Agriculture Secretary Glickman announced today that to improve the Agriculture Department's treatment of minority employees and farmers, he will ask Congress to convert Farm Service Agency employees controlled by farmer-elected county committees to federal status.
Glickman also said he will ask Congress to give him authority to appoint two people to the committees -- which range from three to five members -- if none are elected as a way to guarantee the county committees include "a voice for underrepresented groups."
The announcements follows the work of a civil rights action team Glickman appointed in December, after black farmers marched in front of the White House charging discriminatory USDA policies were costing them their farms.
Glickman also appointed Pearlie Reed, a Natural Resources Conservation Service official and an African American, as acting assistant secretary for administration. Reed will have beefed-up civil rights enforcement powers in both employee and client cases.
Glickman's proposed changes are likely to be controversial on Capitol Hill. But he pointed out the county employees are paid with federal funds and should be "accountable" to federal civil rights standards. He added the definition of "underrepresented groups" would include women, but not environmentalists. In the past, environmental groups have argued for representation on the committees because taxpayer dollars are involved.
Glickman also said he would appoint a commission to study small farms because the basic problem in discrimination against minority farmers is that they are small farms and the USDA "has not given enough attention to the plight of small farms over the last several decades."
The county committee system was established in 1935. Under current law the committees certify who is a farmer for purposes of farm program eligibility and hire the county executive director, who hires local staff.
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