Seth Bodine / Harvest Public Media
Originally published on June 11, 2021 3:11 pm
Updated 3:08 p.m., June 11: A federal judge paused the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s debt relief program for farmers of color. The payments are part of the $5 billion set aside in the most recent stimulus bill to support farmers of color.
A conservative law firm filed the suit, claiming the program violated the constitutional rights of white farmers. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach in Milwaukee issued a temporary restraining order Thursday.
The USDA program pays 120% of debts administered by the Farm Service Agency or from a Commodity Credit Corporation Farm Storage Facility Loan. Payments were scheduled to be sent starting in June.
Updated 3:08 p.m., June 11: A federal judge paused the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s debt relief program for farmers of color. The payments are part.
USDA Pauses Debt Relief Payments For Farmers Of Color Following Judge Ruling tspr.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tspr.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Dray Williams, a rancher in Bristow, Oklahoma, says he tried several times to get loans from the FSA before finally wrangling a small loan. Williams says he hopes the additional $1 billion in the stimulus package makes getting loans easier.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency will begin debt relief payments to Black and other minority farmers this month, despite some resistance from banks.
Zach Ducheneaux, the administrator of the Farm Service Agency, expects about 16,000 payments will be made between two phases, starting in June. Farmers will receive a letter in the mail with loans eligible to be paid off, and they can accept it or verify the numbers with their local FSA office, Ducheneaux says.
Unemployment Benefits Aren’t Creating a Labor Shortage, They’re Building Worker Power
A McDonald s restaurant on Penn Ave in Sinking Spring, PA. (Photo by Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)
As businesses have begun opening back up, we have been subjected to increasing hand-wringing from business owners, particularly restaurants and similar service-based workplaces, who insist they are facing a labor shortage. The argument, according to some, is that unemployment benefits are too generous and are discouraging work, leaving employers unable to hire workers. Thankfully, these stories are being rebutted by workers, journalists, and analysts armed with a combination of personal experience and hard data. As expert after expert picks apart the flaws in employers’ arguments, though, it has become clear that what employers are worried about isn’t a labor shortage at all: It’s a power shift.