Approximately 16,000 socially disadvantaged farmers, otherwise known as minority farmers, were set to begin receiving about $4 billion in federal debt payment relief as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The funds were to help pay off approximately 20,000 farm loans that had been granted by the U.S. Agriculture Department or private firms to Black, Indigenous, Latino, and other minority farmers. However, those payments were placed on hold just days before they were set to begin going out.
In a lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty representing 12 white farmers from nine states who are ineligible for the program, U.S. District Court Judge William C. Griesbach, ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cease and desist forgiving loans based solely on the premise of race last on June 10.
A court order this month has halted a loan forgiveness program for minority farmers.
CREDIT CREATIVE COMMONS