If my experience is any guide, the people who are least surprised to hear of the appalling conditions that led to the egg recall that began on August 13 were my fellow small and mid-sized farmers. Many of us have watched with alarm the changes in the poultry industry over the past several decades and warned of its likely consequences.

NBFA Meeting In Baton Rouge

The U.S. Senate failed Thursday to approve nearly $5 billion for a settlement between the Agriculture Department and minority farmers reached more than a decade ago, prompting finger-pointing by members of both parties and outrage among many black farmers.

Despite broad support, legislation to finalize $4.6 billion in settlements with black farmers and American Indians stalled in the Senate again Thursday amid partisan bickering.

On Wednesday, Black farmers in America place the fate of the funding of their historical discrimination case settlement once more in the hands of the U.S. Senate.

John W. Boyd, Jr. released the following statement in advance of the anticipated vote Monday night on a unanimous consent measure to be introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in an effort to add the Black farmers’ settlement funding to the small business bill still under consideration in the Senate.

This week, the U.S. Senate kicked more dirt in your face as it again stripped the lawsuit settlement funding from the legislation. It is time for the White House to intervene in this travesty of justice.

Black farmers won a discrimination lawsuit against the Department of Agriculture. But they are still waiting to be paid. President Obama announced the 1.25 BILLION dollar settlement in February, but although it has passed the House, it is now stuck in the Senate. Guest host Rebecca Roberts speaks with John Boyd, the President of the National Black Farmers Association, and Willie Adams, a farmer from Georgia, about the bill and why it is being held up.

On a conference call with reporters Friday, John Boyd Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association, said the Senate will have a unanimous consent vote on a stand-alone bill authorizing funds for the settlements.

Community banks would be able tap a $30 billion government fund to help them increase lending to small businesses under a bill working its way toward a vote in the Senate.

Black farmers have received a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that the Senate will vote Wednesday on a $1.15 billion settlement resolving long-standing discrimination claims.

Last night the Senate again failed to pass funding for the Black farmers discrimination settlement, this time it was stripped from the war funding bill. And previously the funding failed to gain passage in the tax extenders bill and the FEMA disaster assistance bill, even though the House has already passed the settlement funding in two separate bills.

Willie Adams' 60-acre Georgia farm has been in his family since 1938. He wants to hold onto its red clay and green pastures for generations to come. The fight to keep it is increasingly stressful.

Money to pay for a discrimination lawsuit brought against the Department of Agriculture by black farmers remains stuck in a legislative body described as a place where bills go to die.

Shirley Sherrod’s firing at the Agriculture Department (USDA) has put the national spotlight on the agency’s troubled civil rights history. And it reminded several black farmers’ advocates that the USDA has had to address charges of racism in the past.

President Barack Obama spoke with ousted U.S. Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod today to express his “regret” over her forced resignation, according to a White House statement. Obama told her Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is sincere in his effort to rid the agency of racial discrimination.

John Boyd, President of the National Black Farmers Association appears on CNN with host Fredricka Whitfield to discuss the $1.2 billion settlement that is still tied up in congress.

John W. Boyd, Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association, released the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives approved funding - as part of a larger - for the historic settlement to resolve decades of discrimination against black farmers by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On a recent Sunday in rural Macon, N.C., John W. Boyd Jr., the president of the National Black Farmers Association, went to his fourth funeral in a week. Mr. Boyd has been burying his group’s members with bitter frequency, attending two or three funerals most weeks. Each death makes him feel as if he is running out of time.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid criticized Republicans on Friday for blocking a measure that would compensate black farmers engaged in a decades-old discrimination suit against the U.S. Agriculture Department.