LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Along the Texas border with New Mexico, in the valley his family settled 400 years ago, Lupe Garcia grows pecans and raises a few cows on 60 acres.
"We were farming in this valley before the pilgrims came to the east coast of the United States," he said. "I've been farming with my dad since we were kids."
From the 60 acres he owns, he looks out on 1,000 acres he lost — and he blames it on racial discrimination by the federal government.
"The last 10 years — between 1990 and 2000 — they starved us to death, shut off all our credit," he said. "They cut our wrists and let us bleed out. That's how cruel they was."
Without timely loans, farmers can't buy fuel for their tractors; or the seed and fertilizer they need to plant each spring.
http://wwwken5.com/news/texas-news/Hispanic-farmers-allege-discrimination-byUSDA-83565512.html
Posted by Victoria Bell
