Farming While Black

by Leah Penniman

  New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Lowell, Massachusetts

  Southside Community Land Trust, Providence, Rhode Island

  Agricultural Universities with Racial Diversity or Equity Commitment

  Alabama A&M University College of Agricultural, Life and Natural Sciences, Normal, Alabama. Booker T. Whatley, pioneer of community-supported agriculture, is an alumnus of this institution. The current dean is Dr. Lloyd T. Walker, an accomplished Black food scientist.

  The Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SUAREC), Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dr. Owusu Bandele, co-founder of SAAFON, author, and community organizer, is professor emeritus at SUAREC.

  The Sustainable Agriculture Consortium for Historically Disadvantaged Farmers Program (SACH). SACH is a cooperative marketing initiative led by five 1890 land-grant universities: Alcorn State University (Mississippi), Fort Valley State University (Georgia), Prairie View A&M University (Texas), Tuskegee University (Alabama), and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.11

  Tuskegee University, Alabama. This historically Black college was founded by Booker T. Washington and continues to be the intellectual home of notable Black scholars including Tasha Hargrove, research assistant professor of agricultural and resource economics, and Walter Hill, vice provost of land grant university affairs, dean of the College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences, and the 1890 research director of the George Washington Carver Agricultural Experiment Station.

  Self-Study

  While the value of mentorship is undeniable, we must also remember that our enslaved ancestors often taught themselves to read with scavenged scraps of text and at great personal risk. There are free and low-cost online courses available through ATTRA and the Cornell Small Farms Program. At Soul Fire Farm we learned how to slaughter and eviscerate chickens by watching how-to videos and practicing on our own. We need not underestimate our capacity to self-teach using the abundant informational resources in our networks.

  Gathering Material Resources

  With our meager savings exhausted by the land purchase, we turned to the local bank to apply for a mortgage to build our home and educational center. I am not sure if it was the mention of the word farm or perhaps the description of the straw-bale construction that most offended the bank employee, but she summarily hung up the phone on me.

  Rejected by the conventional credit infrastructure, we turned to our community for alternative financing. We asked around about alternative credit, and it turned out that a multiracial group of our neighbors had organized a lending society and kept it operating since the 1960s. Similar to a Caribbean susu, everyone contributed a set amount on a monthly basis and could apply to take out loans from the group for homes, vehicles, or tuition. We joined the lending society and were granted a mortgage to cover the material cost of constructing our timber-frame, straw-bale, passive solar home and education center. The interest we paid on the loan was recycled back to our friends and neighbors.

  Many of us do not have access to conventional credit because of a legacy of structural racism. In this section we consider alternative means for accessing the financial resources necessary to build our land-based projects.

  UPLIFT

  Caribbean and African Susu

  The susu is a microfinance strategy thought to have originated in Nigeria and spread to Ghana in the early 20th century.12 Susus are now common across the Diaspora, including in Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States. Susu groups pool money on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis by collecting set amounts from each susu member, putting all the money together, and distributing the lump sum to one person at a time. Once all group members have received their money, the cycle starts anew. For market women, susu groups are vital because they allow access to much-needed capital to sustain small businesses. Upon receiving susu money, the women purchase goods to garnish their stalls. Market women’s susu groups typically have a leader called the susu mother, or susu ma, and 15 to 20 members on average. Older women who have been known in the community for a long time and have established a reputation of trustworthiness are often preferred as susu ma. The susu ma is responsible for running a susu group; she makes sure that all members pay in a timely manner and that the money is redistributed to the member who is set to receive it at a given moment. Susu groups perform complex financial operations by enabling members to double, triple, quadruple, or quintuple their dues, allowing them to receive a proportional return on investment.13 The electronic platforms eMoneyPool, Monk App, Puddle, and Partnerhand are based on the susu model.

  Government Funding

  At the conclusion of the Pigford v. Glickman case in 1999, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was forced to hand over $1.2 billion to Black farmers in the largest civil rights settlement in US history. Since then the USDA has made efforts to correct its institutional bias and has set aside specific funds to support “historically disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.” Specifically, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is responsible for distributing loans and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is responsible for distributing environmental preservation grants to farmers. Both agencies of the USDA have several offices in each state that can be found online at https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app.

  The first step in accessing funding is to visit the service center and fill out required paperwork. It is very helpful if you have already established your farm as an official entity by reporting agricultural income on your tax return. Even if you are just selling cut flowers on the side, if you can report $1,000 of farm income or production, you are considered a “farm” by the USDA and become eligible for many programs. Soul Fire Farm has had a positive experience applying for and receiving USDA funding for two high tunnels.

  Since USDA resources are distributed proportionately depending on the number of farmers in a given region, it is essential that all Black farmers, urban and rural, register for the USDA Census of Agriculture.

