In 1999, a federal judge ruled, in what’s known as the Pigford settlement, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had discriminated against Black farmers for years. The agency had systematically denied Black farmers assistance to grow their operations, the judge found. 

Despite the ruling, Black farmers still struggle to access federal assistance at the same clip as their white counterparts. In 2021, the USDA rejected 42% of loan applications from Black farmers but only 9% of white farmers’ applications, according to CNN.

The discrimination has had long lasting effects. The size of farms owned by Black producers is much smaller than farms owned by other racial groups, according to USDA research.

Most Black farmers are also livestock producers, as opposed to cash crop growers (cash crops typically pay more than animals). The smaller farm size, coupled with the commodities they produce, leads to less valuable farms. Between 2018 and 2020, the USDA found, Black producers generated about $29,000 in total production, but producers of all other races generated about $177,000.

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