USDA wraps equity commission, vows to continue work 

Seven months after it delivered 60-plus recommendations to the Department of Agriculture earlier this year, the agency’s Equity Commission held a final convening with the department on Wednesday. 

The commission launched in 2022 to help the department try to address historical discrimination in American agriculture by rooting out internal practices that perpetuate disparities.

U.S. agricultural policies excluded farmworkers from benefits, displaced Black farmers and more. Media analyses have also found that, even in recent years, farmers of color have been rejected by the agency for loans more than white farmers.

Now, “there’s a lot of reason to have faith,” Arturo Rodríguez, commission co-chair, told the audience at USDA’s headquarters last week. He’s president emeritus of the United Farm Workers, where he worked for decades, including as its president.

USDA has “made huge strides at trying to begin to implement many of the different issues that we’ve discussed… and also [trying] to position the department in such a way that it’s integrated into the work that they do,” he told Nextgov/FCW. 

This year, the department and commission have fielded eight equity convenings nationwide, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small said at the event. 

“We've transformed the loan process to make it easier for farmers and ranchers,” she said. “Whether that's access to online applications, or being able to finally pay your loan payments online, or whether it's a rule that goes into effect today to help lower the cost — the collateral that's required to get into a loan — make payments more flexible and also provide for up to one deferred payment a year.”

The department also launched new summer grocery benefits for certain children and families, said Torres Small, and distributed payments to over 43,000 people who the department discriminated against in its farm lending programs before 2021. 

The latter came after courts blocked a previous, race-targeted debt relief program created by a COVID-relief package. White farmers sued, claiming that it was racially discriminatory, per CNN. Lawmakers created the race-neutral program under the Inflation Reduction Act.

That’s not the only corporate or government program that’s been subject to pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Last year, the Supreme Court banned race-based affirmative action in higher education.

Torres Small told Nextgov/FCW “that’s a key reason why it’s important to show that the proof is in the pudding” when asked about these trends. 

“When it comes to the work that we’ve been able to achieve,” she said, “it truly is benefiting everyone.”

Agriculture isn’t the only government agency pursuing this type of work. The Biden administration has touted its executive orders focused on equity and subsequent equity-focused plans across federal agencies.

“It would be naive to suggest that there are not those who would like to dismantle any effort for inclusion,” Ertharin Cousin — chair and CEO of Food Systems for the Future and commission co-chair — told Nextgov/FCW.

The work, she said, “is about ensuring that every stakeholder that can benefit from the support and services of this department receives equal access to that opportunity.”

Torres Small said the department is prioritizing changes with the greatest impact. Whether or not Congressional action is required is also a factor in how the department is implementing recommendations, she said.

Internally, removing barriers that prevent people from accessing programs requires work.

“So we know maybe this application is too long, for example, but then we've got to go through and identify every place where we think maybe this information isn’t really necessary that we're asking for,” explained Torres Small. “Why are we asking it in the first place? Is it that the statute requires us to ask it? Okay, we've got to keep it in. Is it that there was an audit a few years back that said we needed to have this information for some reason? Or was it just something that someone thought was a good idea?”

Prioritizing technical assistance via partners on the ground who can help applicants get Agriculture's programs is also a key priority moving forward, she said. 

“This work is not over. This work cannot be over,” Dewayne Goldmon, senior advisor for racial equity at the department, said Wednesday. “This work has to continue.”