  The following USDA programs have special provisions for farmers of color. Please note that as of this writing, the Farm Bill is up for reauthorization, and some of these programs will be adjusted by the time of publication.14

  Community members meet to discuss the formation of a lending society. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  Direct and Guaranteed Farm Ownership Loan. Provides funding for the purchase of farmland and buildings. The maximum direct loan amount is $300,000; the maximum amount for a guaranteed loan is $1,399,000 (adjusted annually for inflation).

  Down Payment Loan Program. Provides funding for land purchase. The maximum purchase price for the loan cannot exceed $667,000.

  Land Contract Guarantee Program. Provides support for retiring farmers to transfer their land to beginning farmers. The purchase price or appraised value of the farm or ranch that is the subject of the contract sale cannot be greater than $500,000.

  Direct and Guaranteed Farm Operating Loans. Provides funding for annual operating expenses and minor improvements. The maximum direct loan amount is $300,000; the maximum amount for a guaranteed loan is $1,399,000 (adjusted annually for inflation).

  Microloans. Provides funding for land and operating expenses for both urban and rural farms. The process is streamlined. The maximum loan amount for microloans is capped at $50,000.

  Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). Provides low-cost insurance to protect farms in the case of crop loss. Payments are capped at $125,000, and there is a gross income limit of $900,000.

  Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Provides funding for conservation improvements on farms, such as high tunnels, wildlife habitat, cover crops, fencing, irrigation, and transitioning to organic. Funding amounts vary by project. A match of 10 to 25 percent of the project cost is required.

  Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Provides payment for advanced conservation efforts, such as cover cropping, buffer strips, and rotational grazing. Funding amounts are per acre and vary by project.<
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  Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG). Provides funding for marketing, collaborative product distribution, and value-added products like hot sauce and jam. Planning grants are capped at $75,000; working capital grants are capped at $250,000. Matching funds are required.15

  Many states also provide support for new and beginning farmers. For example, in New York State, Empire State Development’s New Farmers Grant Fund provides grants of up to $50,000 for farmers to improve the profitability of their farms. A detailed business plan and 50 percent match are required.16

  Soul Fire Farm’s high tunnel was purchased with a grant from EQIP, a USDA program. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.

  The land for Wildseed Community Farm, New York, was donated as an act of reparations. Wildseed members celebrate their oyster mushroom harvest. Photo courtesy of Wildseed Community Farm & Healing Village.

  Reparations

  Forty acres and a mule would be at least $6.4 trillion in the hands of Black Americans today according to YES! Magazine.17 The economic offenses committed by this nation against Black people are numerous. They include hundreds of years of unpaid wages under slavery, discriminatory fees and lending rates imposed upon African American business owners under the Black Codes, and the exclusion of Black people from the social safety net and government housing programs. While we cannot hold our breath for wholesale reparations from the federal government, we can encourage conscious individuals in our community to take reparations into their own hands. To that end, Soul Fire Farm alumni have created a reparations map to catalyze voluntary transfers of land and resources from people with inherited privilege to Black and Brown farmers.

  Wildseed Community Farm & Healing Village in Millerton, New York; Harriet Tubman Freedom Farm in Durham, North Carolina; and Harmony Homestead & Wholeness Center in Hillsdale, New York, are people-of-color-led projects that were born out of explicit acts of reparations. In each case, a European-descendant person with means recognized that their wealth was not rightfully their own and transferred a portion to the descendants of those who created that wealth. Increasingly, there are woke white folks who want to consciously right the wrongs of history. Many are organized in a collective called Resource Generation, a group of young people with wealth who have stated their aim to address racism through redistribution of resources.18 Others may be your neighbors.

  While it may seem like a long shot, I encourage you to write up your request for reparations outlining your specific needs for money, land, and equipment. Share this written request with everyone in your networks, framing the share as a request for advice on refining the language, not a direct ask for money. A mentor of mine said, “If you want advice, ask for money. If you want money, ask for advice.” Additionally, send your request to facilitators leading anti-oppression trainings in your area. There is often a “what you can do” portion of that training, and the right person might be listening.

  To build interest in our crowdfunding campaign, we snapped this photo of our whole team sleeping in one bed, emphasizing the need for funds to build additional staff lodging. Photo by Jonah Vitale-Wolff.

  Crowdfunding

  Many of us are rich in social capital, while limited in financial capital. Online crowdfunding platforms like YouCaring, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo can help us harness the energy and resources of our networks. Soul Fire Farm has raised over $70,000 for infrastructure using crowdfunding. We are certainly not experts in online marketing, but found a few strategies that motivated our community to give. First, we built an insider team that was invested in the campaign and asked them to support in a few crucial ways. Everyone on the team made a donation and shared the campaign on day one. That way we could show early momentum and buy-in, motivating others to join the effort. Each person on our team was also assigned a particular day during the campaign to post a 30- to 60-second video explaining why they love Soul Fire Farm. These were low-tech, unedited videos, but full of heart. We also wrote personal testimonials to everyone in or networks via email, sharing vulnerably about the challenges of our work and our need for community solidarity to fortify our resolve to continue the project. We put the money we raised to good use immediately, and posted playful updates on the progress of our buildings. For example, we posed with our children climbing dramatically on scaffolding to show how the barn construction was progressing even as the fund-raiser was under way.

