The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF Leads Research and Advocacy to Address Heirs Property and Eligibility to Participate in USDA Programs

For almost a century, the number of Black farmers and Black-owned land steadily declined. One of the primary reasons for that decline was and continues to be heirs’ property. More than 60 percent of Black farmers currently operate on heirs’ property.

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund provides resources to support the development of cooperatives, land retention, and economic development for Black landowners, and advocates for equitable policies and programs that benefit Black farmers, landowners and cooperatives.

A compilation of resources and research on heirs' property compiled by the Southern Rural Development Center at Mississippi State University.

The primary goal of this study was to better describe the impact of heirs' property on Black farm and land loss and recommend policies that could decelerate that loss and improve access to USDA programs for heirs' property owners.

This USDA factsheet provides definitions and resources on heirs' property.

More than 200 people attended the first National Heirs Property Conference in Atlanta, Georgia in December 2019. The conference was co-sponsored by the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund.

The research in this dissertation is intended to aid policymakers and forest professionals in reversing African American land loss.

Black-American culture has been tied to the land and agriculture for over 300 years. Research conducted in the Black Belt Region of Alabama is used to examine the importance of land, particularly the multigenerational ownership of land, on current farm participation and landholdings.

Although African-Americans had amassed 15 million acres of land in the South between 1865 and 1919, today 97% of those land assets have been lost. Enter the Black Family Land Trust, Inc., which works with black landowners and farmers to preserve their land assets.

Join heirs’ property expert Diana Norris, Land Trust Alliance, as she discusses the cultural and historical context of heirs’ property and what land trusts can do to engage with landowners on conservation and support the stabilization of ownership in their own states.