Farm Programs: Efforts to Achieve Equitable Treatment of Minority Farmers

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Farm Service Agency's (FSA) efforts to conduct farm programs in an equitable manner, focusing on: (1) FSA efforts to treat minority farmers in the same way as nonminority farmers in delivering program services; (2) minority representation in county office staffing and on county committees in the counties with the highest numbers of minority farmers; and (3) the disposition of minority and nonminority farmers' applications for participation in the Agricultural Conservation Program (ACP) and the direct loan program at the national level and in five county and five district loan offices.