Greene County Democrat

Category: Agriculture

  • $2.2 Billion USDA Discrimination Financial Assistance Program now open for applications

    Joseph and Helen Fields, organic vegetable farmers in South Carolina

    On Friday, July 7, 2023, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the application process for Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides $2.2 billion in financial assistance for farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners, who have experienced discrimination in USDA’s farm lending programs prior to January 1, 2021. IRA Section 22007 is not a lawsuit. There is no fee to apply or to receive assistance in applying.

    According to USDA, “Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination by USDA in its farm loan programs prior to January 1, 2021, and/or are currently debtors with assigned or assumed USDA farm loan debt, that were the subject of USDA discrimination that occurred prior to January 1, 2021, are eligible for this program. To apply, borrowers have the option to apply via the e-filing portal at 22007apply.gov or submit paper-based forms via mail or in-person delivery to the program’s local offices. The application process will be open from July 7, 2023, to October 31, 2023.”


    Eight trusted community-based organizations are serving as cooperators with USDA and third-party administrators to implement this long-awaited financial assistance program and to assist farmers and ranchers who have faced discrimination in prior farm loan processes. Those cooperators are:

    The Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund (FSC/LAF); including its member state associations, like the Alabama State Association of Cooperatives
    Rural Coalition (RC)
    Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC)
    North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project (LLPP)
    Farmers Legal Action Group (FLAG)
    National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers)
    Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC)
    National AgrAbility Project (NAP)

    The cooperators will be working together to reach and help farmers and ranchers through direct technical assistance and training sessions. All technical assistance will be free, and there is no charge to file the application.

    The payments for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program have not been determined yet. Secretary Vilsack said the payment “cannot fully compensate farmers for past harms but are meant as financial assistance to farmers to help in land retention and to continue farming operations.” There is no minimum payment of $50,000, as there was in prior lawsuits and administrative settlements. The payments will be based on the number of approved applications received and the severity of discrimination experienced and documented by the farmers. A maximum payment of $500,000 was fixed in the legislation that passed Congress.

    Eligibility and Documentation are key to the 22007 Application Process

    “We want farmers to understand the issues of eligibility,” said John Zippert, retired Director of Programs at the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, and current Rural Coalition Board Chair. “If you feel you have been discriminated against while seeking a USDA farm loan, or that you were not treated well in the servicing of your loan, you may be eligible. You must show with evidence: copies of letters from USDA loan agencies, USDA receipts for service, land deeds or leases, farm business statements, notarized declarations by neighbors, not family members, that you tried to apply or applied for a USDA Farm Service Agency loan.” The team of cooperating groups stand ready to help you review your eligibility for this process and prepare and present the evidence you will need to make the strongest possible claim.

    “This is an acknowledgement by USDA of the injustice that Black, Indigenous, and other farmers of color have long suffered,” noted Savi Horne, Director of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project. “This process is the best we have right now, and we must make it work for the farmers who have suffered at the hands of the USDA, those whose operations have been hobbled because of a long history of racism and racial exclusion. Our goal is to give them a fighting chance to be the viable producers they are capable of becoming, if given a level playing field.”

    “Farmers with disabilities are routinely assumed unable to farm, leading to discrimination at all levels of the farming industry. Loan processes are no exception,” said Bill Field of AgrAbility. “Our mission over the years has been to increase access for disabled farmers to all programs available to farmers. We know that disabled farmers and ranchers have been discriminated against, and we are committed to supporting them in making the best possible case for this financial assistance.”

