John Boyd, Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association, told Fox News Digital that farmers are being crushed under the policies of President Biden and criticized the administration for sending millions to foreign governments while farms are being foreclosed.
“Quite frankly, we’re facing extinction today,” Boyd Jr., a fourth-generation farmer from Mecklenburg County, Virginia, told Fox News Digital about the state of the farming industry four years into Biden’s presidency.
“Every time I look at the news, there’s another commitment to help foreign countries. We probably helped Ukraine, probably $100 billion or so, and we can’t get debt relief for American citizens in this country,” Boyd said.
Boyd told Fox News Digital President Biden promised him a meeting at the White House to talk about issues affecting farmers and that meeting has yet to take place. Additionally, Boyd said Biden told him he supported debt relief for Black farmers but “they wound up repealing it.”
“We’re providing Israel and other parts of the world billions of dollars in relief and, in one instance, we even provided Ukraine farmers with financial relief,” Boyd said. “But everyone frowns when I say that they should live up to their commitment for debt relief for America’s farmers and to stop farm foreclosures.“
Boyd spoke to Fox News Digital as President Biden pushes for the House to vote on a $95 billion national security supplemental package to assist Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific that recently passed in the Senate by a vote of 70-29.
The United States has sent hundreds of millions in aid to farmers in Ukraine in recent years, and U.S. aid chief Samantha Power said last year the United States has a “collective interest in ensuring that Ukrainian farmers stay in business.”
The price of farmland rose nearly 8% in 2023, pricing many young farmers out of the market. In recent years, Boyd has been an advocate for farmers facing foreclosures, specifically Black farmers who have been fighting with the USDA in recent years over allegations of racial discrimination,
Boyd went on to explain that small farmers are not getting enough help in recent years because the “country has made it so difficult.”
“For instance, we have beef cattle prices in this country where we’re producing the lowest amount of beef for most countries, 82 million cows and calves,” Boyd said. “We’re down close to 3%, and we’re producing 1 billion pounds less of America’s beef than we did last year this time. And it’s because we’re not investing in America’s farmers and, in this case, beef cattle farmers.
“And I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been producing beef for 41 years, and I just came from the livestock market and there are empty stalls. And this is the time that America’s farmers sell beef to pay off all debts. You know, insurance and all of these things that we use that secondary income to pay our bills to survive until we start planting season. And when I went to the market, I noticed a lot of empty stalls when, historically, those stalls had been filled up with beef cattle and farmers selling their livestock.
“And it’s because we’re not investing in America’s farmers, and they can’t hold on so they’re depleting their herds. And that means they’re not having more cows to go into next year.
“These are real issues. And if we don’t face them, we are going to be begging other countries to send us food instead of supporting America’s farmers. And all this is happening under this administration, and nobody’s saying a word about it.”
If things don’t change in the next five to 10 years, Boyd said the farming industry won’t be able to meet the country’s needs.
President Biden speaks during the United Auto Workers union conference at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C., Jan. 24, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
“We’re going to be — and I’m speaking as the head of the National Black Farmers Association — there are not going to be any farmers left if we don’t hurry up and take action in this country to protect farmers in this country,” Boyd said. “I mean, put some real laws in place to protect America’s farmers.
“These are the people that produce food and feed every household in this country, and we should have them at the top of the tier rather than down at the bottom, frowning on the acts to provide relief to farmers.”
What the government “doesn’t frown on,” Boyd explained, is providing “billions of dollars to foreign countries that aren’t going to support us when they get back on their feet.
“If you don’t believe me, look at Iraq and Afghanistan. We invested billions of dollars in those regions, and they still don’t want us in those countries today,” Boyd said. “So, why do we keep making the same mistakes? Investing all of our money into foreign countries that really aren’t going to support us anywhere. Invest those dollars into our own country, in our own infrastructure and, in this case, America’s farmers. And watch it multiply where we can leave our farming operations to the next generation of farmers.“
Boyd told Fox News Digital helping farmers is not a partisan issue and hopes the Biden administration will fulfill its promise to meet with him.
“You have an enormous amount of resources to help farmers in Ukraine, which aren’t U.S. citizens. I don’t care how you look at that — Republican, Democrat, independent. Man, that’s bad politics.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a White House spokesperson said they “appreciate the work John Boyd, Jr. does on behalf of Black farmers nationwide as the National Black Farmers Association president, as well as the insights he provides on the struggles Black farmers are facing.”
“This is why we recently invited him to an event with senior White House officials, including Office of Public Engagement Director Mayor Benjamin and Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden, as well as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, specifically focused on advancing equity and opportunity in agriculture,” the statement said.
“While Mr. Boyd was unfortunately unavailable to participate in this meeting at the White House, we hope to partner with him in the future as we continue our efforts to support rural communities and farmers, including Black farmers throughout the country.”
The White House also pointed to investments made into farming via the Inflation Reduction Act including hundreds of millions in assistance through the USDA and investment to improve land access opportunities.
