No Farm., No Justice
August 27, 2007
Aug 28, 2007 -- /prbuzz/ --For Immediate Release
Farmers call for audits of local Farm Service Administration offices and

CONTACTS:
HARRY YOUNG 270-275-4590
MELISSA & JERRY SEAVER 812-820-8082



The resignation of US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gives the Bush Administration the opportunity to revisit the injustices which have been done to middle class American farmers by the US Department of Justice, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Farm Services Administration. Many farmers have lost their farms due to what farm activists across the nation call a misinterpretation of the Shared Appreciation Agreement, whereby, in exchange for restructuring a farm loan during financial difficulties, the farmer agrees that the USDA takes 75% of the value of the appreciated value of the farm WHEN the farm is sold.

USDA has historically (mis)interpreted the law to mean this: instead of the farm being sold in the future, and the agency receiving the lion’s share of the appreciated value at the time of the sale, the agency forecloses and instead puts the farm up for auction and sells the land at its discretion, thereby putting the family farmer off his land and out of business. This violates the spirit and intent of the law.

In addition to misinterpreting the law, the agency has been accused of misplacing, misdirecting and not crediting farm loan payments, resulting in erroneous auctions of farms across the nation. This injustice has driven tens of thousands of black, Native American and white farmers off their land and out of business.

Farmers around the nation continue to call for formal investigation into the policies, procedures and practices of local Farm Service Administration offices, which have arbitrarily, and often illegally foreclosed on farm properties. In addition, farm activists want an investigation into the possible conflict of interest of Farm Service Administration employees who receive BONUSES FOR FORECLOSING ON FARMERS, the very farmers whose loans they arranged.

We believe that for the farm service agent, an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture/FSA to concurrently serve as loan officer, foreclosure agent and bonus recipient smacks of criminal conflict of interest. Too many farmers have lost land in these bogus sales and this practice must end.
About the Press Release
We believe that for the farm service agent, an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture/FSA to serve as loan officer, foreclosure agent and bonus recipient is a conflict of interest.


 
< Prev   Next >