    “For the past 15 years the Farmer Veteran Coalition has served our national membership of 40,000 members in their transition from military service to agricultural production. Our farmers are underserved beginning producers who may be part of socially disadvantaged communities. We are honored to be asked to partner with the USDA in their effort to ensure America’s Veterans impacted by discrimination are aware of this process and will have the opportunity to submit their application for consideration,” says Executive Director of FVC Jeanette Lombardo.
    “While racial discrimination against Black farmers, indigenous farmers and other farmers of color are the primary issues of focus. Persons who were discriminated against because of sex, gender, religion, national origin, disability, farm size and other factors are eligible to make their case on the forty (40) page detailed application, “said Zippert.
    The Rural Coalition also urges eligible farmers and ranchers not to fall victim to some lawyers and other groups spreading misleading information about this process, pressuring people to sign retainer agreements that legally bind them to share a portion of any award. Filling out the 22007 application is free, and there is no charge for assistance by the Cooperators listed here. For more information, please read the USDA fact sheet about the program timeline and ways to protect against possible scams., on the Section 22007 website.

    Assistance with Applying
    It is important that the financial assistance application submitted by farmers is properly filled out. The cooperators identified here have been designated and trained to provide farmers with technical assistance in the application process. Neither designated cooperators nor the USDA will make the decision regarding who is awarded financial assistance. The financial assistance will be decided and awarded exclusively by the designated administrators.
    Borrowers have the option to apply via the e-filing portal at 22007apply.gov or submit paper-based forms via mail or in-person delivery to the program’s local offices between July 7 to October 31, 2023. Applications will be reviewed in November and December, with payments reaching recipients soon thereafter. The application process is not on a first come, first served, basis. All applications received or postmarked before the October 31 deadline will be considered.
    Vendors, selected by USDA in a procurement process handled by career staff, are operating four regional hubs and also providing technical assistance and working closely with these and other community-based organizations to conduct outreach using digital and grassroots strategies, to ensure potential applicants are informed about the program and have the opportunity to apply. 
    These hubs are operating a network of brick-and-mortar program offices and will conduct extensive outreach about the program. Windsor Group serves farmers in the eastern regions of the U.S. and Analytic Acquisitions serves the western regions. A national administrator, Midtown Group, is responsible for program oversight and integrity, and will lead a national call-center (1-800-721-0970), operate the application website – 22007apply.gov, which is now open – and review and process applications and payments. All vendors have experience in professional services, supporting government contracts, and complex program operations.   

    If you believe you may be eligible for IRA Section 22007, please reach out to any of the contacts at the bottom of this press release, for more information and assistance.

    Federation of Southern Cooperatives / Land Assistance Fund: Tandelyn Daniel, tandelyndirectorcommembership@gmail.com or Dañia Davy daniadavy@federation.coop
    Rural Coalition: Rel Brender, rel@ruralco.org or Lorette Picciano, lpicciano@ruralco.org
    Intertribal Agriculture Council: Abi Fain, abi@indianag.org
    Farmers Legal Action Group: Stephen Carpenter, scarpenter@flag.org or Scott Carlson, scarlson@flaginc.org
    North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project: Savi Horne, savi@landloss.org
    National Young Farmers Coalition: David Howard, david@youngfarmers.org or Ebonee Stevenson, ebonee@youngfarmers.org
    Farmer Veteran Coalition: Jeanette Lombardo, Jeanette@farmvetco.org
    National AgrAbility Project: Bill Field, field@purdue.edu

