Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination by the USDA in its farm loan programs prior to January 1, 2021 may be entitled to compensation.
$2.2 Billion has been made available for farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its farm loan programs or other subsidies prior to January 1, 2021 and/or are currently debtors with assigned or assumed USDA farm loan debt that was the subject of USDA discrimination that occurred prior to January 1, 2021.
The deadline to apply is October 31, 2023. Each claimant may receive a maximum of $500,000.
Those affected may have:
- Been denied a loan
- Been given a loan for less than what was applied for
- Been given a loan but experienced a significant delay in receiving the funds
- Experienced other difficulties in applying for or obtaining a loan
Discrimination may have been based on race, gender, sexual orientation or other factors.
Who is Eligible?
Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who:
- experienced discrimination by USDA in its farm loan programs prior to January 1, 2021
- are currently debtors with assigned or assumed USDA farm loan debt that was the subject of USDA discrimination that occurred prior to January 1, 2021
What Types of Loans Does this Apply To?
- Farm Ownership Loans (FO)
- Farm Operating Loans (OL)
- Microloans (ML)
- Young Loans (YL)
- Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL)
- Emergency Loans (EM)
- Economic Emergency Loans (EE)
- Emergency Livestock Loans (EL)
- Soil and Water Loans (SW)
- Conservation Loans (CL)
- Softwood Timber Loans (ST)
- Grazing Loans
What are the Loan Outcomes?
- Failure to provide appropriate assistance
- Delay in processing loan or loan servicing application
- Denial of a loan or loan servicing
- Prevention from applying for a loan or loan servicing
- Adverse loan terms
- Unduly onerous supervision of loan requirements
What can the Discrimination be Based on?
- Race
- Age
- Sexual Identity
- Gender
- Religion
- Disability
- Marital Status
- “Retaliation for Prior Civil Rights Activity”
What Types of Loss are Covered?
- Loss of Agricultural land
- Loss of home, if used as collateral for a loan
- Loss of money resulting from offsets, garnishments or deficiency judgments imposed on an individual because of defaulting on a USDA farm loan or USDA foreclosing on a USDA farm loan
- Other economic loss because of discrimination by USDA in USDA lending Programs