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Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07, announced that $383,704,620 in payments will be issued by the Biden-Harris Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to 10,907 eligible Alabama farmers, ranchers, and landowners under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. The program aims to provide financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination prior to January 2021.
“As the only member of the Alabama Delegation to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, I am thrilled that over $383 million in funding will address historic injustice faced by so many Alabama farmers,” said Rep. Sewell. “I would like to thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for their unwavering support of Alabama’s rural communities! I would also like to thank my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus for working so closely with me to ensure that this historic funding was included in the Inflation Reduction Act!”
“For generations, many Alabama farmers experienced discrimination in farm loan programs,” continued Sewell. “As a daughter of the Black Belt, I grew up knowing so many family members, friends, and neighbors who were denied loans because of their skin color. At this historic moment, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking meaningful action to address this injustice!”
“The completion of the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program is an important moment in USDA’s history, and in our journey to becoming a department that truly serves everyone who wants to participate in agriculture. While this financial assistance is not compensation for anyone’s losses or pain endured, it is an acknowledgement. My hope is that this will ensure that many farmers can stay on their farms, contribute to our nation’s food supply, and continue doing what they love,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “I am also immensely grateful to USDA’s many partners in this effort, including the organizations who helped spread the word and offer technical assistance to applicants. This process, and the information contained in the applications, will help USDA as we fine tune our efforts to make USDA programs accessible, inclusive and equitable to all.”
The Discrimination Financial Assistance Program was established by Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act. Through the Act, Congress allocated $2.2 billion for the program and directed USDA to provide financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021. Upon signing of the law by President Biden, USDA worked immediately and diligently to design the program in accordance with the statute, sought significant stakeholder input, and opened the application process in July 2023.
One year later, over 43,000 individuals, including individuals in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa, will receive financial assistance through the program. The assistance will help many of them continue farming or enhance their operations, will allow some to begin farming, or in other cases will help to ease lost income.
The recipients include over 23,000 individuals who have or had a farming or ranching operation, who are receiving between $10,000 and $500,000 of assistance, with an average of nearly $82,000. Recipients also include over 20,000 individuals who planned to have a farming or ranching operation, but reported they were unable to do so because they couldn’t get a USDA loan. These individuals are receiving between $3,500 and $6,000 of assistance, with an average of $5000.
More information about the awards, including geographic distribution, can be found on the program website, 22007apply.gov.
