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Washington –
The
United
States
Senate
successfully
passed
the
Agricultural
Improvement
Act
of
2018
today,
colloquially
known
as
the
Farm
Bill,
which
included
two
important
provisions
secured
by
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC).
Scott
worked
with
Senator
Doug
Jones
(D-AL)
to
help
so-called
Heirs
Property
owners
–
thousands
of
minority
and
other
landowners
whose
family
land
has
been
passed
through
the
generations
often
without
a
formal
title
–
gain
access
to
U.S.
Department
of
Agriculture
(USDA)
programs
they
currently
do
not
have
access
to
without
proper
documentation
certifying
their
possession
of
the
land.
Senator
Scott
also
secured
the
inclusion
of
the
Peanut
Parity
Act
along
with
Senator
Lindsey
Graham
(R-SC),
which
ensures
South
Carolina,
the
fourth
largest
producer
of
peanuts
in
the
country,
has
a
presence
on
the
federal
Peanut
Standards
Board.
“I
am
very
excited
the
Senate
was
able
to
pass
a
commonsense
Farm
Bill
that
will
help
farmers,
ranchers
and
growers
across
South
Carolina,”
Senator
Scott
said.
“I
want
to
thank
my
colleague
Senator
Jones
for
working
together
to
ensure
that
heirs
property
owners
have
access
to
critical
support
programs
offered
by
USDA,
which
will
help
countless
farmers
and
ranchers
across
South
Carolina
and
the
nation
succeed.
I
also
want
to
thank
Senator
Graham
for
his
work
on
the
Peanut
Parity
Act,
which
is
hugely
important
for
South
Carolina’s
peanut
industry.”
Some
estimates
show
that
60
percent
of
land
owned
by
African-Americans
in
the
United
States
is
Heirs
Property.
In
order
to
have
access
to
USDA
programs,
farmers
must
have
a
Farm
Number,
which
requires
documentation
verifying
ownership
or
possession
of
the
land
to
secure.
As
heirs
property
is
often
passed
down
without
a
will
or
transfer
of
title,
this
leaves
many
minority
farmers
without
access
to
USDA
programs.
The
Fair
Access
For
Farmers
and
Ranchers
Act,
Scott
and
Jones’
legislation
that
was
included
in
the
Farm
Bill,
will
allow
access
to
USDA
for
heirs
property
owners.
Overall,
the
Farm
Bill
provides
certainly
for
farmers,
ranchers
and
growers
by
strengthening
crop
insurance
programs,
strengthens
the
Supplemental
Nutrition
Assistance
Program
(SNAP),
and
invests
in
rural
America
by
expanding
high
speed
internet,
providing
resources
to
fight
the
opioid
epidemic,
and
investing
in
water
infrastructure.
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