Immigrant Farmers Face Barriers to Federal Grants, But Organizations Offer Support.
Immigrants often face significant hurdles in accessing federal grants due to issues like documentation status, language barriers, and a lack of information. In response, several organizations are stepping in to provide direct support to these communities.
Sandro Lopes, alongside his 11-year-old daughter Maria, strolled through their nine-acre farm in David City, Nebraska, contemplating the future of their family enterprise. On one side of the driveway stood a run-down white and red farmhouse, while a newly repaired barn occupied the opposite side. The pair eventually stopped under a willow tree, which Maria imagined as a perfect spot for reading, though she admitted she would rather be spending time preparing her ducks for 4-H shows.
“I’d rather be doing stuff on the farm than being inside all day,” Maria said as she began to head back to the farmhouse, which the family plans to restore over the next two years.
The restoration of the farmhouse is expected to take two years and around $60,000, with Lopes intending to handle most of the repairs himself. This project represents the final piece of the family’s “Little Amazon,” a space dedicated to celebrating their Indigenous heritage.
“That’s the American dream,” Lopes reflected.
Lopes and his family, who emigrated from Brazil in 2015, have been in search of a place where they can build community and grow food. Their business, NaTerra Regenerative Farms, is more than just a food source; it’s a legacy Lopes is cultivating by blending Nebraskan and Indigenous farming practices.
“Farming is part of my life. It takes personality,” Lopes said. “Each farm is different because the farmer has their own background. I want to follow my own path, growing food and taking care of people.”
According to the National Center for Farmworker Health, out of approximately 2.9 million agricultural workers in the U.S., 78% are Latino, and 70% were born in another country. Programs like the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker program, which allows U.S. agricultural businesses to hire immigrants due to domestic labor shortages, often draw Latino non-citizens to the U.S. for work.
However, Latino representation among farm producers — those responsible for making decisions on farm operations — remains less common. Lopes is one of about 83,000 Latino farm producers in the U.S. and one of roughly 700 in Nebraska, according to the USDA’s Agricultural Census. The number of Latino farm producers has steadily increased nationwide and in the Midwest over recent decades.
Despite this growth, many Latino immigrant farmers, like Lopes, encounter significant challenges when trying to qualify for and apply for financial assistance to start a farm or food business.