USDA ends Biden-era disaster relief program standards for farmers based on race, sex: legal watchdog

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has ended the Biden-era disaster relief program standards for farmers based on race and sex, which was praised by a legal watchdog that had been fighting the policies in court.

The USDA "has independently determined that it will no longer employ the race- and sex-based 'socially disadvantaged' designation to provide increased benefits based on race and sex in the programs at issue in this regulation," the department said in its formal notice earlier this month.

The Southeastern Legal Foundation said  the USDA's notice was in direct response to the watchdog's victory in court in the case Strickland v. USDA. SLF's lawsuit stopped eight disaster relief programs from the Biden administration that gave funds to farmers on the basis of race and sex, excluding white male farmers.

The USDA said that "the Strickland decision catalyzed the changes USDA is making in this rule to comport with the Constitution."

SLF President Kim Hermann said in a statement: "This is a big win for SLF, but most importantly it is a huge win for America’s farmers. We are very thankful for the USDA’s revisions to these programs, and we are incredibly proud that we were able to play a part in protecting America’s farmers from race- and sex-based discrimination.

"Farming is one of the most important and difficult occupations in the world, where their hard work directly impacts everyone. They have to be able to do their jobs without having to worry about DEI nonsense, and we hope to see any forms of discrimination in federal programs come to a complete halt."