30 Iowa farmers among 43,000 nationwide getting USDA payouts for discriminatory practices

Thirty Iowans are among the more than 43,000 current, past and would-be farmers, ranchers and forest owners nationwide that the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday will get a total of $2 billion in financial assistance to compensate for past discrimination in the agency’s farm lending programs.

The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $2.2 billion for the discrimination payments. For decades, Black farmers and other under-represented groups in farming have alleged bias in the agency’s farm loan programs.

“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 said in a statement.

The recipients of the payments include more than 23,000 people who have or previously had a farming operation, and another 20,000 who reported they were unable to have a farming operation because of discrimination in USDA’s loan process.

In Iowa, the breakdown is 21 current producers and nine who planned to be.

Farm loans from the USDA often are considered a last resort for farmers who have difficulty accessing credit from traditional banks.

Examples of types of discrimination farmers have faced could include elevated interest rates, having a loan approved too late in the farming season or a lack of assistance from loan officers, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters on a conference call.

“USDA was operating on a deficit of trust with many of our customers and potential customers,” said the former Iowa governor. “They didn’t feel our programs were designed for them, and in many cases, they were right.”

Southern states get largest payments

The USDA began accepting applications for the money last July. Farmers needed to detail their experiences of discrimination by USDA personnel and the consequences they experienced as a result.

The USDA did not provide names or demographic information for farmers who received payments. The Iowa claimants will get a total of $3.7 million, though it wasn’t clear how the money would be divided among them.

Mississippi and Alabama recipients received the largest number of payments, according to the agency. In the Midwest, Illinois, Michigan and South Dakota were the leading states.

Des Moines Register staff writer Donnelle Eller and Reuters contributed to this article.