  • Newswire: U.S. Army Base in Louisiana renamedto honor Black World War I hero

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Sgt. William Henry Johnson


    In an effort to address historic racial injustice, a U.S. Army base in western Louisiana has been renamed to honor the heroic legacy of Sgt. William Henry Johnson, an African American soldier who displayed extraordinary bravery during World War I.
Previously, the base bore the name of Leonidas Polk, a Confederate commander.
This renaming is part of the broader efforts within the U.S. military to rectify past injustices, including the renaming of nine Army posts that had previously commemorated Confederate officers.
Brig. Gen. David Garner, the commanding general of the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, expressed profound honor in bearing the name of Sgt. William Henry Johnson.
Describing Johnson as the epitome of the warrior spirit, Garner made this announcement via a post on Twitter.
The National Museum of the United States Army recounts the awe-inspiring account of Johnson’s bravery on the front lines of France in 1918, where he valiantly repelled a German night raid near the Argonne Forest.
Wounded a staggering 21 times during the intense confrontation, Johnson fearlessly fought off the attacking forces. Selflessly, he also safeguarded a fellow wounded Black comrade from being taken captive.
Having exhausted his supply of grenades and ammunition, Johnson resorted to using his knife to eliminate two German soldiers. His relentless and determined assaults shattered the morale of the German troops, ultimately forcing them to retreat.
After surviving the war, President Theodore Roosevelt saluted Johnson’s bravery by naming him one of the five bravest Americans to serve in the conflict.
However, Johnson humbly dismissed the notion of heroism, stating, “There wasn’t anything so fine about it. Just fought for my life. A rabbit would have done that.”
Despite his outstanding actions, the Army failed to recognize his courage during his lifetime, denying him a disability allowance and neglecting to award him a Purple Heart.
Nearly a century later, in 2015, Johnson posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor. The prestigious accolade recognized his conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty.
Sadly, Johnson’s war injuries took a toll on his life after his return to Albany, New York. Struggling with his health, he succumbed to a heart condition at 32 in 1929.
Officials said the ongoing process of renaming Army posts represents a significant milestone, as it is the first time that bases will bear the names of Black soldiers and women.
Fort Bragg in North Carolina became known as Fort Liberty earlier this month, while officials changed Fort Benning in Georgia to Fort Moore.
The original naming process for military bases predominantly involved input from local communities, though it notably excluded the participation of Black residents.
Bases were typically named after soldiers born or raised nearby, regardless of their effectiveness or leadership skills.
Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, for instance, is widely regarded among historians as an inadequate leader who lacked the respect of his troops.
In honoring Johnson, the U.S. Army has taken a significant stride towards rectifying historical racial injustices and acknowledging the immense contributions of African American soldiers to the nation’s defense, military officials said.
They said the move reflects a broader commitment to inclusivity and represents a significant step forward in fostering a more equitable and representative military landscape.

  • Newswires:UN agencies warn of starvation risk in Sudan, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali, call for urgent aid.

    By: Associated Press

    Two U.N. agencies warned Monday of rising food emergencies including starvation in Sudan due to the outbreak of war and in Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali due to restricted movements of people and goods.
    The four countries join Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen at the highest alert levels, with communities that are already facing or projected to face starvation or otherwise risk a slide “towards catastrophic conditions.”
    The report by the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization calls for urgent attention to save both lives and jobs. Beyond the nine countries rating the highest level of concern, the agencies said 22 countries are identified as “hotspots” risking acute food insecurity.
    “Business-as-usual pathways are no longer an option in today’s risk landscape if we want to achieve global food security for all, ensuring that no one is left behind.” said Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General.
    He called for immediate action in the agricultural sector “to pull people back from the brink of hunger, help them rebuild their lives and provide long-term solution to address the root causes of food insecurities.”
    The report cited a possible spillover of the conflict in Sudan, deepening economic crises in poor nations and rising fears that the El Nino climatic phenomenon forecast for mid-2023 could provoke climate extremes in vulnerable countries.
    The report warns that 1 million people are expected to flee Sudan, while an additional 2.5 million inside Sudan face acute hunger in the coming months as supply routes through Port Sudan are disrupted by safety issues.
    WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain warned of “catastrophic” consequences unless there is clear action to “help people adapt to a changing climate and ultimately prevent famine.”
    “Not only are more people in more places around the world going hungry, but the severity of the hunger they face is worse than ever,” McCain said.

     

  • Federation of Southern Cooperatives holds Co-op Symposium at Rural Training Center

    Terence Courtney, the Federation’s Director of Cooperative Development makes presentation at Co-op Symposium.

    The Federation of Southern Cooperatives held its annual Co-op Symposium at the Rural Training and Research Center (RTRC), near Epes, Alabama last week on April 21. 2023.

    The symposium was attended by fifty co-op members in person and another fifty virtually online. This allowed for more discussions, questions to be answered and greater understanding of cooperative concepts by those in attendance.

