Black farmers in Kentucky

In Conversation

Of the more than 76,000 agricultural operations in Kentucky, fewer than one percent are owned by Black farmers. But it wasn’t always like this. Nationwide, Black farmers have seen a 98% reduction in ownership in the last century — and efforts to help them maintain their farms have been watered down, leading to a class action suit against the federal government.

On this week’s “In Conversation” we talked with Black Kentucky farmers about their experiences and insights.

But first we checked in with WFPL health reporter Aprile Rickert and education reporter Jess Clark, who have been analyzing school immunization data across the city. Turns out, the vast majority of schools fall far below the state's target vaccination rates, leaving many classrooms at risk.

Editor's note: The name of one of the sources of background information for our discussion of Black farmers was inadvertently omitted by the host. We should also credit the online publication The Counter and the article "How USDA distorted data to conceal decades of discrimination against Black farmers." Our apologies for the oversight.