Financial struggles for Latino farmers continue since debt relief freeze
MICHIGAN – Pedro Bautista loves blueberries. He smiles every time he talks about it.
“I love arandanos,” Bautista said with a laugh during an interview in mid-September. “I can eat them all day, all year.”
He fell in love with blueberries when he first came to Michigan years ago. In the late 1970s, he first immigrated from Mexico to Chicago. Years later, he moved to Michigan after his brother and sister moved to the Grand Junction area.
“I came to visit them and they started talking about blueberries. i didn’t know what blueberries mean or what are blueberries, ”Bautista said. “During one of my trips, I saw this farm for sale. I came and looked at him. I think I fall in love with it. “
He said his favorite part of the 91 acres is the view. So 19 years ago he bought the farm and called it since Bautista’s blueberry. He joined a local cooperative that ships nationwide. He has been successful until recently.
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“This year is going to be the worst year for me and this farm,” said Bautista. “Since people were getting money from the government, I think they get more than what they earn on the job. So, for this reason, we had no one to pick the blueberries.
He said what would have been helpful was funds for the work.
In March, President Joe Biden designated $ 5,000,000,000 from the US bailout for socially disadvantaged farmers, which included black, Latino, Asian and indigenous farmers and ranchers.
However, the National Association of Black Farmers and other groups have said they haven’t seen a dime of that money.
“I think it would be very helpful if the funds were released so that they could use them,” said Rubén Martinez, professor of sociology at Michigan State University. “You know, we’ve been through a terrible time over the past year and a half; everyone has and they haven’t received their fair share of the relief money.
Martinez said the reason they didn’t receive anything was because of a few lawsuits brought by white farmers. In early June of this year, a Wisconsin federal judge granted an injunction that prevented the distribution of the debt relief money.
“It is very clear that we are living at a time when backwards racism is highlighted by these lawsuits. Basically they’re like, ‘Hey, you favor them but we don’t,’ ”Martinez said in an interview with Zoom last week. “But you know, for decades and decades white farmers have received farm subsidies, and those subsidies haven’t always reached Latino farmers or minority farmers.”
John Boyd, who heads the NBFA, said in a previous interview with FOX 17 that black farmers have not received aid for over a century, losing millions of dollars. He believes this contributed to the decline of black farmers. In the early 1900s, there were 1,000,000; now there are 50,000, he says.
Boyd said they were on the verge of extinction and he believes this is due to years of racism and discrimination.
“Under President Reagan, they shut down, literally shut down the USDA Civil Rights Office,” Martinez recalled. “That doesn’t mean they eliminated him. They just stopped exploiting it. So when minority farmers complained, they got nowhere. It would only be an abyss. Until they are discovered. And then they kind of restarted it. So that kind of process exists.
Martinez runs the Julian Samora Research Institute, in which he studies the Latino agricultural industry in Michigan. A 2016 study showed that 65% of farmers said their greatest need was for funds for equipment.
“They often have to work off the farm to keep it running. They have family members who work off the farm. They don’t have access to capital as they should. There is just a huge amount of need out there, ”Martinez said. “We have to recognize that the future of this country, our food systems in particular, that Latinos are going to be a vital part of it.”
This is one of the reasons Martinez applauded Governor Gretchen Whitmer for writing a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asking for funds to be funneled into Michigan’s dairy industry.
“I think it’s very critical. You know, Michigan’s dairy industry is the 2nd largest part of our agriculture industry, and our milkers are mostly Latinos, Latino immigrants, ”Martinez said. “Milk is so ubiquitous, so common in our lives; I mean you can find it at almost any breakfast table. If we don’t help these farmers, there will be an increase in prices.
FOX 17 contacted the USDA and they emailed this statement:
“In the US bailout, Congress ordered the USDA to provide debt relief to socially disadvantaged producers with direct, guaranteed USDA agricultural loans. to more than 19,000 eligible borrowers.
“Currently, the USDA faces litigation in district courts challenging the debt relief. The USDA is working with the DOJ and the White House to determine the best way forward. “
“The USDA remains firmly committed to doing good to the tens of thousands of producers who have been systematically excluded or underserved by USDA programs. USDA will do this by leveraging all of the programs, tools, and authorities USDA can operate, including Section 1006, Pandemic Assistance, Build Back Better, and discretionary powers. “
Nonetheless, Martinez said it was imperative that funds be released quickly.
White farmers are getting older, he said, and by 2030 all baby boomers will be over 60. However, the youngest farmers will be Latinos.
He therefore recommends that the funds be dispersed as soon as possible so that Bautista and other farmers of color can potentially gain some relief and help keep the industry afloat.
“It’s going to hurt,” Bautista chuckled. “Like I said, this year is going to be my worst year in this business. And I don’t know how I’m going to make the payments next year, and next year is far away. And the bills are still coming in.
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