    The main topic of the symposium was a new Uniform Limited Cooperative Associations Act which has been proposed by the state uniform laws commission and adopted by ten states mostly in the mid-West. This law would provide more ease and uniformity for cooperative development of all kinds: agricultural, consumers, workers, housing and others, across the nation.

    Terence Courtney, the Federation’s Director of Cooperative Development and Special Projects pointed out that the uniform law allows for voting membership by both participants and investors. Courtney said the provisions, “could dilute and endanger the democratic nature and quality of cooperatives, embodied in the cooperative principle of one member-one vote.”

    Currently investors can participate in cooperative development by purchasing non-voting preferred stock with a set rate of return or other types of investment shares. These investors are not entitled to a vote in the affairs and decision making of the cooperative.

    There was a lively discussion at the symposium of the potential impacts of this uniform legislation on future cooperative development supported and assisted by the Federation.

    Several Federation state associations were represented at the meeting and gave reports on the status of cooperative development in their states and areas.

    Previously this month, the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives and the Alabama State Association of Cooperatives had a training at the RTRC for members of the board of directors on their roles and responsibilities in implementing cooperative development and progress. This training for directors was well received and beneficial to the Federation’s membership.

     

     

  • Newswire: San Francisco board open to reparations with $5 Million payouts

    By The Associated Press

    SAN FRANCISCO — Payments of $5 million to every eligible Black adult, the elimination of personal debt and tax burdens, guaranteed annual incomes of at least $97,000 for 250 years and homes in San Francisco for just $1 a family.
    These were some of the more than 100 recommendations made by a city-appointed reparations committee tasked with the thorny question of how to atone for centuries of slavery and systemic racism. And the San Francisco Board of Supervisors hearing the report for the first time Tuesday voiced enthusiastic support for the ideas listed, with some saying money should not stop the city from doing the right thing.
    Several supervisors said they were surprised to hear pushback from politically liberal San Franciscans apparently unaware that the legacy of slavery and racist policies continues to keep Black Americans on the bottom rungs of health, education and economic prosperity, and overrepresented in prisons and homeless populations.

