skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 31, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Wisconsin AG seeks to stop Elon Musk's $1M payments at rally giveaway; Rural advocates urge CA lawmakers to safeguard banking protections; Federal, state job cuts threaten FL workers' rights, services; Alabama counties lack high-speed internet and health access.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President Trump says there are ways for him to take a third term. New tariffs are scheduled for this week, but economists say they'll hurt buying power. And advocates say the Trans Day of Visibility is made more important by state legislation.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks face significant clean air and water risks due to EPA cutbacks, a group of policymakers is working to expand rural health care via mobile clinics, and a new study maps Montana's news landscape.

Small MS family farms battle inequities, climate change

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 19, 2025   

For generations, small family farms have worked to feed Mississippi communities but small-scale operations, particularly those run by Black farmers, face growing challenges in a landscape increasingly dominated by large agribusinesses.

The struggles are not new. Systemic barriers to getting loans and resources continue to disadvantage Black farmers.

Henry Bell, co-owner of Old Country Farm in Jefferson County, said his father started farming in the 1930s. Now working alongside his daughter, they focus on sustainable livestock farming and seasonal crops, like berries and sweet potatoes. Bell pointed out challenges like delays in loan disbursements have directly affected their planting schedules.

"You know, you have growing season and all that. You miss that growing season then you've got to wait to start the next year, and of course that put us back behind the white farmers," Bell explained. "The white farmers, they always got their money on time and most times, they got more money than they need."

Bell worries corporate farms "get the best of everything," compared to smaller operations. Last year, the Biden administration provided more than $2 billion in direct payments to Black and minority farmers who faced discrimination from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Climate change adds new threats. The Bells remember the devastating 2001 freeze, which wiped out their livestock and severely affected the farm.

Brittany Bell Surratt, co-owner of Old Country Farm, said extreme weather, from intense heat to sudden freezes, continues to disrupt their operations.

"The South shouldn't get that cold. But at the same time, we are also seeing these extreme heat temperatures, to the traditional climate change point, in which you have long periods of droughts," Surratt observed. "So, there's not rain that's coming, to be able to have the grass and to fertilize."

Many small Mississippi farms also struggle with the digital divide. Surratt noted her father remains largely disconnected from modern technology, operating mostly off the grid.

"They don't have Wi-Fi at his house," Surratt added. "There's a technology divide that is shutting out rural and older farmers where they are not being able to get the information that's needed when these types of climate disaster do happen and there may be sometime of relief."

Despite the challenges, the Bells said they are dedicated to sustainable farming and advocating for policies to support small farms, including race-based programs to address historical discrimination.

They also want to inspire younger generations to take pride in farming. In 2018, Bell's granddaughter made history as the first African American girl in the area to win the "Dairy Goat Queen" title at the local fair.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Nearly one in eight Mississippi residents relies on the food assistance program, which faces $230 billion in proposed federal cuts. (Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

For nearly one in eight Mississippians, monthly SNAP benefits provide a critical lifeline, one now at risk as congressional Republicans propose $230 …


Social Issues

play sound

Today, Montanans will gather outside the Statehouse to observe International Transgender Day of Visibility, during a legislative session that has …

Social Issues

play sound

Florida's public employees face twin crises as federal collective bargaining rights suddenly disappear and state government jobs are cut, leaving …


Cuts to Medicaid are one way Congress could pay for extending tax cuts passed in 2017. It is estimated two-thirds of the benefits of the extension would go to the wealthiest 20% of Americans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

To pay for the priorities of President Donald Trump's administration, like mass deportations and tax cuts, Republicans in Congress are considering …

Environment

play sound

A new study says agriculture co-ops are a strong economic force in states like South Dakota - but their future is murky, because of federal tax cuts …

Legislation across the country seeks to block transgender people from receiving health care, education, and even the right to publicly exist. (zera ruzgar/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Today is the International Trans Day of Visibility, to recognize the contributions of transgender people in society -- and raise awareness of the …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Wildfires are creeping closer and closer to health care facilities in California, including hospitals and nursing homes, according to a new study…

Social Issues

play sound

President Donald Trump's administration has targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, so advocates for people in rural communities are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021