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

Author

Listed:
  • Dorceta E. Taylor

    (Yale University)

  • Lina M. Farias
  • 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)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorceta E. Taylor & Lina M. Farias & Lia M. Kahan & Julia Talamo & Alison Surdoval & Ember D. McCoy & Socorro M. Daupan, 2022. "Understanding the challenges faced by Michigan’s family farmers: race/ethnicity and the impacts of a pandemic," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(3), pages 1077-1096, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:39:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10460-022-10305-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-022-10305-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Maggie Dickinson, 2020. "Food frights: COVID-19 and the specter of hunger," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 589-590, September.
    2. Tim G. Benton, 2020. "COVID-19 and disruptions to food systems," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 577-578, September.
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    4. Key, Nigel & Burns, Christopher & Lyons, Greg, 2019. "Financial Conditions in the U.S. Agricultural Sector: Historical Comparisons," Economic Information Bulletin 301076, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. Fatuma Emmad & Devon G. Peña, 2020. "Feeding our autonomy: resilience in the face of the CoVid-19 and future pandemics," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 565-566, September.
    6. Hoppe, Robert A. & MacDonald, James M. & Korb, Penelope J., 2010. "Small Farms in the United States: Persistence Under Pressure," Economic Information Bulletin 58300, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    7. MacDonald, James M. & Korb, Penni & Hoppe, Robert A., 2013. "Farm Size and the Organization of U.S. Crop Farming," Economic Research Report 262221, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    8. Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern & Sea Sloat, 2017. "A new era of civil rights? Latino immigrant farmers and exclusion at the United States Department of Agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(3), pages 631-643, September.
    9. Megan Horst & Amy Marion, 2019. "Racial, ethnic and gender inequities in farmland ownership and farming in the U.S," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 36(1), pages 1-16, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Durant, Jennie L. & Asprooth, Lauren & Galt, Ryan E. & Schmulevich, Sasha Pesci & Manser, Gwyneth M. & Pinzón, Natalia, 2023. "Farm resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of California direct market farmers," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    2. Dorceta E. Taylor & Katherine Allison & Tevin Hamilton & Ashley Bell, 2023. "Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Food Access in Two Predominantly White Cities: The Case of Lansing, East Lansing, and Surrounding Townships in Michigan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-49, October.

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