News

USDA temporarily suspends Farm Service Agency foreclosures

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has temporarily suspended all foreclosures within the Farm Service Agency’s farm loan program.

Vilsack made theannouncement as part of a memorandum detailing a plan to promote civil rights and equal access at USDA. Vilsack says the suspension of Farm Service Agency foreclosures will not only aid farmers facing economic hardship, but will also give the agency time to review the loan granting process forpossible discriminatory conduct.

Vilsack’s memo creates a task force that will review a sample of civil rights complaints submitted to USDA. Vilsack says the complaints and inquiries total over 14-thousand, including over three-thousand that have not been processed.