Benny Bunting, of Oak City, has spent the last 20 meeting farm families at their lowest point—when the complicated web of programs that make up the federal Farm Services Agency have overwhelmed them and, at times, sped them down the road to financial ruin and bankruptcy.  In fighting the system and seeking equity for himself and others, Benny has developed an encyclopedic knowledge of applicable programs, regulations and loan documents.  He has also honed his research and advocacy skills.  Although he is not an attorney, he may, under federal rules, represent farm families in administrative hearings where he often out maneuvers agency lawyers to stop a farm foreclosure, win a crop insurance appeal, or devise a business plan to avoid bankruptcy. 

Today he is a representative of farmers whose businesses and lives are on the lines as a result of flawed decisions made by governmental agencies and bureaucrats.  About a third of his clients are minorities and he works closely with the Land Loss prevention Project headquartered in Durham.  RAFI-USA, with whom he works now, says that he has been successful 90% of the time and saved farm families an estimated $42 million. 

But he does more than that.  He also helps educate his clients so that they can avoid another crisis.  He understands that handling their emotional distress is part of his work as well, saying “I meet folks when they are at the lowest point in their lives…They are desperate, and they are embarrassed.”  In some instances, he has recommending counseling for parents, taken kids fishing and to softball games and become a kind of “uncle” once the crisis is over. 

He has walked the halls of Congress to lobby for farm legislation and organized local farmers to help muck out chicken houses after floods.  Perhaps most importantly, once on a case, this miracle worker never gives up.