MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are at least over 42,000 farmers in the state of Georgia. They go into different sectors of farming like food, livestock, or seeding.
However, sometimes they need help to keep doing what they love.
Last month, the 41st annual Georgia Farmers Conference was held in Albany, Georgia. During the conference, the USDA recognized there was discrimination before January 2021 after minority farmers and ranchers were looked over for financial loans.
"What I look for are the bridges between financing and the actual infrastructure that needs to be built," Jon Jackson said.
Jackson is the owner of Comfort Farms and executive director of Sag Vets, Inc. Comfort Farms is the first veterans agriculture center for vets in crisis who are dealing with issues and want to give back to their community.
Comfort Farms is 38 acres. Jackson knows it's not large like other farmers but says it can be expensive for farmers like him too.
"You can... talking an excess of having anywhere around $25,000 expenses a month," Jackson said.
The USDA received $3.1 billion from the federal Inflation Reduction Act to provide relief for farmers who are struggling financially. While the deadline to apply has passed, there are other loans for farmers to look into.
The USDA says they've seen a history of discrimination against some groups of farmers due to their race, ethnicity, and sexual identity.
Eliyahu Ben Asa's family owns two farms, Atlanta Harvest and Local Land Organically Grown Gardens in Dublin. He says having access to resources to sustain a farm is also important.
"Accessibility is mostly the problem and when you decline opportunities from farms -- I mean, when you are going out for a loan or things of that nature. It is because it is something that you need to stay afloat. I mean, no one's really picking up a loan just because, you know, they think it would be beneficial. You are reaching out for a loan because you do not have the money to sustain the business yourself at the moment," Asa said.
Jackson says he is in a comfortable position but he says the state can reduce regulations on farms like the state's Cottage Law. He says small farms like his have to show growth in their business and if the state doesn't see the value then the money to create business is unsustainable.
Asa says some loans can be denied for especially new farmers because they don't have any background to show they have been in the farming industry for a long time.
"For farmers who needed the help and needed the resources that did not have the experience it really made the qualification seem like they would only support generational farmers, which many black farmers are not generational," Asa said.
While Asa and Jackson's farms are in a good place financially, they hope people recognize how vital they are to their community.