Wisconsin dairy farmers sue Trump administration for claiming discrimination against white farmers
Madison, Wisconsin (AP) – A Wisconsin dairy farmer accused the Trump administration of illegally denying financial aid to white farmers by continuing programs that benefit minorities.
The Wisconsin Conservative Law and Liberty Institute, on behalf of a white dairy farm, Adam Faust filed a lawsuit against the USDA in federal court in Wisconsin.
Faust is one of several farmers who successfully sued the Biden Administration in 2021 for racial discrimination in USDA’s Farmer Loan Forgiveness Program.
The new lawsuit says the administration continues to implement the diversity, equity and inclusion plan set by former President Joe Biden. The Wisconsin Institute wrote to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in an April warning legal lawsuit, and six Republican Wisconsin members called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate and end the program.
“The USDA should deliver on the president's commitment to the American people ending racial discrimination in the federal government,” Faust said in a written statement. “After being ignored by federal agencies designed to support agriculture, I hope my lawsuit will bring answers, accountability, and the USDA's results.”
Trump administration spokesman Anna Kelly did not immediately respond to an email Monday seeking comment.
The lawsuit argues that Faust is one of two million white male farmers who are bound by the USDA's discriminatory racial policy.
The lawsuit says three USDA plans and policies say this puts whites at a disadvantage and makes it a guarantee of equal treatment by distinguishing between race and gender.
Faust participated in a program that aims to offset the gap between milk prices and feed costs, but the lawsuit says he was charged $100 administrative fees that minorities and female farmers don’t have to pay.
Faust also participated in a USDA program that guarantees 90% of the value of loans to white farmers but 95% of loans to women and racial minorities. This put Faust at a disadvantage, the lawsuit said.
Faust also began working on a new fertilizer storage system that qualifies for reimbursement under the USDA Environmental Protection Program, but 75% of his expenses qualify, while 90% of the cost of minority farmers qualifies.
A federal court judge ruled in a similar 2021 case that granting loan forgiveness to “socially disadvantaged farmers” is equivalent to unconstitutional racial discrimination. The Biden administration suspended the plan, which Congress abolished in 2022.
The Wisconsin Institute has filed dozens of lawsuits against 25 states' DEI plans to attack the government. In an April letter to the USDA, the law firm said in its long history representing Republicans that it did not want to sue “but there is no excuse for continuing discrimination.”
Trump has been working to end the administration’s efforts to deliver on campaign commitments and has brought about a huge shift in the transition from promoting diversity to exclusive focus on merits throughout the United States.
