By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH

Indiana Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Almost 16,000 of the nation’s nearly 46,000 black farmers sold less than $1,000 in agricultural products in 2017, according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture. More than half of African-American producers farmed fewer than 50 acres.

The numbers are troubling for John Wesley Boyd Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farmers Assoc. “We’re not making a living from farming,” explained the fourth-generation farmer from Baskerville, Va.

“The level of incomes we’re producing – we’re just not in the game for agriculture. We’re not in production agriculture, and we’re not competing.”

Boyd hopes to pass his farm on to his children but said numbers such as these may impede his goal. “There’s a lack of young people involved in farming. It’s rare they’re heard saying they want to take over the family farm.

“We’re not deeding or leaving property to the next generation. We need to be buying more land, even five to 10 acres at a time, and leaving it to our children,” he said.

Most black farmers are multi-generational producers, Boyd noted, adding some are farming land passed along after the Civil War.

African-Americans aren’t the only minority producers at the lower end of the spectrum for value of agricultural production and amount of land farmed. The Census lists several categories of minorities, including American Indian or Alaska native, Asian, black or African-American, and Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. It also has a category for those of more than one race.

For American Indians, 31,000 of 58,000 producers farmed 49 or fewer acres; 28,000 sold less than $1,000 in agricultural products. About 14,000 of the nation’s 22,000 Asian famers had up to 49 acres and 4,000 sold less than $1,000.

As for the country’s 112,000 Latino farmers, 68,000 had 49 or fewer acres and 39,000 sold less than $1,000.

Kirstin Bailey, project associate with the Center for Rural Affairs, said smaller farms aren’t always a negative. “For those with just a few acres, it’s a part-time gig,” she noted. “They’re diversifying their incomes. But they should ease into it.

“Grow your farm slowly. Don’t quit your full-time job and just farm. For example, with Latino farmers, many are working in the meat production industry. That doesn’t lend itself to having a lot of free time.”

Bailey works with Latinos to encourage an interest in farming. “In our experience in promoting farming to Latinos, they either farmed with their parents in Mexico or wherever they’re from, and they want to recapture that, or it was always a part of their lifestyle and they want to get into it more,” she explained. “It’s a multi-generational thing spanning across countries.”

The center offers “explore farming” classes to help Latinos envision what their operations might look like. The center also promotes farming to minority groups such as women and tribal members, and to beginning farmers.

“One of the center’s goals is to encourage the creation of a vibrant rural community,” Bailey pointed out. “Farmers are a vital component of that. We want to help to bring new people into it.”

The costs associated with farming may dissuade someone who might have an interest, Boyd said. “Once they start to look into it, the cost of equipment, access to land, that causes any interest to quickly deteriorate,” he explained.

“The USDA has to take more of an aggressive approach. They should be bending over backward to help. They should make it so young people want to get into it.”

The USDA has several loan programs designed to help all producers, including underserved and minority farmers, said J. Latrice Hill, national director of outreach for the Farm Service Agency (FSA).

“For years, FSA was considered the lender of last resort,” she said. “We want to be looked at as the lender for first opportunity.”

In 2014, FSA implemented the microloan program. It allows farmers and ranchers to apply for up to $50,000 while using a simplified application. The agency has noticed an increase in participation from minority farmers, Hill said.

“(The FSA) also has a beginning farmer loan program,” she noted. “A lot of minorities getting into farming are seeking loans to get started. There is also targeted funding specifically for minorities under the socially disadvantaged applicant loan program.”

FSA works with partner organizations and nonprofits to help them provide outreach and technical support to minority producers. “Over the years, there’s been a distrust (of USDA), and one way to help with that is to work with organizations in the community to relay our message,” Hill explained. “They conduct outreach on our behalf.”

The 2018 farm bill includes a provision to help farmers having difficulty proving they own their land. USDA is looking at what documentation producers could provide to show they have the authority to farm the land and be eligible for agency programs, she said.

For more information on FSA programs for minority farmers, visit www.fsa.usda.gov and click on the “programs and services” tab at the top of the page.