Black farmers make up less than 1% of total U.S. farmers today, significantly less than there were more than a century ago. For decades, Black farmers have been disproportionately impacted by land loss, loan rejections, and fewer resources than their white counterparts, Capital B has previously reported. Since Donald Trump took office in 2025, his […]
USDA
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
As USDA Cuts $300 Million, Black Farmers Say They Can’t Rely on the Government
Qiddist Ashé had a gut feeling that a federal program meant to help underserved farmers get access to land wouldn’t last. In 2023, the Black Oregon Land Trust, a community land trust she co-founded, was awarded $2.5 million from the United States Department of Agriculture. It planned to use $800,000 to purchase land, distribute $300,000 […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Money, Rural Issues
The Little-Known Committee That Has Cost Black Farmers for Generations
This is the first story in Capital B’s “Gatekeepers of the Land,” a multipart series that explores a small but powerful county committee system and its role in diminishing Black political power and resources for Black farmers. This project is a result of the Investigative Reporting and Editors Chauncey Bailey Journalist of Color Fellowship. It is […]
Posted inFood Access, Politics & Policy
For 30 Years, a Report Tracked Hunger in America. Now It’s Been Canceled
After three decades of tracking food insecurity, understanding the reality of Americans without access to reliable food may become more difficult due to the discontinuation of a federal survey. The Household Food Security Report is an annual, national survey that monitors the severity of food insecurity in U.S. households. The United States Department of Agriculture […]
Posted inAgriculture, Black Farmers, Economic Development, Food Access
USDA Cuts Food Business Centers Supporting Black Farmers
Over the past seven months, Kenneth Sparks lost at least five federal grants as a result of cancellations and funding freezes. The grants would have supported his four-year-old farm, where he grows vegetables, and sells seeds and eggs. Now, the Southern California farmer is about to lose out again. For the past two years, he […]
Posted inAgriculture, Black Farmers, Rural Issues
USDA Ends Key Support for Black Farmers Amid Trump Anti-DEI Orders
Capital B is a nonprofit news organization dedicated to delivering Black-focused, independent, fact-based journalism that informs, inspires, and empowers our community. We work hard to bring you the stories that often go untold—stories that matter. We believe in keeping our journalism accessible and free for everyone, and as a nonprofit, your tax-deductible contribution makes all […]
Posted inAgriculture, Black Farmers, Rural Issues
USDA Promised Loan Relief, Then Repealed It. Black Farmers Are Fighting Back.
Lester Bonner purchased a tractor, hay baler, and two hay combines for his 113-acre wheat farm when he learned he’d have $50,000 of his loans wiped clean as a result of a debt relief program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Many more farmers invested in their farms in anticipation of the forgiveness of loans […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, HBCUs, Rural Issues
Black Farmers Mobilize to Protect Vital HBCU Scholarship
In the two weeks since the White House reversed course on the 1890 National Scholars Program and lifted its suspension, Kendall Strickland still feels a sense of unease about the program’s future. Created in 1992, the program covers full tuition and room and board for underserved or rural students interested in studying food, agriculture, natural […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Can the Farm Bill Bridge the Gap for Black Farmers?
Time is of the essence for farmers like Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin. Bellfield El-Amin and others are looking to Congress for emergency aid in this year’s farm bill. With intense weather conditions, funding struggles, and decline in revenue, Black farmers can’t afford a delay. After months of bickering, Republicans and Democrats reached a deal on a […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Politics & Policy
Decades of USDA Racism Leave Black Farmers Fighting for Equality
Lloyd Wright has worked with 10 presidents since the early 1960s and seen how both Republicans and Democrats have failed to address Black farmers’ civil rights complaints and correct institutional racism within the United States Department of Agriculture. “Many Black farmers refer to USDA as being the last plantation, and the reason for that is, […]