Through the American Rescue Plan, farmers who are black, Native American, Hispanic, Asian American or Pacific Islander are eligible for debt relief on direct and guaranteed FSA farm loans. On top of the loan payoff, USDA will pay an additional 20 percent to eligible farmers. “It’s very targeted and very specific addressing the disparity between white farmers who received a tremendous amount of money during the COVID relief situation and socially disadvantaged producers who received, relatively speaking, very, very little,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. In addition to $4 billion in debt relief, another $1 billion is available to minority farmers for technical assistance and expanded access to land.
