He was responding to a question from Dexter Randall, a dairy farmer who had asked how prices for Cuban farm products could be held by the government and producers at a stable level.

In New England the price of milk is set by the U.S. government under a program known as the "Northeast dairy compact." In the last couple of years dairy farmers in this region have seen their income from milk sales drop 40 percent.

Head had joined five other farmers in a fact-finding tour of Cuba during February. They were hosted there by the National Association of Small Farmers of Cuba.

The meeting, entitled "Report Back from Farmers' Trip to Cuba," was attended by 30 people, including five farmers. It was cochaired by Jean Lathrop, an activist in the Vermont Cuba Committee, and Ron Morrissette, cochair of the Vermont Rural Organization and a retired dairy farmer.

In his presentation Head referred to a discussion earlier that evening with a woman farmer, who had explained that her grandson could be the ninth generation of farmers in her family. "If your family was in Cuba you would not have to worry whether your grandson would be able to farm," he told her. "In Cuba, as long as you work the land you are able to stay on the farm."

Head also spoke about his own experiences. The first couple of years after he bought land in the early 1980s, he was able to get loans for operating costs from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). From the mid-1980s on, however, he was consistently denied loans.

In the 1990s he joined the fight of farmers who are Black in suing the USDA for discrimination--a class-action suit involving thousands of farmers. The court ruled last year that they had been discriminated against and awarded them a settlement. Since then the farmers have been fighting to make the USDA carry out that decision.

The Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association (BFAA), which has been leading this fight, has called an action at the USDA office in Washington on May 8. Head invited everyone to join the protest. The day before that, he explained, farmers and supporters going to Washington are planning to hold a protest on the farm of a woman farmer in New Jersey who has been fighting foreclosure. "We are fighting for all small farmers," he said.

The following day Head also visited two young vegetable farmers who operate the Food Project, which provides fresh vegetables to Roxbury, a Black community in Boston. Later, Head spoke at Roxbury Community College (RCC) in Boston. Some 70 people attended the event, which was sponsored by the July 26 Coalition, the RCC Caribbean Focus Program, and the Community Church of Boston.

Ted Leonard is a member of the Union of Needletrades, Textile and Industrial Employees.  
 
 
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