In 2018, the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association (BFAA) filed a class action lawsuit accusing the Stine Seed Company of intentionally selling them bad seeds at the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show in March of 2017.
As troubling as the accusations are, new case developments are making the fight for justice harder to win.
The farmers knew something was wrong when their crop was one-tenth of the yield of their white neighbors’ - a difference so clear-cut that it almost put some Black farmers out of business.
And BFAA president Thomas Burrell claims that’s no coincidence.
“Mother nature doesn’t discriminate,” says Burrell, “It doesn’t rain on white farms but not black farms. Insects don’t [only] attack Black farmers’ land.”
Even with evidence from researchers at Mississippi State University proving the seeds were defective, U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. ordered the two parties to talk through settlement options in mediation. As of the March 15, 2019 deadline, no settlement had been reached.
The battle may not yet be won, but they will keep fighting. Racial discrimination affects all industries - including agriculture - on a daily basis, and we commend these farmers for fighting back!