American Indian Farmers Have More Land, Less Cash

In his 60 years on the farm, Milton Sovo Jr. has raised everything from peanuts and wheat to cattle and horses in southwestern Oklahoma. At about 1,100 acres, his spread is about triple the size of the typical U.S. farm. But Sovo is no tycoon. He farms on the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache reservation, where he said the soil remains poor after the Dust Bowl swept away the best topsoil in the 1930s. He can't rely on the land to make a living and has toiled for decades at a second, off-the-farm job. Sovo is fairly typical among American Indian farmers, who tend to have more land but less income than those of other races. They're also less likely to receive government aid intended to help struggling farmers, according to new data. Agriculture officials said the lack of aid is partly because American Indians have shied away from corn, wheat and other subsidized crops. But some American Indian farmers have filed a discrimination lawsuit, claiming they have been denied government loans and other help given to white farmers raising the same animals and crops. The census found stark differences between the nation's 80,000 American Indian farmers and those of other races. The typical American farm is 400 acres, but American Indian farmers average about 1,400 acres. Many are ranchers. Most live in the desert Southwest, Oklahoma or Montana...read more