  Lending Society

  Black people have a deep history of supporting one another through pooling resources. We started our first bank, the True Reformers Bank, in 1888. One of our first credit unions was established in 1939 by 25 neighbors of the Tyrrell County Training School to save their farms from foreclosure and purchase farm equipment.19 Before these formal institutions, we had informal credit associations such as susus, where we could pool our meager funds and take turns receiving a lump sum.

  Creating your own susu, or lending society, is simpler than you might think. Invite 5 to 12 people to join your susu and work together to establish criteria for the income, employment, and credit status of members. Set a regular deposit amount and deposit interval. For example, you may decide that each of 10 members needs to pay $100 per month. Deposit these funds in an accredited financial institution. Each month, one of the members receives the full “hand” of $1,000. Traditionally, susus do not collect interest, and the hand is given on rotation. However, our variation of the susu gives out loans on an application basis and does charge interest, which is recycled back to the collective. The currency of the susu is trust, and this is maintained by having face-to-face meetings and being open and transparent about all dealings of the susu. We personally used a lending society to provide our mortgage, and had to present detailed financial information to all members of the group in order to be approved for the loan. We paid back our loan with interest, all the while contributing the regular membership dues of our collective, which were $150 per year. Should you desire to take your susu beyond the informal, and create a recognized credit union, the National Credit Union Administration and Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry can support you in that process. You may also choose to use an online platform like Kiva to facilitate your loan process.

  UPLIFT

  Rapp Road Community in Albany, New York

  The Rapp Road community was a model of thrift, patience, and fortitude. Black sharecroppers from Shubuta, Mississippi, moved to Albany, New York, in 1930 with their pastor, Louis Parson, in the hope of building a life free of debt and the threat of lynching. They purchased a marshy 14-acre parcel for $400, started to farm, and used their earnings to build homes. “People would come with whatever little bit of money they had and little by little they built their houses and created this community,” explained Sara DeWitt, a fourth-generation community member. With no access to credit or family wealth, this community of 28 families worked together, investing blood, sweat, and tears to build a new life on land.20

  At Soul Fire Farm we are building our infrastructure over time and with the help of friends. Photo by Capers Rumph.

  Frugality, Patience, and Faith

  Our ancestors purchased 16 million acres of land with the meager wages they saved through sharecropping, tenant farming, and hiring themselves out on Sundays as laborers. Through thrift and restraint, they gathered the resources necessary to get off the plantation and farm with dignity. While I am extremely privileged relative to the hardships endured by my ancestors, it is also true that I was raised in relative poverty with no inherited wealth. By living collectively, limiting expenses, and setting aside a large portion of my wages, I was able to save over $20,000 each year for 10 years. This was enough to purchase land and get started on building a home. In retrospect, our expenses would have been much lower if we had connected with a retiring farmer to revive an existing project rather than starting with undeveloped land. However, we knew no better at the time and charged ahead with building a farm “from scratch.” In table 1.1, we share the approximate costs of the farmland and i
nfrastructure, which were paid over time from 2006 until the present.

  Table 1.1. Costs for Land, Infrastructure, and Equipment at Soul Fire Farm

  According to African American philosopher and civil rights leader Howard Thurman, your task is not to “ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” I believe that the thing that makes you come alive is integral to your destiny and will manifest if you put your prayers up and your hands to work. Do not be intimidated by the entirety of the journey; just take one step in the direction of your dream and let your ancestors help you with the rest. The Land is calling you home, and will help you get back to her.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Planning Your Farm Business

  Men anpil chay pa lou.

  Many hands make the load lighter.

  —KREYOL PROVERB

  Between my partner and me, we had two college degrees and 15 years of farming experience, and yet were unable to provide our newborn and toddler access to nourishing food. There were no farmers markets, co-ops, or grocery stores on Grand Street in Albany’s South End, just a liquor store, bodega, and McDonald’s. The community garden plots were all taken for the season, and we did not find neighbors willing to share their paltry growing spaces with our family. Temporarily unemployed, I was accepted into the Women Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition assistance program, which rationed conventional cereal, milk, and eggs when I was willing to endure the glares and, once, the spit of impatient customers in line behind me.

  As I child, I experienced hunger and food scarcity, growing up in a trailer in rural Massachusetts with a single parent holding down multiple jobs in order to provide for three children. However, I imagined that those days of exiguity were past and expected that my own children would enjoy abundant, life-giving food.