The Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) was a

U.S. government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

agency established in August 1946 to replace the

Farm Security Administration The Farm Security Administration (FSA) was a New Deal agency created in 1937 to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression in the United States. It succeeded the Resettlement Administration (1935–1937). The FSA is famous for its small but ...

. It superseded the

Resettlement Administration The Resettlement Administration (RA) was a New Deal U.S. federal agency created May 1, 1935. It relocated struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government. On September 1, 1937, it was succeeded by the Farm Se ...

during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and operated until 2006. FmHA mission and programs involved extending credit for agriculture and rural development. Direct and guaranteed credit went to individual farmers, low-income families, and seniors in rural areas. Loans were authorized for housing, farm improvement, water systems, and emergency relief. FmHA also gave loans and grants for rural development. The program resulted in increased African-American land ownership in the South; for instance, black landowners increased in number in

Holmes County, Mississippi Holmes County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi; its western border is formed by the Yazoo River and the eastern border by the Big Black River. The western part of the county is within the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta. As of the 2010 cen ...

, during the 1940s. In 1960 there were still 800 black landowners in the county, who held 50% of the county land.Sue (Lorenzi) Sojourner, "Got to Thinking: How the Black People of Holmes Co., Mississippi Organized Their Civil Rights Movement"
Praxis International, Exhibit, Duluth, MN Although this was the case, the FmHA favored larger-scale white farmers, making it harder for black farmers to keep their lands. Many farmers were discriminated against because of their activity in the Civil Rights Movement.Vann R. Newkirk II, "The Great Land Robbery"
The Mississippi Delta’s History of Black Land Theft - The Atlantic, September 2019 Between 1947 and 1994, the FmHA expanded the availability of credit and the size of loans. In its later years, the FmHA extended credit to individuals and communities for non-farm use. In 1994, the US Department of Agriculture was reorganized and the functions of FmHA were transferred to the

Farm Service Agency The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is the United States Department of Agriculture agency that was formed by merging the farm loan portfolio and staff of the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) and the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service ...

. In 2006, the FmHA was fully terminated. Its housing and community programs were transferred to the newly formed

USDA Rural Development USDA Rural Development (RD) is a mission area within the United States Department of Agriculture which runs programs intended to improve the economy and quality of life in rural parts of the United States. Rural Development has a loan portfolio o ...

References

External links

Records of the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA)
NARA
Rural Economic and Community Development Service
* {{authority control United States Department of Agriculture agencies Government agencies established in 1946 1946 establishments in the United States

See also

References

External links