Tom Philpott at The Grist had an interesting post the other day wondering whether Obama’s food/ag policy is withering. Among the possibilities for Agriculture Secretary, he discusses: John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association.

After spending months campaigning for Barack Obama across the South, John Boyd Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association, is now seeking to have a larger voice in U.S. agricultural policy, hopefully as secretary of agriculture.

Hundreds of Black farmers from across North Carolina are scheduled to hold a rally in support of Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign Wednesday Oct. 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center.

This year, as a humanitarian effort, the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) and the Aminal Welfare Institute (AWI) launched 'Project Wanted Horse," assuring that any horse rescued from slaughter or an abuse situation would be placed on one of 94,000 NBFA farms across the country. Del Camino Equestrian Enterprises Inc., which takes a very special interest in "senior" horses has honored the NFBA its 2008 Best Humane Business Innovation Award for its commitment to senior horses.

Dr. Boyd has personally invited you to attend an Information Session to be held on the Campus of Denmark SC If you are a Black Farmer and filed a late claim and you have not received your 50,000.00 this is a must-attend session.

Dressed in a dark pinstripe suit with a blue striped shirt and tie, John Boyd Jr. looks the part of Washington insider. After eight years of knocking on doors on Capitol Hill nearly twice a week, Boyd can walk the walk and talk the talk with the best of them. But unlike much of K Street, where big retainers and steak dinners are the norm, Boyd isn’t doing it for the money.

The ongoing legal battle between black farmers and USDA could reach unprecedented financial costs in the coming years. A provision in the recently enacted farm bill guarantees black farmers a new opportunity to apply for financial damages against the Department of Agriculture.

Despite the continuing exodus from small-town America, rural communities may play a significant role in the 2008 presidential election.

United States Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., today commended the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) for the partnership they launched this week to help find homes for the so called "unwanted horses" on farms operated by NBFA members.

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) have launched a national partnership aimed at helping American horses in need by finding them homes on farms operated by NBFA members.

The Virginia-based National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) [advocacy website] brought a class-action lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) [official website] Monday, alleging on behalf of over 800 black farmers that the USDA improperly discriminated against them in its allocation of resources.

More than 800 black farmers filed a new lawsuit against the Agriculture Department just two weeks after Congress reopened a 1999 settlement over past discrimination.

The future of a landmark discrimination case [NBFA press release] brought by black farmers against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is uncertain after President George W. Bush vetoed the new Farm Bill [HR 2419 materials] Wednesday.

Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va., told the group the bill includes a provision to pay $100 million to black farmers who were blocked from joining a 1999 class-action discrimination suit against the government

With grain prices soaring, farm income at record highs and the federal budget deficit widening, the subsidies and handouts given to American farmers would seem vulnerable to a serious pruning.

Nearly a decade after the Agriculture Department agreed to settle a discrimination suit brought by black farmers, one of the largest payouts in U.S. history at almost $1 billion so far, the department has yet to develop a system to adequately address hundreds of other bias complaints from farmers and its own employees, the Government Accountability Office said this week.

The following statement was released today by John W. Boyd, Jr. the founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA). Boyd has led a major advocacy and lobbying campaign in Washington, DC:

Thousands of African-American farmers have been fighting for compensation for the money they say they lost because they were denied federal government loans, while their neighbors were getting them. It's one of the biggest civil rights cases in American history and it's not over yet

Today a subcommittee for Congress’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform convened a hearing on “Management of Civil Rights at the United States Department of Agriculture”. The subcommittee’s intent is to address the myriad concerns about discriminatory practices within USDA and whether recent efforts to improve management of USDA’s civil rights programs have been effective.

On Tuesday, Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida) will testify before the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment regarding the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) water sharing issue. Following the hearing, Boyd will hold a press conference call with Florida's stakeholders to discuss the ACF issue and respond to testimony from the hearing.