Growing a Dream

In Derek Ellis's backyard, sits the beginning of a dream: farming. Although atypical for northern Minneapolis, just outside his backdoor two pigs brush their noses against a pen as a few chickens roam throughout a fenced-in vegetable garden. Ellis hopes to own farmland in the country. He's trying for a dream that's rare in Minnesota: becoming a Black farmer.

Out of 65,000 farms in Minnesota, fewer than 75 are run by Black producers. Under the Biden administration, $2 billion was disbursed to farmers discriminated by the USDA. It was still difficult for Minnesota farmers to receive the funding as proving discrimination with documentation was not easy. At the state level, similar grant programs were approved for specialty crop farmers and lower-income growers.

Ellis started the urban farm during the pandemic as access to fresh food for his family was limited. The tattoo artist started to learn farming techniques from YouTube while seeing the negative impacts of the U.S. food system through several documentaries. He's filled out federal and nonprofit grants while looking for land suitable for a livestock farm.

Photos by Ayrton Breckenridge, Story by Christopher Vondracek

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