Hispanic farmers seek compensation for USDA's discriminatory lending

BROWNSVILLE — Norberto Flores’ family lived to make something of South Texas land. His father farmed in Brownsville, his grandparents in Raymondville. When he was able, Flores started his own farm.

On 1,800 acres of leased land, Flores grew sorghum, cotton, corn, cabbage and other vegetables. He taught his boys, now 15 and 10, about the land because they both wanted to be farmers, too.

But every year it got more difficult. Flores and his wife, Jana Flores, depended on loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, through a system set up to help small farmers get financing to keep the farms running and pay it back after the crops had been harvested. But for the family, like other minority farmers in the nation, it didn’t work that way.

“Every year the USDA would take longer and longer to approve operating loans — it would be time to farm the fields and there would be no money,” Jana Flores said. “We found out this was only happening to Hispanic farmers.”

Norberto Flores was also required to keep any funding in a supervised bank account mandating that he get a co-signature to purchase any farm supplies.

“I had to go to classes on how to manage money and it was all Hispanics, no Anglo farmers,” he said.

The later the money came in, the more useless it became, and in 2003 the family lost its leased lands to families who had gotten loans on time and could pay up front. The USDA told the Flores family it needed to file for bankruptcy and sell everything.

The equipment was appraised at $142,000. But given only 30 days to sell it, they were only able to get $19,000.

Like other families, the Floreses remember being treated scornfully in interactions with local USDA officials. Jana Flores described in a formal declaration the reaction of a farm loan manager named “Butch” as the family realized they would have to shut down their operation.

“Don’t go blowing your brains out over this,” she recalled the man saying.

The family later found out that just days earlier, according to the declaration, another local Hispanic farmer had killed himself after fighting the USDA for loans and ultimately succumbing to bankruptcy.

Now the Flores family is one of a group of Rio Grande Valley farmers having to decide this month if they will take advantage of a USDA program offering compensation to those who can prove they faced discrimination.

For a family that now survives by making equipment deliveries to other farmers, it’s an emotional choice.

“A third-generation farmer — we lost everything,” Jana Flores said, her voice breaking. “Our boys lost that ability to carry on that tradition.”

THE PROGRAM

The USDA’s compensation program, announced in February, offers up to $50,000 to Hispanic and female farmers who applied for a farm loan between 1981 and 1996 — or between Oct. 13, 1998, and Oct. 13, 2000, for Hispanics and between Oct. 19, 1998, and Oct. 19, 2000, for women. Another $50,000 is available to a second tier of applicants with a higher burden of proof.

Those applying for compensation must provide documentation of complaints made about the discrimination, though USDA representatives acknowledged it was unlikely that most people would have had the foresight to make copies of their complaints in the 1980s and keep them.

The Flores family said they have no records of formal complaints because their local USDA office told them they couldn’t file any in the first place.

“You’re required to have a formal complaint from 15 to 18 years ago, and all this time we were told there was no such process,” Jana Flores said.

Critics of the offer contend it doesn’t compare to what was granted to African-American and Native American farmers for similar discrimination. The courts certified lawsuits by those groups as class action, a certification Hispanic and female farmers did not get.

USDA officials acknowledge the program isn’t perfect but say it’s at least something — the department has no legal obligation to offer anything.

USDA COMES TO EDINBURG

Emotions were raw at a meeting April 11 in Edinburg where more than 60 people showed up to hear representatives from the USDA explain the program.

Though most came to find out details of the program before applying, many made it clear they were displeased. The officials in attendance acknowledged the frustrations of the crowd.

“You’re probably thinking, ‘These guys can’t give me a straight answer,’ but here’s the straight deal, folks. … It wasn’t classified as a class action,” said Juan Garcia, the state executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency.

Max Finberg, director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships of the USDA Office of the Secretary, flew in from Washington, D.C., for the meeting and had to defend the administration more forcefully as it progressed.

Jana Flores asked Finberg why Hispanics couldn’t get the same compensation as African-Americans and Native Americans. His reply — there aren’t “enough of you” in Congress — added to the friction.

Finberg appeared frustrated when asked why people had to provide documentation the government knew likely did not exist.

“There’s a guy called Steve King from Iowa who doesn’t want any of you to have any of this,” he said.

Justin DeJong, deputy director of communications for the department, later said the USDA did not intend to single out U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, but said many members of Congress thought it crucial to have strong fraud protection measures in place.

Numerous fraud allegations have been made regarding the claims and settlements of African-American farmers.

The USDA was unable to give an exact figure for the number of people in the Valley who have requested claims packages, but those who intend to file claims will have to make a decision soon. An adjudicator should be named within three weeks and claimants will then have 180 days to file.

The Flores family has decided to say nay.

“The program they’re trying to do — I see it as a bear trap,” Norberto Flores said. “If we even step in it, it’s going to cut our legs off.”

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Elizabeth Findell covers Pharr, San Juan, Alamo, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.