With the latest controversy at the USDA over the forced resignation of Shirley Sherrod late Monday, the department's Georgia director of rural development, it's sad to see reporters write about this incident with so little background. It all revolves around
Pigford (a billion dollar settlement between the U.S. government and black farmers).
In a nutshell, the Pigford Case, or more accurately Pigford v Veneman, was a class action lawsuit brought by Timothy Pigford, a black farmer in Eastern North Carolina. The suit alleged discrimination against black farmers. The suit ended when the United States Agriculture Department entered into a Consent Decree in which they agreed to compensate black farmers who were victims of discrimination between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 1999.
The suit was the largest Civil Rights settlement in history with nearly $1 billion being paid to over 16,000 victims.
Unfortunately, about 70,000 black farmers were denied a review of their claim based on the merits because they did not submit a complete claim package by the filing deadline.
Don Berger, a strong advocate for black farmers, recently died. The Iowan, who once played an important role in the modern civil rights movement as an aid to U.S. Attorney General John Doar, was always after me to write about this situation and once, back in 2006, I did write a short piece as black farmers were planning a trip to Washington, D.C., that April 26 to voice their displeasure with the way Pigford v. Johanns was being settled. All farmers were being asked to support the rally, "since what is happening to black farmers is also happening to others including Hispanics, Native Americans and women," a seasoned farming rights activist told me. at the time.
Here is what I wrote, back then:
(Des Moines, Iowa) – When Don Burger learned about his state’s most recent scandal – unjustly high salaries paid to publicly funded employment training administrators – he knew right away that farmers could up the ante.
Burger, a long-time advocate for black and small farm owners, says many farmers have stories to tell about their family farms forced into foreclosure and of bonuses made by government officials who aid in these foreclosures – the same officials presumably paid to help train family farmers to survive economic crises.
"Until he was bumped up to a federal job in the Department of Agriculture this past month, Chris Beyerhelm, Iowa Farm Services Agency farm loan chief, according to farmers, was traveling throughout his region, providing guidance to USDA administrators on measures to expeditiously process foreclosure of farmers whose loan repayments are allegedly in arrears," said Burger, a retired U. S. Justice Department regional community relations specialist who also served as evaluation staff development officer in Washington, D.C.
Beyerhelm left his state job in April, achieving more power when he was named assistant deputy administrator of FSA’s farm loan programs, the state USDA office confirmed.
"I think what Beyerhelm has done is even worse than CIETC’s administrators, since the FSA was founded on the intent of serving small farmers, not destroying them," Burger said.
Burger was responding in part to a series of stories reported by the Des Moines Register involving the U.S. Department of Labor, which supplied the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium or CIETC with much of its funding that went to administrators salaries rather than help unemployed clients.
CIETC has come under federal investigation since a state audit released March 31 showed its three top executives collected $1.8 million in pay over a 30-month period. The events have triggered a federal audit of the nation's 600 local work force boards.
Burger is joined by Pete Hardin, publisher of a farming newsletter, Milkweed, that advocates for small farmers’ rights: "People’s jaws drop when they hear about FSA agents making bonuses for helping foreclose small farms. They have a hard time believing it," Hardin said. His own publication ran an article in January of 2006 regarding the bonus payments.
Since his retirement in 1990, Burger has spent a second career advocating for black small farm owners, a consulting job that has kept him busy when he is not working on civil rights projects. In 1965 the Iowan was named the first director to head the state’s first Civil Rights Commission.
Seven years ago, for instance, black farmers won a historic settlement from the USDA for discriminatory practices. But since then, an estimated 66,000 black farmers did not apply in time for the settlement funds and they’re still not getting treated fairly, according to Burger, who has assisted farmers in various organizations attempting to get their money.
"The notices for application were mostly printed in inner city newspapers and the publications that routinely publish in rural releases provided by USDA were not used by the federal agency."
In what has become a yearly occurrence, black farmers will make their way to Washington, D.C., April 26 to voice their displeasure with the way Pigford v. Johanns is being settled. But all farmers are being asked to support this rally, since many other issues deal with all farmers.
"The same thing happening to black farmers is also happening to others including Hispanics, Native Americans and women."
Burger also joins others who believe that a concerted effort to close down family farm operations has been in effect since 1972 when the USDA published the Young Executives Report in the June 21 Congressional Record, "a thirty-year strategic plan focused on reorganizing American agriculture to remove and replace family farms with corporate farming to supposedly make the United States more competitive."
At the time, the report was titled, "US Dept of Agriculture Young Executive Committee Plan to Abolish Farms Support Program; New Directions for U.S. Agricultural Policy."
Some have describe the plan as "Orwellian" giving as example "a most recent incarnation of one of their proposals to implant computer chip transponders in beef, pork, goat, dairy cows, turkey, chickens – all farm produced agricultural food livestock."
Even the adversarial New York attorney general Elliott Spitzer joined the fray, speaking before the National Farm Family Coalition on corporate farming strategy to promise he would keep a close eye on the trend toward ever-fewer market players.
"The notion that small farms have an inadequate voice in the industry is especially troubling … whether it be on the Wall Street trading floors or in the barns and farms of Upstate New York, fundamental fairness must be maintained in order for markets to operate efficiently," Spitzer said.
What is interesting to Burger, Hardin and some others is that small farmers of all color are being drawn together in the fight to keep their land and acquire the money they believe is due them. Even Amish farmers are being impacted and this speaks to freedom of religion issues, Hardin confirmed.
Meanwhile in Iowa, Federal investigators have launched an investigation into salaries paid at job-training programs nationwide as they respond to the financial scandal at the central Iowa publicly funded agency.
And Don Burger’s response?
"I hope the inquiry extends to their reports of bonus payments for FSA farm loan administrators, as well, where the issue is over payments of bonuses attributed to farm foreclosure activities."
* * *
Bless the late Don Burger's soul for all of the hard work he put into helping the poorest of farmers. I know that he would have had a strong opinion on this and a voice and trying to resolve the mess. Shortly before he died this spring, Don was in Washington D.C. meeting with USDA officials who assured him they were going to settle the most difficult Pigford suits. But lurking in the shadows, was a high official who Don never trusted. Several days after Don died, one of the farmers called me to let me know the deal was already off. So much for Don's hard work.
This is a terribly complicated history -- but here is one thing for certain. The USDA is the oldest and most corrupt of all federal agencies. Trying to wade through the muck is nearly impossible.
