USDA Challenges California Over Potential Implementation of Race-Based Farmland Redistribution Plan

USDA Challenges California Over Potential Implementation of Race-Based Farmland Redistribution Plan

The Legal Insurrection team has been following the news related to California bureaucrats planning to give black Californians “reparations” for slavery, despite the fact that it was not a slave state during the Civil War era.

The ensuing policies and proposals have been both shocking and ridiculous. At one point, the plans offered included giving each black Californian $1.2 million, and the final total would exceed the state’s budget.

Recently, Katy Grimes of the California Globe reported on another disturbing race-based scheme. Back in the heyday of reparations discussions, the state legislature created the Agricultural Land Equity Task Force. The purpose of this group was to ‘submit a report (by Jan. 1, 2026) to the Legislature and Governor…that includes a set of policy recommendations on how to address the agricultural land equity crisis.’

The report the Equity Task Force recently released recommending a land grab from white farmers reads like a “How To” Marxism 101 manual at UC Berkeley.

One of their primary grievances is that “demographic trends in landownership differ greatly from those of agricultural labor in California;” i.e. not enough farm workers own the land on which they work.

By that logic, not enough teachers own the schools where they teach, or not enough dockworkers own the ships they load and unload.

This is their definition of agricultural land equity: “Agricultural land equity is when all people have secure and affordable access to viable land for the care, relationship with, and cultivation of food, fiber, medicine, and cultural resources without systemic barriers, disparities, or exploitation.”

California is at a crossroads. The proposed California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force plan — widely billed as “land equity” — would reshape who can buy or lease farmland based on race and bureaucratic preference. That risks undermining private property rights, destabilizing…

— Tom Farms (@TomFarms) November 26, 2025

The full report, prepared to meet the deadline, is here. It is truly the perfect amalgam of intersectionality, climate cultism, and anti-white racism. Some of the low-lights are:

• The task force asserts that contemporary landownership patterns show that 82% of California farm acreage is owned by producers who identify as White, as if that number and their ownership is a negative.
• The report essentially argues for Communism, postulating that equitable land access would strengthen local economies by enabling farmworkers and marginalized producers to become business owners, supply fresh and culturally appropriate foods, and stabilize rural communities.
• Of course, the task force has to give a nod to the Climate Cult by arguing that agricultural land equity is essential for climate and biodiversity goals, including nature‑based climate targets, and carbon neutrality.

The plan is a redistribution of farmland based on race, and to the benefit of NGOs. It contains recommendations that also include the following:

• The development of local ordinances that would restrict the purchase of land unless you are a certain minority.
• The purchase of private land by the state and other non-profits under the guise of agricultural land preservation and only offer leases to certain minority farmers after the purchase.
• Exclusive leasing of existing state lands to certain minorities.
• Exclusive funding for acquisition of agricultural land by certain minorities.
• Exclusive tax credits to certain minorities for not only agricultural land but also infrastructure and student loans.
• Transferring public land exclusively to tribes.
• Transferring private land specifically to tribes, specifically to African Americans living in California, and exclusively to certain other minorities.
• Debt forgiveness for only certain minorities.
• The development of zoning laws that require “equitable” land access and specific climate-related agricultural practices.
• The prioritization of conservation programs for certain minority farmers over other farmers.

For those of you interested, here is a link to the members of the Agricultural Land Equity Task Force.  It is stacked with NGO members, tribal leaders, and other progressive activists.  Their “expertise” is in sustainable and regenerative farming, food systems and food justice, environmental stewardship, multilingual outreach, and farm equity policy and program design… rather than profitably bringing food products to market that people want at a price they are willing to pay.

Fortunately for Californians and the rest of the country (which enjoys the fruits, vegetables, nuts, and dairy products the state produces), President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture is stepping in to put a stop to this nonsense before it’s implemented.

Raising concerns…

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wants California Governor Gavin Newsom to discard a plan related to farmland distribution in the state.

Rollins' reasoning behind this opposition ⬇️#USAg

— Farms.com U.S. Ag News (@FarmsNews) December 17, 2025

Secretary Brooke Rollins is now warning that the proposal amounts to unconstitutional, race-based redistribution of agricultural property, and it is now on her radar to be immediately challenged if there is any attempt to implement the suggestions.

In a letter dated Dec. 11 to Governor Gavin Newsom (obtained by Fertilizer Daily), Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the state’s Agricultural Land Equity Task Force is considering recommendations that would channel public resources, regulate private land use, and provide financial assistance exclusively to certain racial and ethnic groups. The task force was created by state lawmakers in 2022 and is due to deliver a final report to the legislature by Jan. 1.

Rollins said the draft plan raises “substantial constitutional concerns,” arguing that several measures — including exclusive leases of state land, limits on who may purchase farmland, tax incentives and debt relief restricted to specific minority groups — would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution and Proposition 209, California’s ban on race-based preferences. She also said elements of the proposal could constitute unlawful takings under the Fifth Amendment.

…Tensions over the plan have mounted in recent months, with the task force’s preliminary recommendations drawing scrutiny from farm groups and property-rights advocates. Rollins’ warning introduces a new federal front, signalling that USDA under the Trump administration views the proposals as discriminatory and is prepared to intervene.

The department said it would “expect immediate legal action” if California moves ahead with the task force’s recommendations.

The state squandered $1,000,000 to fund this inanity. When the federal auditors come, which I hope they do, I am sure they will uncover a great deal of fraud to pair with the waste of this sort.

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