Black urban farmers in Michigan: ‘Playing field is not equitable’ for funding

Willie Patmon wants to teach Detroit's children how to plant the seeds to grow, harvest and consume clean produce.

TC Collins of Willow Run Acres farm, a Ypsilanti farmer known as "Farmer TC," who has been farming on leased land for decades, wants more equitable funding for Black farmers.

Those are among other Black farmers and Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund members who participated in a roundtable discussion. The fund is a coalition of three Detroit-based urban farming organizations: Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, Keep Growing Detroit, and Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network.

Urban farmers had their voices heard on Monday when a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) official and others gathered in Detroit for an urban farm visit focusing on the USDA's efforts to "encourage the growth of small-scale and urban farming. "

Fund co-founder Erin Johnson described the discussion as "making sure our unique perspectives are heard at the table.

Xochitl Torres Small, USDA deputy secretary, was in town and joined by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Lansing, on the city's North End on a visit to the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm.

Torres Small and Slotkin toured the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm's various hoop houses, crops and facilities. They listened to pleas from Black urban farmers for help with access to more grants and funding.

Black farmers voice concerns

After touring the urban farm on Goodwin Street in Detroit, Torres Small and Slotkin, along with Patrice Brown, senior manager of the Community Food Network for Eastern Market Corp., convened at the farm's resource center for the roundtable discussion.

Collins, who said he is one of two Black farmers in Washtenaw County, said match funding is a roadblock he faces and the "playing field is not equitable."

"As a Black farmer, if you don't have land to mortgage and they say you need to have match funding ... if you don't have land as collateral or money in the bank or good credit or any financial credit forces, how do you have money, so that's the roadblock. Match funding can't exist in the Black community."

Other barriers he discussed included property and crop insurance, and the cost of accessing irrigation and water.

Collins farms a variety of herbs, more than a dozen tomato varieties, and dozens of potato varieties, including Peruvian potatoes.

Patmon, who grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, is dedicated to teaching children how to grow and harvest clean produce. That requires having land free of debris and access to water, he said.

"You've got to have water, you've got to have sunshine and you have got to have good soil," he told the panel. "I refuse to grow crops on polluted soil. I'm just not going to do it."

Patmon said when he first bought the property, "it wasn't clean enough to grow a tomato."

"I had a terrible time trying to get the debris out and have clean soil so I can grow clean food," he said.

Farm Bill hearings to begin

The urban farm visit was just ahead of the House Committee on Agriculture hearings on Thursday of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, commonly called the "Farm Bill."

Slotkin said the farm bill presented to the house has no money for urban agriculture, while the proposed bill under U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.," has a good chunk of money for urban agriculture.

"We're going to be talking about this meeting on Thursday in a live hearing because there's a complete lack of understanding of what urban agriculture can do in our country," Slotkin said.

Monday's roundtable, Slotkin said, was based on previous conversations with some of these farmers and hearing about some of the program restrictions that make it hard for them to be successful.

"The rules of some of the programs make it hard for some of our growing farmers of color to actually make it," Slotkin said. And we know that in Detroit, there's not enough fresh food, we know that around the state, there's not a lot of Black farmers."

Torres Small said the USDA is "working hard to make our programs more accessible through smaller grants that might not require as much of a match or also looking at insurance programs that can cover new beginning farmers as well as new beginning farmer loans that might be easier to get."

Torres Small said the Biden-Harris administration is investing in urban agriculture through seventeen service centers across the country, including one in Detroit.

"A key part (of the service centers) is working directly with urban farmers and how we can better support them through our programs," Small Torres said.

The USDA's service centers aim to "increase market access and revenue streams for producers while strengthening the food system and giving consumers better access to locally grown foods and healthier choices," according to a news release.

"Urban farming is such a vital part of our future when it comes to AG," Small Torres said. "Making sure that we can get more local markets and that farmers can get a fair share of their food dollar, Secretary Vilsack is focused on making sure that USDA programs can serve urban farmers."

Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Officials meet with Michigan Black urban farmers ahead of Farm Bill