and rural farm initiatives that are actively working to redress the decline of the Black agriculture and the agrarian knowledge it holds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]