Delaware State University will address the diminishing number of African American farmers in the multi-billion-dollar agriculture industry by holding a Black Farmers’ Conference on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 8-9 on campus.

Gov. John Carney, Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse, and John Boyd Jr., the President of the National Black Farmer’s Association, will be among the featured speakers during the two-day forum.

The Wednesday, Nov. 8 session will be held in the Education & Humanities Theatre, and in addition to an address by the abovementioned state Secretary of Agriculture, the morning session will also feature Gloria Montaño Greene, Deputy Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as a speaker.

The Thursday, Nov. 9 session will include addresses by John Boyd Jr., the President of the National Black Farmers Association, who will speak on “The Current State of Black Farming in the U.S.,” as well as from Ben Crump, a nationally recognized trial attorney who is known for representing the family of George Floyd. Mr. Crump will speak on the “Plight of Black Farmers in the U.S.”

The goals of the conference are to educate the public on the issues unique to black farmers, to promote the increase of black farmers in the U.S., to improve the relationship between black farmers and the USDA, and to bring about a better understanding of the possible opportunities that would result by the enactment of the Justice for Black Farmers Act (introduced in the U.S. Senate in January 2023).

There will be a number of sessions on a wide variety of black farming-related topics. The sessions will begin each day at 9 a.m. and continue into the afternoon hours.

For more information, contact Leandra Casson at (267) 315-7301