Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

Regaining Black farmers’ trust is “challenging," says advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture

After the loan repayment assistance program was scrapped, the USDA is having trouble regaining the trust of Black farmers.
"I've heard it said that when other farmers get a cold, Black farmers get pneumonia," said Dewayne Goldmon, senior advisor for racial equity to the Secretary of Agriculture.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Farm groups push for allowing growers to plant on protected land

Mar 30, 2022
They see using land in the Conservation Reserve Program as a way to help ease crop crunches created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
With the global supply of soybeans, corn and wheat disrupted by the war in Ukraine, U.S. farm lobbying groups think growers can increase output by using some of the 4 million acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Can the government offset the costs of its trade fight?

Jul 25, 2018
The Department of Agriculture announced a $12 billion aid package on Tuesday for farmers impacted by U.S. trade disputes. The money would go to pork, soybean and dairy farmers among others who have been slapped with retaliatory tariffs in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods. But how much can the government do […]
Hank Keizer selects cattle to bring into the milk barn on his farm June 29, 2005 near Delavan, Wisconsin. The $12 billion aid package would go to dairy, soybean and pork farmers.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

The government is literally buying tons of cranberries

Nov 26, 2014
34,000 tons, to be exact. Happy Thanksgiving.