Dear John,

Today we bring you some positive news out of Washington, but first we're going to introduce you to Eunice and Silvester Hill who started Hill Family Farm in Whitakers, North Carolina in 2008. This farm serves as a crucial community resource, bringing people together, teaching children and adults about health, fitness and nutrition, and introducing agriculture to a new generation. Eunice explains, “First and foremost, we are trying to uplift our community.” In these times and in this community, the work of Hill Family Farm is revolutionary.

Farmers faced more than a pandemic in 2020: they faced a pandemic on top of the already significant challenges of five years of low farm prices, decreased trade and loss of export markets due to the Trump administration’s trade wars, and the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events.

To help farmers during the pandemic the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the temporary suspension of past-due debt collections and foreclosures for distressed borrowers. This will have an immediate impact on family farms suffering financial losses due to the coronavirus and is hopefully the first step from the new administration in addressing the incredibly challenging farm economy that is driving farm bankruptcies and increased consolidation in agriculture.

This week two very important bills were introduced to strengthen farmers of color and attempt to respond to injustices and discrimination that they've long suffered. The first is the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act that was introduced by Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA). This legislation aims to deliver $5 billion in direct relief to Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic farmers and other agricultural producers of color to help them respond to the pandemic and resulting economic downturn, as well as address longstanding inequity in agriculture.

The second is the Justice for Black Farmers Act, which is a piece of reintroduced legislation from the past session. The bill, re-introduced by Senator Cory Booker, seeks to address discrimination within the USDA that has caused Black farmers to lose millions of acres of farmland.​ Farm Aid supported the bill in 2020 and continues to support this important reform of the USDA.