Farm Aid Inc.

08/21/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/21/2024 13:06

Farm Aid applauds rollout of USDA’s Discrimination Financial Assistance Program

Blog| August 21, 2024

Farm Aid applauds rollout of USDA's Discrimination Financial Assistance Program

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On July 31, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that payments had been distributed under the Inflation Reduction Act's Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP) to applicants who had experienced discrimination in farm lending programs prior to January 2021.

"Farmers and ranchers work around the clock to put food on our tables and steward our Nation's land. But for too long, many farmers and ranchers experienced discrimination in farm loan programs and have not had the same access to federal resources and support." - President Joe Biden, on the program

In total, 43,000 farmers will receive financial assistance through DFAP. This assistance is expected to help these farmers begin farming, help with lost income, continue farming or enhance existing operations. Over 23,000 individuals will receive between $10,000 and $500,000 of assistance, with an average award of roughly $82,000. 20,000 individuals will receive payments because they were denied a USDA loan when attempting to begin a farming or ranching operation; these individuals will receive an average award of $5,000.

The program is intended to rebuild trust and address systemic issues of equity in USDA programs and is considered a financial assistance program, not a compensation program. USDA program administrators conducted extensive outreach to raise awareness of the program and ensure that eligible applicants had access to technical assistance. Applications were reviewed by three independent evaluators and agricultural experts.

The program is an effort to address the historic issues of discrimination in USDA loan programs and are the first step of USDA's plan to increase the accessibility, inclusivity, and equity of the Farm Service Agency's loan process.

Read more about the awards here and the program's announcement by USDA here.

Further Listening

To hear more about loan discrimination and how it has affected farmers, listen to the "Nobody's Just Accidentally Losing Land" episode of our Against the Grain podcast.