evidence: The significant backlog of unresolved discrimination complaints against the USDA is an ongoing reality for black farmers, who find themselves without appropriate economic and technical assistance from the Department. Moreover, Secretary Glickman has conceded that the Department has discriminated against black farmers in the past and in recent times.[273] This treatment is illustrated in the case of Calvin Brown: Mr. Brown farmed tobacco on land in Brunswick County, Virginia, that was previously owned by his father.[274] In 1984, Charlie Featherstone, a white supervisor at the Brunswick County FmHA office allegedly required Mr. Brown to keep his loan in a restricted account that needed the FmHA's supervisor's signature for any banking withdrawals.[275] When Mr. Brown attempted to obtain his funds to rent a barn to dry his crop, Mr. Featherstone could not be located in person or by telephone.[276] The tobacco crop eventually was ruined, and Mr. Brown was later unable to obtain further loans from the FmHA office. As a result, Mr. Brown filed a discrimination complaint against the USDA in 1984. In 1998, Mr. Brown received an initial response from the Department, which indicated that its Office of Civil Rights was still processing his complaint.[277] [...] Mary Beausoleil, Black Farmers Battle USDA, The [...] Michael A. Fletcher, Judge Approves USDA Settlement of Black Farmers