Understanding the challenges faced by Michigan’s family farmers: race/ethnicity and the impacts of a pandemic

Dorceta E. Taylor (), Lina M. Farias (), Lia M. Kahan (), Julia Talamo (), Alison Surdoval (), Ember D. McCoy () and Socorro M. Daupan ()
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Dorceta E. Taylor: Yale University
Lia M. Kahan: The College of Wooster
Julia Talamo: Yale University
Alison Surdoval: The Nature Conservancy
Ember D. McCoy: University of Michigan
Socorro M. Daupan: Clean Water Action

Agriculture and Human Values, 2022, vol. 39, issue 3, No 16, 1077-1096

Abstract: Abstract Michigan is a critical agricultural state, and small family farms are a crucial component of the state’s food sector. This paper examines how the race/ethnicity of the family farm owners/operators is related to farm characteristics, financing, and impacts of the pandemic. It compares 75 farms owned/operated solely by Whites and 15 with People of Color owners/operators. The essay examines how farmers finance their farm operations and the challenges they face doing so. The article also explores how the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic affected farming operations, the financial viability of farms, and how farmers responded to the challenges posed by the pandemic. The study found that People of Color farm owners/operators were younger than White farm owners/operators. The People of Color farm owners/operators tended to manage smaller farms for shorter periods than White farm owners/operators. Though two-thirds of the Farmers of Color owned their farms, they were more financially vulnerable than White farm owners/operators. The farmers studied had difficulty obtaining loans to finance their farms. Farmers reported increasing requests from people for food assistance during the pandemic. Farmers responded to the pandemic by participating in government programs such as the Farm to Families Food Box Program that purchased their produce. It allowed farmers to supply emergency food assistance programs with products from their farms. The products went to families receiving food assistance from soup kitchens, food banks, and other community-based nonprofits.

Keywords: COVID; Loans; Financial insecurity; People of Color; Whites; Organic; Food insecurity; Food assistance; Gleaning; Online (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s10460-022-10305-6

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