Some USDA programs have been mired in inequity. A panel's final report offers changes

An equity commission created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released over 60 recommendations it says will finally bring more fairness to policies affecting farming and rural America.

The department has sprawling oversight of policies affecting not just farming subsidies but widely utilized nutrition assistance programs and rural development projects, such as utilities, broadband and homebuilding.

"Many of the issues and recommendations we identified are not new," wrote the commission's leaders, United Farm Workers President Emeritus Arturo Rodriguez and Ertharin Cousin, former U.S. Ambassador for Food Security and executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme, in the commission's final report released Thursday. "However, they will require renewed commitment from USDA to improve its customer-facing business processes and address historical inequities whose impacts continue to the present moment."

This final report builds on interim recommendations the commission made last year when it released a preliminary set of 32 changes it believed USDA could get a head start on, including making it easier for farmers to qualify for conservation programs and making the language more accessible.

"It's not easy to look at mistakes head on and recognize where we miss the mark, but the Equity Commission is driving that work at USDA," said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Torres Small, the first Latina in the position. "Secretary Vilsack and former Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh started the Equity Commission to build a more equitable and fair future for everyone who participates in agriculture. Today is a momentous day as we receive the final report, recognize the crucial efforts of each member of our Equity Commission and