(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on behalf of a Wisconsin dairy farmer over programs it claims are discriminatory to farmers based on race and sex.
The lawsuit was filed by WILL on behalf of Adam Faust, a Wisconsin dairy farmer. WILL had warned the President Donald Trump administration in April that USDA was continuing to implement “President Joe Biden-era DEI programs.”
The lawsuit claims Faust, a double amputee who operates a 70-cow dairy farm near Chilton, Wisconsin is not eligible to benefit from USDA race-based programs because he is white.
“We warned USDA and the Trump Administration: the Biden-era discriminatory programs must go,” WILL deputy legal counsel Dan Lennington said in a statement. “We’ve been patient, but equality cannot wait. While President Trump has been perfectly clear that racial discrimination has no place in his Administration, USDA remains a notable hold out.”
The lawsuit comes after both WILL’s April 8 letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and a letter to USDA criticizing race and sex-based policies signed by six Wisconsin members of Congress.
WILL lists three programs where Faust argues he is particularly discriminated against.
The first is the Daily Margin Coverage Program, which aims to financially bridge the gap between milk prices and the cost of feed.
The lawsuit states, “Mr. Faust is charged an annual administrative fee ($100), but minority and female farmers are exempt.”
The second program is the Loan Guarantee Program, which guarantees a certain percentage of the loan against financial loss.
The lawsuit alleges Faust is eligible for a 90% loan guarantee, while minority and female farmers may receive up to a 95% loan guarantee.
The third program is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which is a “conservation program that helps farmers, ranchers and landowners integrate conservation into working lands,” according to USDA.
While EQIP is meant to help farmers cover the cost of projects like the new manure storage system Faust is working on with an engineering firm, the lawsuit alleges Faust is only eligible to receive a reimbursement totaling 75% of his costs, while “socially disadvantaged farmers” can receive a reimbursement of up to 90% of costs.
WILL argues both racial and sex-based classifications are unconstitutional and prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.
“Farmers, like all other Americans, deserve to be assessed as individuals, not as statistics or as means toward achieving some quota, preference, or balancing based on race or sex,” the lawsuit says.
WILL says farmers like Faust will have to continue bearing the “burden of litigation” against the government in federal court unless USDA stops the discriminatory policies.
Faust previously won a 2021 victory against the Biden administration for race discrimination in the Farmer Loan Forgiveness Plan with the help of WILL.
WILL said Rollins should be leading the USDA to follow through with Trump’s recent executive orders to end race-based policies across the country.
“The USDA should honor the President’s promise to the American people to end racial discrimination in the federal government,” Faust said. “After being ignored by a federal agency that’s meant to support agriculture, I hope my lawsuit brings answers, accountability, and results from USDA.”
USDA did not immediately respond for comment at the time of publication.
