Political Quotes

“I rise today in support of provisions in this bill that support socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. One-fifth of all rural Americans--10.5 million people--are people of color. For Black, Native American, Hispanic and Latinx, and Asian American farm families, their experience in the agricultural economy is markedly different than their White counterparts. This has been particularly true when it comes to the interactions between farmers of color and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This history of longstanding systemic discrimination against farmers of color is well documented. Congress has long recognized this discrimination against farmers of color by USDA and, through various mechanisms, has sought to remedy and alleviate systemic barriers that prevented socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers from fully participating in the American farm economy. However, those efforts have fallen short, and Congress is now providing additional assistance. Various factors have contributed to the historic loss of farmland owned and operated by farmers of color. According to the Economic Research Service, a century ago, Black farmers owned more than 15 million acres of agricultural land and operated almost 1 million farms. A century later, data from the 2017 Census of Agriculture indicated that Black farmers own fewer than 2.9 million acres, less than a fifth of what they owned in 1920.…”