The Pigford/Black Farmers Research Project

Scholars and researchers have dedicated significant attention to land loss in the African American community. However, there has been a lack of empirical data and analysis to support many of the reasons offered for the decline of African American land ownership. Except for the landmark 1980 Emergency Land Fund study entitled "The Impact of Heir Property on Black Rural Land Tenure in the Southeastern United States", there has been a dearth of empirical data collected on the subject of heir property and its impact on African American land loss. In 2017, the Harley Langdale, Jr. College of Business Administration provided funding for Professors Roy W. Copeland and William K. Buchanan to investigate the impact of heir property on African American farming operations and land loss. Professors Copeland and Buchanan authored a forty-question survey that was mailed to approximately ten thousand Black farmers. The names and addresses were obtained from a US District Court filing which later became part of the Pigford litigation. While the study focuses on heir property, it also examines actions taken by the farmers to remove the cloud of heir property from titles, how farm size impact farming operations, and access to credit by Black farmers.

The survey used in the study is here.

The survey data will download and is in an Excel spreadsheet. Click here