Resources

Last updated 2/17/2023

Outlined below is a list of resources relevant to history, actions, and reports that have been provided to Equity Commission and Subcommittee members. This list is updated as new information is identified and/or requested by the members.

Executive Orders

• Executive Order 13985 On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
  (Published January 20, 2021)
• Memo to Agencies: Advancing Equity in Procurement
  (Published December 2, 2021)
• Executive Order 13988 Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
  (Published January 20, 2021)
• Memo to Agencies on Modernizing Regulatory Review
  (Published January 20, 2021)
• Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government
  (Published December 13, 2021)
• Strategic Plan to Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce
  (Published November 2021)

American Rescue Plan

• American Rescue Plan Website and Fact Sheet
• American Rescue Plan of 2021
  (Published February 22, 2021)

• Advancing Equity through The American Rescue Plan Report
  (Published May 2022)

Federal Government Reports and Findings

• Are Rights a Reality? Evaluating Federal Civil Rights Enforcement
  (Published November 2019)
• Agricultural Credit Needs and Barriers to Lending on Tribal Lands
  (Published May 2019)
• IT Modernization: USDA Needs to Improve Oversight of Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area
  (Published September 23, 2021)
• USDA Market Facilitation Program: Oversight of Future Supplemental Assistance to Farmers Could Be Improved
  (Published January 4, 2022)
• GAO-12-976R, U.S. Department of Agriculture: Progress toward Implementing GAO’s Civil Rights Recommendations
  (Published August 29, 2012)
• GAO-09-62 U.S. Department of Agriculture: Recommendations and Options to Address Management Deficiencies in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
  (Published October 2008)
• Information on Credit and Outreach to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Is Limited
  (Published July 11, 2019)

Office of the Inspector General Assessments / Analyses

• The Pigford Cases: USDA Settlement of Discrimination Suites by Black Farmers
  (Published May 29, 2013)
• Garcia v. Vilsack: A Policy and Legal Analysis of a USDA Discrimination Case
  (Published February 22, 2013)
• USDA Oversight of Civil Rights Complaints | USDA
  (Published October 22, 2021)
• Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (2501 Program) in Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019 | USDA
  (Published November 10, 2021)
• Hispanic and Women Farmers and Ranchers Claim Resolution Process | USDA
  (Published March 31, 2016)
• Market Facilitation Program—Interim Report | USDA
  (Published September 30, 2020)
• Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation (BFDL) Audit Report (PDF, 6.8 MB)
  (Published December 2013)

USDA Reports, Resources, and Tools

• Heirs’ Property and Land Fractionation: Fostering Stable Ownership to Prevent Land Loss and Abandonment
  (Published September 2019)
• Civil Rights at the United States Department of Agriculture
  (Published February 1997)
• USDA Oversight of Civil Rights Complaints
  (Published September 2021)
• Implementation of the Civil Rights Action Team Report at USDA: An Interim Progress Report
  (Published September 1997)
• Independent Assessment of the Delivery of Technical and Financial Assistance: Civil Rights Assessment, Executive Summary
  (Published March 31, 2011)
• Independent Assessment of the Delivery of Technical and Financial Assistance: Civil Rights Assessment, Final Report (also known as the “Jackson Lewis Report”)
  (Published March 31, 2011)

• Jackson Lewis Equity Recommendations

  • USDA Exit Memo 2017

  • The People’s Department – A New Era for Civil Rights

• Equity at USDA Fact Sheet (PDF, 572 KB)

• 2017 USDA Agriculture Census

• Map Tool on the Census Website

• USDA Direct Farm Loans Journey by GSA and FSA
  (Published July 10, 2018)

• USDA FY 2023 Budget Summary (PDF, 1.9 MB) and 2023 USDA Budget Explanatory Notes

• Tribal Consultations Website and Framing Papers (Published April 2022)

  • Framing Paper: Economic Development (PDF, 249 KB)
  • Framing Paper: Food, Safety, and Trade (PDF, 203 KB)
  • Framing Paper: Farming, Ranching, and Conservation (PDF, 256 KB)
  • Framing Paper: Forests & Public Lands (PDF, 227 KB)
  • Framing Paper: Education & Research (PDF, 202 KB)

• Your FSA Farm Loan Compass
  (Revised March 2021)

• Office of the Ombudsperson at USDA

  • Fact Sheet (PDF, 120 KB)
  • Introduction to the Office of the Ombudsperson Presentation (PDF, 226 KB)
  • Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 96.9 KB)

• Farm Service Agency Committees: In Brief
  (Updated January 29, 2021)

• Racial and Ethnic Equity in U.S. Agriculture: Selected Current Issues
  (Published April 11, 2022)

FSA County Committee Resources

• County Committee Federal Register Notice-33063, Page 8 (Published June 5, 2022)

• 2019 Farm Service Agency County Committee Election Report (Published 2019)

• County Committee Eligibility to Vote Factsheet (Published June 2022)

• Code of Federal Regulations, Selection and Functions of Farm Service Agency State and County Committees (Published June 2012)

• County Committee Frequently Asked Questions (Published June 2022)

Rural Data Gateway Website

USDA Advisory Committee Reports

• Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers Website (ACMF)

  • ACMF Recommendations (Published 2012) (PDF, 2.6 MB)
  • Letter to Secretary Vilsack (Published October 2015) (PDF, 28.2 KB)
  • ACMF Recommendations (Published February 2021)
• Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Website (ACBFR)

• Council for Native American Farming and Ranching Website (CNAFR)

  • CNAFR Recommendations (Updated June 2018) (PDF, 615 KB)
• A Time to Act: A Report of the USDA National Commission on Small Farms
  (Published December 31, 1997)
• Indian Country Extension Commission Report
  (Published April 2022)

USDA Strategic Plan & Equity Action Plans

• USDA Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2022-2026 (Published March 2022) (PDF, 9.6 MB)
• USDA Equity Action Plan (Published April 14, 2022)
• Equity Action Plans for all Agencies (Published April 14, 2022)
• White House Convening on Equity (recording of meeting hosted on April 14, 2022)
• Executive Order 13985 RFI Summary Findings (published April 14, 2022)