© 2025 New Hampshire Public Radio

Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing NHPR's FCC public files, please contact us at publicfile@nhpr.org.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Support essential local news and protect public media with a donation today!

Secretary Tom Vilsack On USDA Debt Forgiveness For Black Farmers

A farmer drives a tractor down a road near Ottawa, Illinois.
A farmer drives a tractor down a road near Ottawa, Illinois.

Starting June 1, the Department of Agriculture will pay out thousands of dollars in loan forgiveness to Black and minority farmers in a bid to correct for more than a century of discrimination.  

More than $4 billion dollars from the American Rescue Plan have been allocated for the program.

But it’s already getting pushback from banks, Republican lawmakers, and white farmers. A lawsuit calling the program “unconstitutional” is currently making its way through the courts.

We talk to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack about the historic – if controversial – program.  

Copyright 2021 WAMU 88.5

Paige Osburn

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.