CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC:

Last week, the law firm of Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC (PBM) filed the first lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of African American Farmers who allege that they were the victims of racial discrimination by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), pursuant to the recently enacted Farm Bill. Today, in continuing their nationwide leadership in the "Black Farmers Justice" case, PBM has filed claims on behalf of another 150 black farmers entitled to compensation under the Farm Bill.

Like the claimants in the original action filed last week, these farmers were originally class members in the action of Pigford v. Glickman but were denied benefits eligible to them due to defects in the notice program associated with the 1999 settlement. Specifically, the Plaintiff farmers were not given timely notice of the Pigford settlement and therefore were not able to participate in the settlement program and were not allowed to prove their claims on the merits. On May 22, 2008, Congress passed the Farm Bill which allows provisions for these black farmers to receive benefits if certain criteria are met.

As alleged in the Complaint, tens of thousands of African American farmers were discriminated against by the USDA based solely upon the fact that they are African American. The plight of the black farmer in the United States remains worrisome. In 1920, black farmers in the United States owned 15.6 million acres of land; by 1999 that number had fallen to 2 million, and the number is still dropping by 1,000 acres per day. In 1910 there were 926,000 African Americans involved in farming; at the end of the century, just 18,000 remain, and studies report they are going under at five to six times the rate of white farmers. In recent farm subsidy payments, just 18 percent of black farmers received government payments in 2002 compared with 34 percent of white farmers. The average payment for black farmers was $3,460 versus $9,300 for whites, the study said. Overall, although 5 percent of the nation's farmers are minorities, they get just 1 percent of federal commodity payments.

"There are thousands of farmers that were shut out of the original Pigford settlement. We have worked tirelessly to make sure that black farmers, who are due a hearing on the merits of their entitlement to farm benefits will get their day in court. The Farm Bill represents a very important milestone for the restitution owed to these black farmers," said Harris Pogust, partner with PBM.

Today, the law firm of Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC represents several thousand black farmers in their claims to restore their rightful entitlement to government funds. The law firm has established an informational website, www.blackfarmersjustice.com for individuals to access information and submit census information.

If you or anyone you know has been the subject of racial discrimination by the USDA you may be entitled to compensation pursuant to the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007 (the Farm Bill). Plaintiffs are represented by the law firm of Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC, which has significant experience and expertise prosecuting complex actions nationwide. For more information on Pogust, Braslow & Millrood, LLC, please visit www.pbmattorneys.com.

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