    “Those of my constituents who lost their minds about this proposal, it’s not something we’re doing or we would do for other people. It’s something we would do for our future, for everybody’s collective future,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, whose district includes the heavily LGBTQ Castro neighborhood.
    The draft reparations plan, released in December, is unmatched nationwide in its specificity and breadth. The committee hasn’t done an analysis of the cost of the proposals, but critics have slammed the plan as financially and politically impossible. An estimate from Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, which leans conservative, has said it would cost each non-Black family in the city at least $600,000.
    Tuesday’s unanimous expressions of support for reparations by the board do not mean all the recommendations will ultimately be adopted, as the body can vote to approve, reject or change any or all of them. A final committee report is due in June.
    Some supervisors have said previously that the city can’t afford any major reparations payments right now given its deep deficit amid a tech industry downturn.
    Tinisch Hollins, vice-chair of the African American Reparations Advisory Committee, alluded to those comments, and several people who lined up to speak reminded the board they would be watching closely what the supervisors do next.
    “I don’t need to impress upon you the fact that we are setting a national precedent here in San Francisco,” Hollins said. “What we are asking for and what we’re demanding for is a real commitment to what we need to move things forward.”
    The idea of paying compensation for slavery has gained traction across cities and universities. In 2020, California became the first state to form a reparations task force and is still struggling to put a price tag on what is owed.
    The idea has not been taken up at the federal level.
    In San Francisco, Black residents once made up more than 13% of the city’s population, but more than 50 years later, they account for less than 6% of the city’s residents — and 38% of its homeless population. The Fillmore District once thrived with Black-owned night clubs and shops until government redevelopment in the 1960s forced out residents.
    Fewer than 50,000 Black people still live in the city, and it’s not clear how many would be eligible. Possible criteria include having lived in the city during certain time periods and descending from someone “incarcerated for the failed War on Drugs.”
    Critics say the payouts make no sense in a state and city that never enslaved Black people. Opponents generally say taxpayers who were never slave owners should not have to pay money to people who were not enslaved.
    Advocates say that view ignores a wealth of data and historical evidence showing that long after U.S. slavery officially ended in 1865, government policies and practices worked to imprison Black people at higher rates, deny access to home and business loans and restrict where they could work and live.
    Justin Hansford, a professor at Howard University School of Law, says no municipal reparations plan will have enough money to right the wrongs of slavery, but he appreciates any attempts to “genuinely, legitimately, authentically” make things right. And that includes cash, he said.
    “If you’re going to try to say you’re sorry, you have to speak in the language that people understand, and money is that language,” he said.
    John Dennis, chair of the San Francisco Republican Party, does not support reparations although he says he’d support a serious conversation on the topic. He doesn’t consider the board’s discussion of $5 million payments to be one.
    “This conversation we’re having in San Francisco is completely unserious. They just threw a number up, there’s no analysis,” Dennis said. “It seems ridiculous, and it also seems that this is the one city where it could possibly pass.”
    The board created the 15-member reparations committee in late 2020, months after California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a statewide task force amid national turmoil after a white Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, a Black man.
    The committee continues to deliberate recommendations, including monetary compensation, and its report is due to the Legislature on July 1. At that point it will be up to lawmakers to draft and pass legislation.
    The state panel made the controversial decision in March to limit reparations to descendants of Black people who were in the country in the 19th century. Some reparations advocates said that approach does take into account the harms that Black immigrants suffer.
    Under San Francisco’s draft recommendation, a person would have to be at least 18 years old and have identified as “Black/African American” in public documents for at least 10 years. Eligible people must also meet two of eight other criteria, though the list may change.
    Those criteria include being born in or migrating to San Francisco between 1940 and 1996 and living in the city for least 13 years; being displaced from the city by urban renewal between 1954 and 1973, or the descendant of someone who was; attending the city’s public schools before they were fully desegregated; or being a descendant of an enslaved person.
    The Chicago suburb of Evanston became the first U.S. city to fund reparations. The city gave money to qualifying people for home repairs, down payments 3. and interest or late penalties due on property. In December, the Boston City Council approved of a reparations study task force.

  • 2022 Census of Agriculture deadline is February 6;
    Respond now and here’s why

    By Hubert Hamer, Administrator – USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

    The USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture is officially underway across the United States and Puerto Rico. It is important for every farmer, rancher, and producer to make sure they respond by the deadline on Feb. 6.
    Every five years, America’s producers have the opportunity to take part in the nation’s only, most comprehensive, and impartial data collection for agriculture. Since 1840, the ag census has played a significant role in showing the value of agriculture and informs decision-makers on how and where to allocate resources. The data collected impact everything from farm programs and funding, crop insurance rates, rural development, disaster assistance, the Farm Bill, and more.
    Producers, your voice needs to be represented in these important data. Who better to tell the story of American agriculture than the producers themselves? These statistics will directly impact our farming and ranching communities for years to come and without your input, your hard work to provide safe and abundant agricultural products to the world risks being underserved.
    For instance, understanding farm economics like value of production and income can help guide loan and grant assistance. Another example is that this year’s ag census includes updates to internet access questions. Decision-makers can use NASS data to determine service gaps such as the case for investment in broadband access and infrastructure. Also, because the ag census has been conducted for over 160 years, the data can help identify trends. The ability to see how U.S. agriculture has changed over time aids our nation as we plan for the future.
    If you are a crop, livestock or forestry grower with sales of $1,000 or more, you are eligible and welcomed to participate in the Census of Agriculture. If you did not receive a census form, contact: nass.usda.gov/AgCensus or call 800-727-9540.
    The questionnaire may look long, but the good news is that producers only fill out the information that pertains to their operation. We have also looked for opportunities to make responding more convenient than ever before, including launching our new online Respondent Portal. Answering the questionnaire online is fast and secure. Just go to agcounts.usda.gov and enter your unique survey code. But whether producers respond online, or by mail, it is important to be counted. Better data can lead to better decisions and better policies.
    We also want our producers to know that, by law, USDA keeps all personally identifiable information confidential and uses the data collected for statistical purposes only, publishing it in aggregate form to prevent farmers or farm operations from being disclosed. So, though producers are sharing information about their agricultural operation, they remain anonymous in the data.
    We recognize how incredibly busy our producers are, so I want to thank them in advance for taking the time to respond by Feb. 6, and for all they do in support of U.S. agriculture.
    USDA NASS will release the results from the ag census in 2024. For questions or to learn more about the Census of Agriculture, visit nass.usda.gov/AgCensus or call 800-727-9540.
    Hubert Hamer is the Administrator of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

