Today, 98 percent of farmland is owned by white people and 95 percent of farmers are white. It wasn’t always that way. Over decades, Black farmers have lost farmland due to discriminatory policies, lack of financing opportunities, and unscrupulous land development. The wealthiest farmers in the United States are white, and nearly all of the largest operations are owned by white farmers. 

Land is a visible example of the racial wealth gap, highlighting disinvestment outside of the white middle class. The industry is trending toward consolidation and that manifests in concentration of land ownership, economic access, and affordability for food. 

FAST FACTS (*at time of filming):

• 41% of farmland is operated by just over 7% of the country’s farms.
• 30% of farmland is owned by non-farmers
• 40% of farmland is leased
• 45% of landlords of agricultural lands have never farmed—-and do not intend to.

Since the mid-20th century, agriculture policy has explicitly favored the largest of landowners and farming enterprises, leading to the disappearance of small and mid-sized farms owned by farmers of all cultural backgrounds. Unequal land access is an historical inequity entrenched in the culture of private land ownership and various forms of enforced labor and enslavement practiced by European settlers in America. Centuries of policies, laws, and violence have dispossessed Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) of land and labor, while discounting or erasing their contributions to building the country’s agricultural knowledge wealth. There is a clear connection between land access and food sovereignty–having full control of the foods that are culturally significant and relevant to you. 

Land ownership is a gateway to equitable food access for one’s family, and most often, a community – and is a mechanism for the accumulation of generational wealth, which is why some families are financially stuck while others grow wealthy with each generation. 

The number one barrier to entry? Securing access to land. To continue the conversations had in the film, learn from Martha McFarland at Practical Farmers of Iowa about land access, transitional farming, and land ownership.

Access to land must expand beyond the current landholders–it is critical to building a food system we all want. To elevate food sovereignty and food justice in communities that have been shut out, including Tribal nations, Indigenous communities, low-income neighborhoods, and predominantly people of color communities, equal opportunities for land is critical. 

By putting the land back in the hands of diverse communities, sustainable and regenerative farming methods have an opportunity to flourish, building soil health and environmental stewardship of the land.  

Food sovereignty for Tribal nations and Indigenous communities, food justice for communities of color and low-income Americans, the ability of the next generation of farmers and farmers of color to make a living on the land and keep agricultural lands in production using sustainable and regenerative farming methods, all are contingent on the expansion of land access beyond the current landholding class of Americans.

Discussion Questions

• What emotions did the film bring up when discussing land loss and dispossession?
• What barriers to entry exist for new and beginning farmers, particularly farmers of color?
• How might unequal land access shape what food is grown and who benefits from it?
• What would a more equitable land ownership landscape look like in 20 years?

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