USDA accepting discrimination relief applications from farmers

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USDA farmers discrimination relief overview: 

• Who: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) opened its financial assistance application process for farmers who experienced discrimination in pre-2021 USDA farm lending programs.  
• Why: The USDA has been directed to provide the relief through a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law last August. 
• Where: The discrimination relief applies to farmers nationwide.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) opened its financial assistance application process last month for eligible farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who were discriminated against in USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021. 

The USDA says it has been “working diligently” to design the relief program “in accordance with significant stakeholder input, following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in August 2022. 

The Inflation Reduction Act included a provision that allows farmers, regardless of their race or background, to obtain assistance of up to $500,000 to compensate for “any consequences experienced from the discrimination,” CNN reports. 

The website for the USDA relief program is currently open and includes English- and Spanish-language applications that can be downloaded or submitted through an e-filing portal, according to the agency. 

“The opening of the application process is an important step in delivering on our commitment of providing financial assistance to those who faced discrimination in USDA farm lending as swiftly and efficiently as possible,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says in a statement on the USDA’s website. 

Farmers who have already received relief will be eligible to apply for more

Farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who were discriminated against by the agency in pre-2021 farm loan programs, as well as current debtors with assigned or assumed USDA farm loan debt and who experienced discrimination prior to Jan. 1, 2021, are eligible to apply for relief from the USDA.

Eligible claims include discrimination regarding age, race, sexual identity, religion, gender, disability, marital status and any retaliation that occurred for a prior civil rights activity, CNN reports. 

Farmers who have already received compensation as a result of discrimination complaints filed against the USDA will also reportedly be eligible to apply for relief. 

Vilsack says the agency will continue to work with its national vendor partners and community organizations to ensure the farmers, ranchers and forest landowners have “clear information about what is available to them.” 

In another case involving farmers, a group of minority farmers from Virginia argued in May that the federal government owes them millions of dollars in assistance they claim was promised to them in the American Rescue Plan Act. 

Have you been discriminated against in a USDA farm lending program? Let us know in the comments. 

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