Shut Out
How US Farm Programs Fail Minority Farmers
Published: July 2007
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Publication Summary
The current version of the US Farm Bill represents a broken promise to America’s rural communities—particularly African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian farmers and ranchers. Farm policies have created a faulty system that favors big farms over small farms, rewards overproduction of commodity crops instead of conservation and diversified operations, and disproportionately benefits white farmers. US minority farmers receive 1 percent of all commodity payments. The remaining 99 percent is distributed to their white counterparts. Reauthorization of the Farm Bill, which is currently being debated in Congress, provides a rare chance to redress these inequities.