The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) secured a settlement that ended race- and sex-based farming programs, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) worked to secure a settlement with the USDA that would end what they believe are discriminatory programs across three federal programs. As part of the program, the USDA will pay WILL’s attorney fees.
Dan Lennington, WILL managing vice president and deputy counsel, said in a written statement, “The Trump Administration inherited dozens of discriminatory programs that supported certain farmers over others based on race and sex. Those shameful days are now behind us. We appreciate the USDA’s hard work in reforming important programs for American farmers.”
Last June, WILL filed a lawsuit that challenged the USDA’s use of race and sex as eligibility criteria for many programs, including the Loan Guarantee Program, the Dairy Margin Coverage Fee, and the EQIP Grant Program. The group believed that the policies violated the equal protection guarantees of the U.S. Constitution.
Will represented Adam Faust, a dairy farmer from Chilton, Wisconsin. WILL stated that Faust is one of the two million white male American farmers — 60 percent of all farmers — who were harmed by the discriminatory policies implemented by the Biden administration.
In 2021, Faust became the first farmer to sue the Biden administration for race discrimination in the $4 billion Farmer Loan Forgiveness Program. He helped secure a nationwide temporary restraining order preventing discrimination by USDA.
Since 2021, WILL has represented dozens of individuals from 26 states to challenge race-based programs. It has sued the Biden administration 12 times and secured victories against programs such as the “Farmer Loan Forgiveness Program, Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Minority Business Development Agency, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, and McNair Scholarship Program.” WILL represents clients pro bono and covers 100 percent of the cost of litigation.
The Trump administration argued in February 2025 that the Biden-era USDA Farmer Loan Forgiveness Program violated the Constitution, as it discriminates against white farmers:
Breitbart News reported in 2025 about the program:
The program pays up to “120 percent of outstanding qualified debt” to “socially disadvantaged” farmers. It defined those who could benefit from the program as those who belonged to a group “whose members have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities.”
The Biden U.S. Department of Agriculture in May 2021 described the program as “committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America.”
The USDA has defined the group as “Black/African American, American Indian, Alaskan native, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, or Pacific Islander,” not white.
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