     

  • Newswire : Dutch Court upholds $15 million payout to Nigerian communities damaged by spills

    Oil spill damage in Nigeria


     
    Jan. 1, 2023 (GIN) – A Dutch court has upheld a payout to residents of the Niger Delta of US$15.9 million for oil spills that contaminated land and waterways in three communities.
     
    In the case brought by Friends of the Earth, Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was found to be responsible for the spills that occurred between 2004 and 2007. The payout will benefit the communities of Oruma, Goi and Ikot Ada Udo that were impacted by the four spills.
     
    “The settlement is on a no admission of liability basis, and settles all claims and ends all pending litigation related to the spills,” Shell said.
     
    The case was brought in 2008 by four farmers seeking reparations for lost income from contaminated land and waterways in the region, the heart of Nigeria’s oil industry.
     
    After the appeals court’s final ruling last year, Shell said it continued to believe the spills were caused by sabotage. But the court sided with the farmers, saying Shell had not proven “beyond reasonable doubt” that sabotage had caused the spill, rather than poor maintenance.
     
    Shell is the largest oil operator in the Niger Delta, Africa’s largest oil-producing region. Its residents face high poverty rates and a largely degraded environment, owing to hundreds of spills every year.
     
    “We have groundwater polluted with benzene 900 times above World Health Organization level, we have farmlands with poor yields, rivers that are barely fishable, neonatal deaths numbering thousands yearly as a result of spills. We have reduced neuroplasticity of the brain as a result of oil pollution,” Niger Delta activist Saatah Nubari told CNN. 
     
    “The Niger Delta is a graveyard of the living,” said Nubari, “and we will never know how much harm has been done until we audit the entire environment”.
     
    In 2012, in a similar case, members of the Bodo community in Nigeria filed a lawsuit against Shell for two oil spills and losses suffered to their health, livelihoods, and land.
     
    They also requested clean-up of the oil pollution. In 2015, Shell accepted responsibility for the spill and agreed to pay US$83 million in an out of court settlement and to assist in clean up.
     
    An earlier offer by Shell of less than $5,000 to settle the case was rejected unanimously as “derisory” by the community.  Some 15,600 Bodo residents have benefited from the larger settlement, receiving over $2,500 each. 
     
    Meanwhile, Donald Pols from Friends of the Earth Netherlands commented on the compensation award. “It’s the most beautiful experience to see all the happy faces. Everybody is enormously happy.”
     
     

  • Federation holds Heirs Property Bootcamp

    Federation’s Land Retention Director, Attorney Dania Davy with Federation Executive Director Cornelius Blanding at Bootcamp

    The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund held its fourth annual Heirs Property Bootcamp in Atlanta from December 1-3, 2022.
    The program was open to Black farmers and landowners who have land in heirs property status and need assistance in clearing titles and making productive use of their land.

    Heirs property is land that was passed down in families where the owner did not leave a will and the families own the land in common, based on their generational status in the family. State laws determine who is an heir to an undivided interest in the property.

    In some cases, there are a few heirs but in other cases there could be as many as several hundred, scattered around the nation and the world. The ownership of land in this status makes it vulnerable to loss for non-payment of taxes, or sale by a partitioner from outside the family, or laying idle because none of the tenants can raise or invest money to make it productive.

