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US sues NY state officials over immigration enforcement; NM's national monuments face new development threats from Trump; NC community colleges get 'boost' to bring more students to high-demand jobs; Trump's resignation plan for federal workers can move forward; Advocates push for program to decrease wildlife collisions in VA.

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Deregulation raises environmental and public health concerns, national monuments face potential risks, political neutrality in education sparks protests, and Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation fuels controversy.

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Rural America struggles with opioids and homelessness in unexpected ways, Colorado's Lariat Ditch could help spur local recreation, and book deliveries revive rural communities hit by Hurricane Helene.

Mississippi minority farmers to receive USDA discrimination payments

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Tuesday, August 20, 2024   

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing direct payments to Mississippi minority farmers and ranchers who faced past discrimination and there are calls for greater transparency in the selection process.

More than $2 billion are being distributed to support food producers, with more than 13,000 awards going to Mississippi. The USDA has a history of discriminatory practices, including denying loans to minority farmers at higher rates than their white counterparts.

Sharon Mallory, executive director of the 2020 Farmers Cooperative, said the payments are great but the program could be improved.

"I'm not personally dazzled about numbers or dollar amounts," Mallory asserted. "Unless I can connect that to the people that are being most impacted, which is our Black and small-scale farmers."

She wants the USDA to disclose its procedure for choosing applicants for payments, plus more information about who reviewed the grants and the racial demographics and farm sizes of the payouts. The range of awards is between a few thousand and $500,000, with the average about $82,000.

Adding to decades of discrimination, the rapid consolidation of big agriculture has forced many smaller minority farmers out of business. Mallory argued even after these payments are made, the USDA needs to make substantial improvements, in part because of its history.

"You can be like an ostrich and put your head in the hole, you can put your blindfolds on, you can turn your head the other way," Mallory noted. "But the fact of the matter is, it did happen. It's documented. It's not a secret, so let's address it."

A study found Black American farmers lost more than $300 billion worth of land in the 20th century in part due to what it called the USDA's discriminatory practices. The payments were authorized through the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act and the majority of the recipients are from the deep South.


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