Minority farmers seek redress, claim USDA discrimination

Joe Sellers, lead attorney in the Keepseagle case, which was brought by Native Americans, said court proceedings have been put on hold for at least 60 days while they begin settlement negotiations.

"I credit this administration with genuine interest in fixing these problems that have afflicted the USDA for decades," said Sellers. "I don't expect it will be resolved over the next year; but I do believe they are sincere and determined to set in motion the steps to evaluate the shortcomings of the existing system and make appropriate changes."

Support in Senate

On the Senate floor Nov. 18, Menendez and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) called for settlement of the Hispanic farmers' cases.

"It is no secret decades of indifference and discrimination in lending practices at the United States Department of Agriculture have made it difficult for minority farmers, specifically Hispanic farmers, to make a living at what they love to do and have done in many cases for generations, leaving many no choice but to leave the farms and ranches they have tended to all of their lives," Menendez said.

Larry and Robert Chavarria were third-generation farmers in California's San Joaquin Valley, who said their family had never sought a loan until 1994 winter storms decimated their crops. They sought USDA loans but were repeatedly denied. They said a local USDA loan officer also froze their subsidy payments at the behest of a neighboring white farmer with whom they had a dispute. They were forced to sell their land and stop farming in 2000. One brother now works in a prison canteen and the other is a self-employed tax preparer.

"It was our livelihood -- we loved it," said Larry Chavarria. "Now I feel empty, I feel like an echo. You ache, you hurt. This shouldn't have happened. We weren't asking for a handout. But they just raked us over the coals."

Problems said to persist

Farmers and their attorneys say diversity and inclusiveness in the farm loan program have improved in recent years, but they allege discrimination still exists.

David Cantu, who raises cattle and grows watermelon, cotton, corn and other crops on 1,100 acres in south Texas, thinks the Hidalgo County farm loan office turned him down for loans in 2005 because he and his father had spoken out about discrimination at a Hispanic farmers conference and an Agriculture Department listening session that year.

Cantu said he received USDA loans and repaid them on schedule every year since 1997, but was denied with no explanation in 2005. He also says loan office staff members would treat Hispanics as "second-class citizens," serving white clients first and inviting whites into their private offices while speaking with Hispanics only in the lobby.

"Hispanic farmers are a piñata to them," said Cantu, 50, a fourth-generation farmer. "They keep beating us and beating us, and then when they hit us down, they still expect us to keep producing and fill their plates."