Federal Grant Will Provide Training For Non-White Farmers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will grant $500,000 to organizations in Wisconsin that provide resources and training to underrepresented farmers.

The population of farmers in Wisconsin is almost entirely white: Only 1 percent of farm owners are ethnic minorities.

Yee Ythao is a certified organic farmer in Madison. She specializes in growing foods from her native Thailand. Ythao said more people should explore growing non-native foods.

“People think you can’t grow things like lemongrass in Wisconsin but you can,” she said.

Ythao received help from a farmer support group called the Farley Center. They’re one of the U.S. Department of Agriculture grant recipients. Ythao said they helped her get a plot of land and become certified organic.

“Because (of) the language barrier and paperwork barrier, we would never be able to do without Farley Center,” she said.

In total, the USDA has pledged nearly $9 million to support underrepresented farmers around the country.

Although virtually all farms in the state are owned by white families, minority groups have a strong presence in Wisconsin agriculture. For example, 40 percent of the dairy industry’s employees are immigrants.