July 10, 2025 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture posted a final rule in the Federal Register today rescinding a provision that has been in place for more than 30 years to give farmers deemed “socially disadvantaged” a leg up in some federal grant and loan programs.
In response to decades of well-documented discrimination against farmers based on race and gender, the 1990 Farm Bill defined “socially disadvantaged” as a category that applied to Black or African American, American Indian or Native Alaskan, Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander farmers. Depending on the program, women may also be included.
Some farm bill grant programs are designed specifically for these groups, like the 2501 Program, which also serves veteran farmers. Other programs administered by the agency, as well as farm loans, have included carve-outs for disadvantaged groups. For example, the 2018 Farm Bill mandated that 5 percent of grant funding in the Conservation Stewardship Program, which pays farmers to implement environmentally friendly practices, had to go to socially disadvantaged farmers.
A National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition analysis found that the policy was successful in helping get funds to farmers who had historically been locked out of USDA support. The new rule would likely end set-asides like that one, although the exact outcome is unclear since Congress has authority over how the USDA spends money.
While many rules are posted as a draft first for public comment, agency officials posted this rule in its finalized form without soliciting input. In the text, they said the USDA’s efforts to address past injustices have succeeded. “These actions collectively support the conclusion that past discrimination has been sufficiently addressed and that further race- and sex-based remedies are no longer necessary or legally justified under current circumstances,” they wrote.
The move is in line with other USDA policy changes made since January to implement President Trump’s executive order on eliminating policies that prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). USDA officials scrubbed the Equity Commission Report completed during the Biden administration from its website almost immediately after the inauguration, and it has been steadily canceling signed contracts with farmers and organizations that use language referencing race and gender.
In the rule, USDA also referenced lawsuits over its prioritization of racial groups. White farmers, some backed by prominent Republicans, have sued the agency, claiming discrimination.
In response to the rule, Agriculture Committee member Representative Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) put out a statement referring to the move as part of Trump’s “resegregation agenda.”
“The ‘socially disadvantaged’ designation was a long-overdue recognition of the barriers to land, credit, and opportunity that farmers of color have faced for generations,” she said. “This move isn’t about fairness or efficiency. It’s about erasing history and stripping the tools that help level the playing field. USDA must be held accountable, and Congress must act to protect the farmers this country has long ignored.” (Link to this post.)
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