By Mona Austin
(TSN): In an update on the accomplishments of the USDA during a cabinet meeting with Pres. Donald Trump this week, Sec. Brooke Rollins listed the cancellatiom of funding to farmers based on race.and gender. Veterans and new farmers were prioritized instead. This moment captures the politization of work and life for Americans who chose to be self-reliant.
Black Farmers fought for decadea to seek federal backing to stay afloat. Under Pres. Joe Biden many of them got the funding they needed. Rollins has proudly stripped it away.
These farmers never asked for a handout but a hand up. Banks were not extending loans to them so they relied on the government for assistance.
In July 2025, USDA issued a rule eliminating race and gender considerations in loans and benefits for "socially disadvantaged farmers" (including Black, Hispanic, Native American, and women farmers). Rollins stated this "sufficiently addressed" past discrimination and was necessary to "eliminate discrimination in any form." This reversed Biden-era policies and has been called a "disgraceful step backward" by advocates, potentially dismantling decades of progress.
At the beginning of 2025 Rollins rescinded DEI practices in the Department of Agriculture which ended programs based on race or sex, reswrving access to government subsidies based on other factors of eligibility.
DEI programs were fully terminated, including a USDA report on historic discrimination and grants to organizations supporting Black or LGBTQ farmers. This led to canceled contracts and withheld university funding in states with transgender-supportive policies.
Broader Economic Pressures:
Trump's tariffs on imports (e.g., from China and Canada) have raised costs for fertilizers and soybeans, hurting commodity-dependent Black farmers without promised bailouts materializing yet.
Rollins has threatened SNAP (food assistance) cuts to Democratic states over data-sharing disputes, indirectly affecting rural Black communities reliant on these programs.
Current Status as of December 2025
Black farmers who lost or face delayed federal funding under Rollins and the Trump administration are in a precarious position, veiled by uncertainty. Here's a summary.of actiins thatbhave transpired this year:
DFAP Payments Largely Paid
(Pre-2025)$2 billion distributed to 43,000+ recipients by early 2025; not directly frozen but heirs of deceased farmers were excluded, leading to lawsuits (e.g., Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association v. USDA, pending in 6th Circuit Court). Some conservation grants were unfrozen, but Black farmers report "climate of uncertainty" with delays up to 9 months.
Rollins prioritizes "farmers first" but excludes equity-focused aid.Loan/Grant AccessRestrictedNo race/gender preferences; veteran and beginning farmers still prioritized, but overall access down, exacerbating land loss risks.
A class-action suits (e.g., by National Black Farmers Association) seek to restore $4B debt relief from American Rescue Plan (repealed in 2021). Federal Circuit heard arguments in February 2025.
Minority farmers are left "plowing through" the poliical hubris with legal challenges. Groups like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and John Boyd Jr. (National Black Farmers Association) call it "decades backwards."
Advocates like Boyd describe the situation as "resegregation," with Black farmers investing in operations based on prior promises now facing foreclosures.
While some general farm supports (e.g., bailouts) are pledged, equity-specific funding remains gutted.
BUT, Black farmers face an altogether different problem they an control to an extent. Many of them have not signed up with the FAA to take advantage of federal funds that are available to assist. John Boyd has spoke out about this to get more farmers engaged in the process.