AskUSDA (2024)

FAQs

What is the USDA black farmer lawsuit? ›

The Biden administration has doled out more than $2 billion in direct payments for Black and other minority farmers discriminated against by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the president announced Wednesday. More than 23,000 farmers were approved for payments ranging from $10,000 to $500,000, according to the USDA.

The guidance resource, askFSIS, is a Web-based computer application, designed to respond to technical and policy-related questions from FSIS inspectors, industry, consumers, other stakeholders, and the public.

​​​ AskUSDA is a contact center that answers general inquiries from the public using trained agents and self-service options. To date, AskUSDA has partnered with 19 agencies to improve the customer experience offered to the public.

Answer: For the purpose of the raw ground beef recordkeeping regulation, USDA has defined a lot as the amount of ground raw beef produced during particular dates and times, following clean up and until the next clean-up (9 CFR 320.1(b)(4)(iii)).

Black farmers and others who faced discrimination from the U.S. Department of Agriculture received more than $2 billion in direct payments following years of delays due to legal challenges.

On August 6, 2013 Class Counsel filed an Unopposed Motion for Approval of Distribution of Funds, which the Court granted on August 23, 2013. The Court's Order approved the distribution of $1,200,425,182.08 as detailed in the Claims Administrator's Corrected Preliminary Final Accounting (dated August 15, 2013).

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is the public health regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that United States' commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.

FSIS protects public health by preventing illness from meat, poultry and egg products. We do this by ensuring these products are safe, wholesome and properly labeled.

FDA, through its Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), regulates foods other than the meat, poultry, and egg products regulated by FSIS. FDA is also responsible for the safety of drugs, medical devices, biologics, animal feed and drugs, cosmetics, and radiation emitting devices.

While response to the Census of Agriculture is required by law, USDA will not fine a producer who does not return their ag census form.

What is better than USDA Choice? ›

USDA Prime: Produced from well-fed, young cattle, Prime is the USDA's highest grade, featuring abundant marbling (flecks of fat within the meat that makes it more flavorful). USDA Choice is the second-highest grade, with flavorful, tender cuts but with less marbling than USDA Prime.

USDA is responsible for regulating meat and poultry, processed egg products, and catfish, whereas the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees food safety for fresh eggs and almost all other foods.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service

FSIS protects the public's health by preventing illness from meat, poultry, and egg products. We do this by ensuring these products are safe, wholesome, and properly labeled.

The Southeastern Legal Foundation and Mountain States Legal Foundation are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on behalf of four Texas farmers. The legal entities say USDA “unconstitutionally and unlawfully” funneled the relief payments to certain farmers based on race and sex.

The 1999 lawsuit alleged that in myriad ways the agency discriminated against Black farmers resulting in uneven distribution of farm loans and assistance. This caused many Black farmers to lose their land and farms to foreclosure.

Introduced in Senate (01/26/2023) To address the history of discrimination against Black farmers and ranchers, to require reforms within the Department of Agriculture to prevent future discrimination, and for other purposes.

Financial Assistance Provided

If you applied and have not received notification by August 6, we encourage you to call the DFAP call center at 1-800-721-0970 or (if you filed your application online) to check your application status at forms.22007apply.gov .