Losing ground

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel thanks for the most informative read and share:
In the early 1900s, African American families owned one-seventh of the nation’s farmland, 15 million acres. A hundred years later, black farmers own only a quarter of the land they once held and now make up less than 1 percent of American farm families.

Thank you for the great share, were I live, there's maybe about 20 farmers that are African- American, of that only about 3 or 4 of them use us for tractors and equipment sales. John Deere and other companies handle the rest. When I was a kid living just north of where I live now there was double that amount. It's also declined in that area.

I can attest to the difficulties dealing with the USDA! It has taken over 10 years to get a break in the "good ol'boy" system they still use. If you are a small farm, you are always put on the back burner in regards to programs and loans. Any program that has a monetary value or payout will be handed to the larger farms long before a small farm is ever considered. And heaven forbid, your name is not Blah Blah, or So and So, you will be pissing up a rope long before you get any assistance from the local USDA. I would guarantee there is more that went on behind the scenes of this story than what was printed!