fred: when he began farming three decades ago, leroy brinkley tried to get a loan from the usda. ocal office, he says he was turned down and turned off by the experience. leroy: i brought the papers, and it was just no support. i could tell from the get-go i wasn't going to get help. i tried it anyway, trying to be nice, polite. i still didn't get the support that i needed from it. so, i couldn't bother with it anymore. fred: an experience all too familiar to black and minority farmers. >> we have clearly been dumped on worse than any other race in this country by our own federal government. fred: john boyd jr. is president of the national black farmers association and a fourth-generation virginia farmer. he says african americans have been systematically excluded from programs that enable farmers to acquire land and build wealth, and unfairly targeted for foreclosure. john: the government has to start living up to its commitment, and they have to start treating black farmers with dignity and respect. fred: the government has settled two class action lawsuits in the past 25 years.