By Chris Clayton
DTN Ag Policy Editor
A federal judge in Wisconsin has ordered USDA to at least temporarily halt as much as $4 billion in loan debt relief payments to minority farmers in response to a lawsuit filed by white farmers who were not eligible for the same debt relief.
The case is just one of at least five federal lawsuits now filed against Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to block USDA from paying off loans for minority farmers without also paying off loan debt for white farmers.