The Sherrod’s Institute holds Annual Farm Field Day

ALBANY, Ga. – Members of the Albany community rallied together in support of the Annual Farm Field Day.

Hosted by The Sherrod Institute, the event features updates from the USDA Equity Commission and state and local USDA offices, highlighting the importance of equitable access to services for farmers.

“It’s a great honor for me to be and a great privilege for me to be here with Shirley Sherrod’s operation. She has been a tremendous guide for us over the course of the last 15 years in terms of programs at USDA. It’s important for us to be here because of the history of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Unfortunately and tragically, there have been events in the past where we discriminated against primarily black farmers and people of color. So, it’s important for folks to know that we’re turning a page, that we’re making a concerted effort to to write a new chapter for the USDA, a chapter where we are trying to provide services for all farmers of all sizes to make sure that people understand and appreciate that we have a diverse leadership group at USDA committed to diversity, committed to equity, committed to inclusion and accessibility. We have continued work. This is an important set of steps we’ve taken, but we want to make sure that people understand that it’s a real good faith effort here to write a different chapter,” said Tom Vilsack, USDA Secretary of Agriculture.

At the exposition, attendees had the opportunity to hear from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and interact with local farmers who showcased their produce and products. Secretary Vilsack discussed the USDA’s programs aimed at aiding underserved communities.

“Well, there are so many programs, but I’ll just touch on a few. First of all, we want to make sure that people felt that they could work with USDA, understanding that there hadn’t been a trusted relationship over many, many years. So we’ve provided resources to groups like The Sherrod’s Institute group to provide a bridge between USDA and farmers who are in need of help and assistance. We’ve simplified our processes so that people can more easily access information and access credit. We’ve taken a look at ways in which we can help farmers that are currently doing business with USDA, who’ve had a tough time to be able to give them a little breathing room with resources that we’ve provided for loan servicing. We’ve got a program designed to provide financial assistance to those who have experienced discrimination in the past. Invested nearly $300 million in 50 different organizations across the United States asking them the question, how can we create more land access? How can we create more opportunities for markets for underserved producers?” said Secretary Vilsack.

Secretary Vilsack elaborates on the USDA’s efforts to prepare the next generation of workers in agriculture.

“Finally, we want to build the next generation of young people in farming. And, basically we’ve invested resources under what we call the next generation program designed to touch 20,000 young people who are currently going to college, community colleges, whatever, minority serving institutions in an effort to try to make sure that we continue to have a diverse workforce,” said Secretary Vilsack.

De’Andra Jacobs reporting.

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