USDA to hear from farm owners who can't access programs because their land was passed down without a will - Entrepreneur Generations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency has responded to news reports that detailed widespread farm loss among heirs whose land has been passed down without a will.

FSA will conduct listening sessions to seek ideas on how heirs can access USDA farm programs that are often blocked to them because they do not have a clear title to the land, ProPublica reported.

Two public meetings — on July 31 in Jackson, Mississippi, and on Aug. 14 in Washington, D.C. — are planned so FSA can hear public input on ways the agency “can streamline and improve program delivery, as well as enhance outreach” of a program intended to help heirs qualify for certain USDA programs.

“The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 included a relending program to help clear titles for heirs’ property owners and listed alternative routes for heirs’ property owners to qualify for certain USDA programs for farmers,” ProPublica reported.

But the relending program was not funded, an investigation by ProPublica and The New Yorker revealed.

Following the ProPublica-New Yorker story, U.S. Sens. Doug Jones (D-Alabama) and Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) urged the USDA to implement property provisions for heirs outlined in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.

They wrote: “The inability to participate in USDA programs has not only contributed to a startlingly negative trend in African-American land ownership but has also hindered African-American farmers and ranchers from experiencing economic equality.”

Previously, in an article for Stateline, April Simpson reported that the 2018 Farm Bill made it easier for heirs' farmland to be put back into production, with "provisions for heirs to qualify for a USDA Farm Service Agency farm number — akin to a driver’s license for agriculture — which unlocks key programs and enables participation in local FSA elections.” 

But heirs cannot make full use of the provisions if a state has not enacted a Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act. That, wrote Simpson, “gives co-owners the opportunity to buy out heirs who want to sell their share. ... If a buyout doesn’t resolve the issue, a court may consider dividing the property between the owners or selling the property and dividing the proceeds equitably between the owners. … Open market sales, rather than auctions, are preferred to ensure a higher sale price.”

More information about the meetings in Jackson and Washington, D.C., is available here.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2SSjCHj USDA to hear from farm owners who can't access programs because their land was passed down without a will - Entrepreneur Generations

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