The Centennial Farm Award

Changes in Land Ownership

The above maps show the number of black-owned farms per county in Georgia based on stats taken from the USDA census in 1920 and 2022. The more saturated a county is, the more farms, with completely yellow counties having over 150 farms. In 100 years since the 1920 census, there is a large reduction in the overall number of black-owned farms. While the map only accounts for the number of farms and not the size, the decreased number is still significant. 

Some possible reasons for this decrease can include urbanization, high property tax, and unequal access to resources which is explained further in the next section. Through discriminatory loan servicing and high tax assessments, many Black farmers were unable to afford their farms and subsequently sold it to White landowners for less than it was worth. Additionally, racial tension in the South and a lack of support from police caused a lot of land to be abandoned for the sake of safety. During times of general financial crisis, access to federal assistance was not provided to many Black farmers making it more feasible for small farms to sell off their land to larger entities (Admin, 2022)

Financial Impacts on Black Owned Farms

Dating back to the post-Civil War era, the USDA enacted policies that prevented African Americans from gaining a foothold in the agriculture industry. The USDA has openly acknowledged that its historical actions made it harder for Black farmers to get subsidies from the government or low interest loans that could have been used to enhance production. As explained in “A Brief History of Discrimination against Black Farmers—Including by the USDA” by an economist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, following the abolishment of slavery, the Southern Homestead Act was passed with the intention of helping former slaves obtain their own land. However, this failed because a significant amount of this land was of poor quality and was ill-suited for agricultural purposes. Later systems, such as sharecropping, further inhibited Black farmers. In the sharecropping system, landowners permitted tenants to use portions of their property for farming in exchange for a share of the farmers’ profits. With inconsistent harvest seasons, exploitative landlords, and high interest rates, this system “kept Black farmers trapped in cycles of debt and poverty, as they were forced to carry debt over to the following year” (Tshabalala, 2024). 

Throughout history, Black farmers have faced financial hindrances, such as poor land quality, reduced subsidies, and the sharecropping system, that made it more difficult for them to succeed in the agriculture industry in comparison to White farmers. The recipients of the Centennial Farmer Award have withstood the challenges the community has faced for over 100 years and thus are recognized for their accomplishments across generations of Black families. By preserving these farms, the Centennial Farm Award program shines light on the impact and significant contributions that Black owned farms have made to the country.