    Research suggests that 40% or more of the three million acres of farmland still owned by African American people in the South is held as heirs property, which means over one million of the three million acres remaining is held under these unclear joint titles. These one million acres of generational wealth, conservatively valued in the billions of dollars, is in danger of being lost, unless families come together to protect it.

    The Federation’s Bootcamp brings 100 families with heir property problems together to learn about heir property and how to clear titles. Each participant is given a workbook and a schedule of activities like doing a family tree, contacting the heirs, bring heirs together to decide on a common strategy to retain and utilize the land.

    Attorney Dania Davy, who heads the Federation’s Land Retention Department led the bootcamp. “We had 70 families represented this year; we were not able to have a virtual component which reduced attendance. We also had land practioners and attorneys from several states in the Southeast to participate. We are hoping to get families into the process to clear the titles and free the land for a productive use, including establishing family trusts and LLC’s to hold the land into the future for accumulating generational wealth,” said Davy.

    Davy explained that the Federation has been funded by USDA for a multiyear, $5 million national cooperative agreement to provide technical assistance to heirs property owners. This agreement is liked to a USDA investment of $100 million in Heirs Property Relending Funds, which is available through intermediary lenders, most of them Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI’s). Shared Capital, a cooperative lender and CDFI out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the heirs property relending agent that is working with the Federation.

    There were workshops at the Bootcamp on mediation available for families to work out disputes related to the land, clearing title on heirs property; estate planning for heirs property; how to get a UDA farm number for heirs property; ways the Federation assists heirs property owners to manage and get the most income from their land, including how to use USDA programs; and the heirs property relending programs.

    There was also time on the program for families to meet with attorneys on their specific problems and also to get advice on wills and estate planning.

    At the conclusion of the program, Cornelius Blanding thanked the program sponsors including USDA, John Deere, Nationwide Insurance, American Farmland Trust, CoBank, Farm Credit Council, the Farm Policy Center at Alcorn University. Crew, USDA Forest Service, National Cooperative Bank, Vermont Law School-Center for Agriculture and Food Systems and others for their support.

    If you own heir property and need help and technical assistance, contact the Federation’s Land Retention Department at 404-765-0991 or through the website at: http://www.federation.coop.

  • Newswire: Overfishing and environmental changes could leave thousands jobless in Africa

    African fishers face environmental challenges

    Oct. 22, 2022 (GIN) – After decades of overfishing combined with environmental changes, Namibia’s sardine population has finally collapsed, writes Conservation Namibia, a publication of the Namibian Chamber of Environment. “Falling by 99.5% from an estimated 11 million tonnes in the 1960s to a tiny 50,000 tonnes in 2015, this resource is exhausted.”
     
    Despite calls for a moratorium on sardine fishing by scientists since 1995, this was only implemented in 2018 for a period of three years, according to the Chamber of the Environment. The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) is now contemplating reopening sardine fishing, but the stocks may not have recovered sufficiently.
     
    The fishing industry provides jobs for more than 10,000 workers at the country’s port towns of Walvis Bay and Lüderitz in the Kharas Region, according to figures by the Erongo Regional Council. The industry has, over the years, gone through bouts of stress caused by quota corruption, overfishing, and climate change factors making it unstable for its workers.
     
    Fishermen have blamed the government and fishing companies over the years for unfair treatment and mismanagement within the industry.
     
    In 2017, local newspapers reported that ex-fisheries minister, Bernard Esau, who is currently facing charges of fraud and corruption, allegedly downplayed the sardine and pilchard shortage despite advice by scientists at the time calling for a ban. 
     
    One-third of the planet’s assessed fishing stocks are already being overfished. According to the World Wildlife Organization, overfishing can cause also loopholes in entire ecosystems worldwide and creates an imbalance that can “erode the food web”, and can alter the size of fish that are remaining and affect how these fish reproduce including the speed at which they mature.
     
