U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay black farmers $1.25 billion in discrimination suit

The settlement of the case, known as Pigford II, is contingent on Congress approving $1.15 billion for the farmers, in addition to $100 million already provided in the Farm Bill.

The original Pigford lawsuit, named after North Carolina farmer Timothy Pigford, was filed against the USDA in 1997, and settled two years later when the government compensated African-American farmers left out of USDA loan and assistance programs.

More than 13,000 farmers able to provide proof of their claims of discrimination were awarded $50,000 each and given debt relief. However, tens of thousands of claims were denied for missing the filing deadline. The settlement in Pigford II would allow these farmers to again make their claims.

The farmers claimed unfair treatment by the U.S. government for decades, saying they were unjustly being denied farm loans or subjected to longer waits for loan approval because of racism, which contributed to the small number of blacks now in agriculture. The farmers accused the USDA of not responding to their complaints.

While African-Americans make up about 13 percent of the U.S. population, they operate only about 1.5 percent of the nation’s farms, according to the USDA.