Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-300
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2021-02-08 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Agricultural conservation and pollution
Agricultural education
Agricultural marketing and promotion
Agricultural practices and innovations
Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
Air quality
Alternative and renewable resources
Appropriations
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Census and government statistics
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Congressional oversight
Consumer credit
Corporate finance and management
Department of Agriculture
Disability assistance
Education programs funding
Electric power generation and transmission
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Energy efficiency and conservation
Executive agency funding and structure
Farmland
Federally chartered organizations
Financial services and investments
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
Housing finance and home ownership
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Legal fees and court costs
Livestock
Migrant, seasonal, agricultural labor
Minority and disadvantaged businesses
Minority education
Minority employment
Racial and ethnic relations
Rural conditions and development
Social security and elderly assistance
Student aid and college costs
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
U.S. and foreign investments
U.S. history
Vocational and technical education
Wetlands

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-08
text: 

Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021

 
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide a variety of assistance to address historical discrimination and disparities in the agricultural sector. 
 
For example, the bill establishes an equity commission in USDA to examine discrimination by the agency against Black farmers and ranchers and recommend actions to end the systematic disparities in the treatment of Black farmers and ranchers.
 
USDA must also establish a Farm Conservation Corps to provide young adults who are from socially disadvantaged groups with the skills necessary to pursue careers in farming and ranching.
 
The bill provides funding for historically Black colleges and universities to commence and expand courses of study that are focused on careers in agriculture or related disciplines. The bill also increases the authorization of appropriations for a program to resolve issues relating to ownership and succession on farmland. Additionally, it expands credit assistance for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
 
Further, the bill (1) establishes that a minimum of 50% of a covered packer's (not including a packer that owns only one livestock processing plant) daily volume of livestock slaughter must be purchased through spot market sales from nonaffiliated producers; (2) increases funding for the Local Agriculture Market Program; and (3) gives priority to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers for conservation technical assistance, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Rural Energy for America Program. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2021-02-08
text: Introduced in Senate