The history of the farm bill is complex and lengthy — introduced in the 1930s as part of the New Deal, there were three main goals that the government wanted to achieve: to sustain reasonable food prices for growers and consumers, ensure adequate food supply, and maintain the country’s natural resources.
Today, the farm bill looks very different. As times have changed, the farm bill has been reimagined to reflect these changes. One aspect of the bill, Title V, provides a loan service for people in the agricultural sector, offering growers a line of credit to continue their practice while providing an opportunity for new growers to begin a career in agriculture.
While the loan service offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides credit to eligible applicants, studies have shown that certain applicants, namely Black identifying growers, were oftentimes denied these loans. Even after this discrimination came to light in the Pigford v. Glickman class action lawsuit in 1999, many Black farmers missed out on their paid dues and were left struggling to survive and maintain their livelihood as farmers. Additionally, while discrimination from the USDA was proven, no data was ever collected from commercial/private lenders to ascertain whether any discrimination occurred here.
Today, in the wake of a pandemic destabilizing the food system and climate change introducing unpredictable weather conditions, there are higher than ever costs to maintain farms, undercutting production agriculture as a viable career choice. More than ever, existing farmers and budding growers need access to credit and financial resources to ensure the survival of the agricultural sector.
To help ensure there is equal access to who can obtain assistance from government loans, there needs to be transparency over the eligibility criteria and selection process. Knowing who is applying and who is obtaining loans are among the first steps in understanding patterns and trends in this process.
Despite widespread reports of discrimination against farmers of color and women in attempting to obtain a loan either from the USDA or a private lender, there was no quantitative data collected to substantiate these reports.
In 2010, an amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act called for demographic data on applicants to be collected. Over a decade later in 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its final ruling on Section 1071, requiring financial institutions to track and report demographic data on applications for credit for women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.
This is one step in the right direction, as Maleeka Manurasada, national organizer for HEAL Food Alliance, knows. Manurasada joined HEAL to lead power-building efforts of HEAL’s member organizations and coordinated efforts of over a hundred different groups, including the National Young Farmers Coalition, Rural Coalition, the Center for Responsible Lending, and Self-Help in calling for the implementation of Section 1071 into law.
With previous experience in climate policy, Manurasada was drawn to food systems and advocating for farmers after learning how deeply our food systems impact not only our environment, but our heath, workers, and racial justice.
“It’s rare for farmers to not need loans,” Manurasada said, and loans and other forms of financial assistance are a critical factor that can oftentimes determine their success. “If you don’t have access to generational wealth, you need loans to build it.”
That’s why Manurasada, the HEAL Food Alliance and its members and allies believe so strongly in the implementation of Section 1071: to ensure that financial institutions are transparent about who they are giving loans out to. Given the history of racial discrimination in farm loans, Manurasada believes in giving everyone, regardless of race, a fair chance at applying for loans.
And it’s not just policy advocates who celebrate this final ruling for Section 1071. Angela Dawson, a fourth-generation Midwestern farmer, knows that this ruling may finally shed transparency and clarity on the loan application process.
As a Black farmer, Dawson has felt the struggle of applying for financial assistance only to be denied. Passionate about farming and persistent, Dawson found other ways to establish her farming practice, by forming a cooperative called 40 Acre Co-op, where she could engage in her calling while helping other Black and socially disadvantaged farmers.
Dawson knows the importance of accessing credit and how susceptible fledging farmers are when they don’t obtain loans from credible institutions. By not getting approved for a USDA microgrant, Dawson said that it became harder to obtain loans from private financial institutions, citing that her rejection made her look less credible and that it created a negative feedback loop that was incredibly difficult to escape from.
“After my rejection, I became a target from predatory lenders,” Dawson said, saying that she has been getting several of these calls a week.
By implementing Section 1071, Dawson wants Black farmers to be treated as equal with White farmers when applying for loans. Dawson hopes that tracking demographic data on applicants means there can now be accountability for institutions in how they treat applicants and there can be repercussions or consequences if discrimination occurs.
Both Manurasada and Dawson along with HEAL Food Alliance and its allies stand united in their support of Section 1071, but they know that this is not the end of their advocacy. Manurasada is working closely to promote HEAL’s advocacy for two marker bills, one geared toward justice for Black farmers and another toward expanding worker’s rights for meat workers in America.
Manurasada said the problems facing society today in terms of climate change, food security, and health crises are all interconnected and that solutions are within reach. To really implement these solutions, Manurasada said, “It’s all about putting money into the people, investing in them to farm in a way that really regenerates the environment, and fostering local and regional food systems with infrastructure that’s owned by the community.”
For Dawson, she hopes to continue her advocacy while expanding her co-op’s programming and outreach. By expanding her business model and navigating the complex process of becoming organic certified, she hopes to set an example while educating others about regenerative practices.
Dawson aims to change the narrative of the “poor farmer” and questions why those who grow food to support the country are so often on welfare programs themselves. She said farmers of color are some of the original “regenerative farmers,’, and she is eager to see changes in the agricultural system that promote more equitable access for all.
Addressing problems in the agricultural sector is not a one-size fits all approach but will take a myriad of innovative solutions from a diverse array of passionate people. Whether working directly in the field or advocating policy change in Washington D.C., it will take a unified collaborative effort to implement real, lasting change for the betterment of agriculture.
Liza Thuy Nguyen serves as the 2023 American Farmland Trust Agriculture Communications Intern at AGDAILY, with a focus on helping to amplify diversity and minority voices in agriculture. Liza is originally from Anaheim, California, and attended the University of California, Davis, as a first-generation college student. She received a bachelor’s degree in genetics and genomics and went on to earn a master’s in horticulture from Penn State.
