THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411270047
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KELLER LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
The Problem: Fewer African Americans arre farming today. Between 1920 and 1987, the number of white-operated farms in the U.S. declined 63 percent. In that same period, the number of black-operated farms declined 97.5 percent.
A Reaction: It's not a particularly black issue, except that black farmers are being hit harder and faster,'' said Harris. ``They are impacted disproportionately because they tend to be poorer to begin with. And they tend to get worse terms on their loans compared to their white counterparts.'' - David Harris, Attorney who represents farmers on brink of bankruptcy
Prentice Christian beat the odds.
Nationally, black farmers are losing their land in striking - almost frightening - numbers. Virginia has lost fully half of its black-owned farms in the past 10 years.
But Christian is doing well. He owns 100 acres on Route 13 near Keller and rents 400 more. A large tin shed on the property is crammed with tractors, discs, grain planters, trucks and a shiny new $104,000 combine. He doesn't owe a dime on any of it.
``We do manage to do very well,'' he said. ``The people that I deal with are really good to me.''
Christian makes a point to praise almost everybody on the Eastern Shore with whom he might do business. The banks treat him fairly, he said. He gets the going rate for his grains. He likes and trusts his farm-machinery dealer.
Everything is just fine.
Christian speaks with an acute sense of racial distinctions.
``I give the white credit. They do look out for the colored man,'' said Christian over his kitchen table. ``They don't have to buy the stuff we grow. They don't have to, but they do.''
Fewer and fewer African Americans are growing anything. Between 1920 and 1987, the number of white-operated farms in the U.S. declined 63 percent. In that same period, the number of black-operated farms declined 97.5 percent, from 925,710 to 22,954.
The newly completed 1992 agricultural census shows that the trend is continuing, with only 18,816 black-owned farms nationwide.
The past 10 years have devastated Virginia's minority farmers. In 1982, 5.3 percent of the farms in the state were minority-owned. In 1992, the number dropped to 3.3 percent. Nearly 1,000 black farmers in Virginia went out of business.
David Harris, a North Carolina lawyer, represents farmers on the brink of bankruptcy. He works with the Land Loss Prevention Project, a nonprofit organization in Durham founded by the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers.
The Land Loss Prevention Project sees 600 new clients a year, about half of whom are African Americans. Harris is convinced that poor farmers, particularly minority farmers, are being harmed by the federal agencies that were created to help them.
``Farmers of color have always been behind the proverbial eight-ball,'' Harris said in a telephone interview.
First, he said, it was difficult for African Americans after the Civil War to get any land at all. When they could buy some, it was not the best quality. And once African Americans had the land, many lenders found it difficult to believe that former slaves could grow anything but cotton. So they refused to loan them money for anything else, said Harris.
Lending policies are at the heart of the modern black farmer's dilemma, too.
``Most farmers have to borrow money at the beginning of the year before they can plant one seed,'' said Harris. But expenses are high, and the profit margin is small. Low-income farmers often can't make their mortgage payments and ZAP -there goes the farm.
``It's not a particularly black issue, except that black farmers are being hit harder and faster,'' said Harris. ``They are impacted disproportionately because they tend to be poorer to begin with. And they tend to get worse terms on their loans compared to their white counterparts.''
Prentice Christian doesn't worry about any of that. He's found the secret to success. He doesn't go into debt.
Christian remembers stories of the Depression, when richer, white people bought much of the land that had been in the hands of African Americans. But his grandparents kept their farm at Concord Wharf because they knew how to ``manage.''
As a child, Christian helped his family raise the hogs, chickens, horses and vegetables that were their source of food. He doesn't remember when it became cheaper to go to the grocery store, or when they killed their last hog. But he and his wife, Mary, don't raise any animals now.
His father grew potatoes and vegetables as cash crops. Christian said he learned everything he knows about farming from his father. When he was grown, the two of them bought the farm near Keller. He raises soybeans now. He and Mary can do it themselves without having to hire laborers.
The Christians have two children and six grandchildren, the oldest of whom is in college. Their daughter in an accountant in Hampton. Their son is a school principal in Alexandria.
What will happen to the farm when Christian can't work it anymore?
``I'm not for selling it,'' he said, walking over the recently harvested field. ``First the land's gone, then the money's gone. Don't make no sense.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Tamara Voninski, Staff
Prentice and Mary Christian are a success story among black farmers.
They own 100 acres and rent 400 more, and owe nothing on their
equipment.
KEYWORDS: MINORITY BUSINESS AGRICULTURE FARMS by CNB