USDA begins accepting discrimination relief applications from farmers

The US Department of Agriculture has begun accepting applications for financial relief of up to $500,000 for farmers who have faced discrimination in its lending programs.

Opening the application process is a step forward in the department’s effort to remedy decades of discrimination felt by farmers of color after a previous push by the Biden administration to provide payouts faced legal hurdles.

Applications are being accepted through October 31, and will be reviewed in November and December, with payments reaching those eligible “soon” after, according to the USDA.

Any farmer, forest landowner or rancher who experienced discrimination by the department in its farm loan programs prior to January 1, 2021, and/or has assigned or assumed USDA farm loan debt “that was the subject of USDA discrimination” prior to that date are eligible for the program. Eligible claims include discrimination related to race, age, sexual identity, gender, religion, disability, marital status and “retaliation for prior civil rights activity,” according to the department.

The USDA said farmers who received payments as part of discrimination lawsuits filed against the department – including class-action lawsuits brought by Black and Native American farmers – will be eligible to apply.

The payments are being provided as part of a provision of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that allows farmers of all backgrounds, regardless of race, to receive assistance up to $500,000 “as determined to be appropriate based on any consequences experienced from the discrimination.”

Applicants, however, will likely not receive the max payout, depending on how many applications are received and approved for payment, a USDA official told CNN. The payments are not tax exempt but the agency is looking into whether something can be done in that regard, the official said.
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