    The demand for fish will continue to increase globally leaving more businesses and jobs dependent on dwindling food fish stocks and high-demand seafood will also continue to drive overexploitation and environmental degradation.
     
    “The collapse of the sardine fish stocks in this highly productive ecosystem is a stark example of the severe repercussions of unsustainable management combining with negative environmental conditions. By delaying the moratorium for many years after fisheries scientists sounded the alarm, the hole was dug ever deeper for this economic sector.
     
    “Getting out of the hole will require a different mindset to the one that got us into it – rather than just focusing on short-term economic gains, Namibia needs a long-term ecosystem-based recovery plan.” 
     
     

  • Newswire:USDA provides payments of nearly $800 million in loan assistance to help keep farmers farming

    WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that distressed borrowers with qualifying USDA farm loans have already received nearly $800 million in assistance, as part of the $3.1 billion in assistance for distressed farm loan borrowers provided through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
    The IRA also rescinded Section 2005 of the American Rescue Plan, which provided full debt forgiveness to BIPOC farmers. These benefits were challenged by white farmers who filed lawsuits in Federal District Courts around the nation. These lawsuits succeeded in getting injunctions to halt the program. The relief for distressed farmers in the IRA was an alternative means of assisting farmers in financial distress due to the pandemic and inflationary cost increases.
    The IRA directed USDA to expedite assistance to distressed borrowers of direct or guaranteed loans administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (USDA) whose operations face financial risk.
    Today’s announcement kicks off a process to provide assistance to distressed farm loan borrowers using several complementary approaches, with the goal of keeping them farming, removing obstacles that currently prevent many of these borrowers from returning to farming, and improving the way that USDA approaches borrowing and servicing. Through this assistance, USDA is focused on generating long-term stability and success for distressed borrowers.
    “Through no fault of their own, our nation’s farmers and ranchers have faced incredibly tough circumstances over the last few years,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The funding included in today’s announcement helps keep our farmers farming and provides a fresh start for producers in challenging positions.”
    `Work has already started to bring some relief to distressed farmers. As of today, over 13,000 borrowers have already benefited from the resources provided under the Inflation Reduction Act as follows:
    Approximately 11,000 delinquent direct and guaranteed borrowers had their accounts brought current. USDA also paid the next scheduled annual installment for these direct loan borrowers giving them peace of mind in the near term.
    Approximately 2,100 borrowers who had their farms foreclosed on and still had remaining debt have had this debt resolved in order to cease debt collections and garnishment relieving that burden that has made getting a fresh start more difficult.
    In addition to the automatic assistance already provided, USDA has also outlined steps to administer up to an additional $500 million in payments to benefit the following distressed borrowers:
    USDA will administer $66 million in separate automatic payments, using COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, to support up to 7,000 direct loan borrowers who used FSA’s disaster-set-aside option during the pandemic to move their scheduled payments to the end of their loans.

    USDA is also initiating two case-by-case processes to provide additional assistance to farm loan borrowers. Under the first new process, FSA will review and assist with delinquencies from 1,600 complex cases, including cases in which borrowers are facing bankruptcy or foreclosure. The second new process will add a new option using existing direct loan servicing criteria to intervene more quickly and help an estimated 14,000 financially distressed borrowers who request assistance to avoid even becoming delinquent.
    More details on each of the categories of assistance are available at the factsheet on the USDA website.

    ` Similar to other USDA assistance, all of these payments will be reported as income and borrowers are encouraged to consult their tax advisors. USDA also has resources and partnerships with cooperators who can provide additional assistance and help borrowers navigate the process.

    The announcement today is only the first step in USDA’s efforts to provide assistance to distressed farm loan borrowers and respond to farmers and to improve the loan servicing efforts at USDA by adding more tools and relaxing unnecessary restrictions. Additional announcements and investments in assistance will be made as USDA institutes these additional changes and improvements.
    This effort will ultimately also include adding more tools and relaxing unnecessary restrictions through assistance made possible by Congress through the IRA. Further assistance and changes to the approach will be made in subsequent phases.