John Boyd Jr. has spent three decades advocating for Black farmers in Washington. Under the Trump administration, he says, the doors have closed and Black farmers are paying the price.
“It’s like night and day based on the treatment that we receive from this administration,” the founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association told The Root. “This president clearly says he doesn’t want us.”
In an exclusive interview, Boyd outlined how the administration’s policies—from canceled agricultural grants to pushing foreign beef into the U.S. market—are threatening farmers already on the edge of losing their land. What troubles him equally is the quiet from Black America itself.
Under previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, Boyd had direct access to policymakers and successfully championed billion-dollar funding for Black farmers through the Clinton, Obama, and Biden administrations. The Trump era has been different. Boyd says he’s been excluded from White House events and agricultural policy discussions.
“I led the way on all of those efforts,” Boyd said of the billion-dollar settlements. “And this administration came in and said, ‘Hey, Boyd, we can’t—we don’t even want you at the table.'”
The exclusion isn’t just about symbolism. Boyd says real financial damage is happening as the administration rolls out policies that threaten farmers already struggling to keep their operations alive.
The immediate battle is over beef imports. The administration has moved to increase foreign beef sales, ostensibly to lower consumer prices. Boyd argues it’s a move that will crush American cattle producers by depressing the prices farmers get paid for their livestock.
The fallout could affect more than Black farmers. White cattle producers have significant herds and potentially more capital at stake. But for Boyd, the larger concern is what this signals about agricultural policy going forward.
“It’s the beginning of something different from the agricultural sector in this country,” he said. “This president has ruined the agricultural sector in this country for many years to come. The grain markets are gone, and now he wants to give the beef counter market to his friends.”
Boyd’s frustration extends beyond the White House. The 60-year-old activist is calling out the Congressional Black Caucus, prominent Black athletes, entertainers, and wealthy business leaders for their silence while John Boyd Jr. and other Black farmers face mounting financial pressure.
“We got athletes, boxers, tennis players, wealthy businessmen,” Boyd said. “Nobody’s picked up the phone and say, ‘Hey, Boyd, what can I do to help?'”
The help needed isn’t performative. Boyd says hundreds of farmers face foreclosure. He wants people with resources and influence to step in and help individual farmers keep their land.
“That’s the kind of help I need right now,” he said.
Boyd also clarifies where Black farmers stood during the 2024 election. He backed Vice President Kamala Harris and has been vocal about his position. Unlike some who claim Black farmers embraced Trump, Boyd sees the record differently.
“We don’t want Trump. I don’t want him now. He doesn’t want me,” Boyd said.
His message to the broader Black community is clear: understand the history, organize, and vote.
“We have to vote our way out of this and there needs to be a sense of urgency,” Boyd said. For him, this fight transcends any single administration. It’s about whether Black farmers will have a meaningful voice in American agriculture’s future and whether those with the power to help will finally act.
“We’re gonna survive Trump,” Boyd said. “We survived Jim Crow, we survived slavery and sharecropping. But the only way to get through it is to work together, in unity.”
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