NAAF 2023 Internship Available Now | |
|
The Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) 2023 Internship program will provide currently enrolled college students in good standing with their university/institution an opportunity to sharpen professional development skills, offer learning experiences tailored to supporting Native agriculture, grant-making, and the space to pursue subject areas they are individually passionate about.
Interns will gain a deep understanding of the NAAF mission as they build organizational skills and complete special projects with experienced NAAF staff.
Deadline: Monday December 14, 2022 at 11:59 pm EST
What are the requirements?
- Must be an enrolled college student (undergrad or graduate),
- In good standing with your university/institution,
-
Does NOT have to be an agriculture science major to apply.
Any additional questions, email Jasmine Locklear at jlocklear@nativeamericanagriculturefund.org or text/call via phone at 479-445-7853
| |
|
USDA Debt Relief to Distressed Farm Loan Borrowers: Tax Implications and What to Prepare For
The Native American Agriculture Fund hosted a webinar with Rob Holcomb, a tax expert at the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota, as a resource to Native farmers, ranchers, and producers to provide financial education as these payments are released.
This presentation and Q & A was created to learn more about the tax implications and other important information prior to the 2023 tax season as it relates to the debt relief payments to distressed farm loan borrowers.
| |
|
NAAF at National Congress of American Indians Annual Conference
Gaining Ground: Indian Country Priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill
The Native Farm Bill Coalition report, Gaining Ground, outlines the significant progress to be made in strengthening Tribal sovereignty, food security, and rural infrastructure and includes more than 150+ Indian Country priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill.
Here's What's Included in the Report:
- Title I: Commodities (p. 16)
- Title II: Conservation (p. 24)
- Title III: Trade (p. 36)
- Title IV: Nutrition (p. 42)
- Title V: Credit (p. 54)
- Title VI: Rural Development (p. 62)
- Title VII: Research (p.76)
- Title VIII: Forestry (p. 86)
- Title IX: Energy (p. 94)
- Title X: Horticulture (p.100)
- Title XI: Crop Insurance (p. 106)
- Title XII: Miscellaneous (p. 114)
The Native American Agriculture Fund is proud to be a sponsor of the Gaining Ground report alongside Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger.
| |
|
NAAF partnered with the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) to send Native veterans to FVC's annual conference. At the conference NAAF hosted an in-person Veteran Roundtable at the conference to receive comments for assessing the needs of veterans to implement the Reimagining Native Food Economies hub model. The session focused on potential partnerships, the current challenges for Native veterans involved in agriculture, and what models of success in veteran communities across the United States.
If you are a Native veteran already involved or getting involved in agriculture and wish to submit additional comments fill out the form below. The deadline is November 28, 2022.
| |
Intertribal Agriculture Council Annual Conference | |
Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas, NV | December 6-8, 2022
Join the Intertribal Agriculture Council for their 35th annual conference. The IAC Annual Conference is being held on December 6 – 8, 2022, at the beautiful Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, NV.
| Upcoming USDA Tribal Consultations | |
Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) consultation with the FDPIR Tribal Leader Consultation Work Group
Consultation Registration Link: https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItd-CvqzkqGPjnHQkldBx9Ac3nCnEppv8
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Time: 8:30 a.m. PT – 5:00 p.m. PT
Location: 2022 Intertribal Agriculture Council Conference
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas (Room TBA)
4455 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV 89169
Tribal Consultation and Listening Session on Providing Financial Assistance for Producers and Landowners Determined to Have Experienced Discrimination
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Consultation: 5:00 p.m. PT - 6:30 p.m. PT
Listening Session: 6:30 p.m. PT - 8:00 p.m. PT
Participating In-Person
Location: Intertribal Agriculture Council Annual Conference
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas (Room TBA)
4455 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89169
Participating Virtually
Registration: All attendees interested in participating virtually must register at www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJIsd-6uqDgjHprF1JvqPoXMX-mOngAMtLA
| |
|
Save the Date for TAF Scholarship
Tribal Agriculture Fellowship is looking to fill their second cohort with the next generation of agricultural professionals and will be accepting applications from November 28th, 2022 – February 10th, 2023. The mission of the Tribal Agriculture Fellowship is to create opportunities for Indigenous students to advance their education in agriculture, increase specialized knowledge and preserve the legacy of agriculture in Tribal communities.
Who should apply:
- College students who are Native American, Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian
- Member or descendant of a Tribe or Indigenous community.
- Rising and current technical, undergraduate, and graduate student
Tribal Agriculture Fellowship resources can be utilized for:
- tuition & fees,
- housing,
- meal plans,
- equipment fees and testing costs
For more information visit: www.taffellows.org or email info@taffellows.org
| |
|
National Farm to Food Assistance Survey
The Wallace Center is working in partnership with Duke World Food Policy Center to capture and amplify the impacts and challenges of Food Assistance programs to decision-makers, funders, and the USDA.
The purpose of this survey is to better understand the market channel that connects small-to mid-size local food producers and the food assistance/hunger relief sector, what we call Farm to Food Assistance (F2FA). Connections between farmers and food assistance efforts come in many shapes and sizes. This survey is specifically interested in where farmers are paid for their product, which people face food insecurity, and who access food for free or at a discounted price.
Survey participants will be placed in a raffle with 5 chances to win $250. The survey has been extended until Friday, December 2nd.
| |
|
Second Application Period for Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP) closes December 29, 2022
Under the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP), USDA is making $500 million in grants available to increase American-made fertilizer production to spur competition and combat price hikes on U.S. farmers. Competitive grants of up to $100 million are available to support and expand independent, innovative and sustainable fertilizer and nutrient alternatives production in the U.S. and its territories to supply American farmers.
Applications are open now.
Program Application Period:
First application window closed. (45 days from 9/30/2022)
Second application window closes December 29, 2022. (90 days from 9/30/2022)
FPEP webinars
| |
Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP): Program Overview | |
Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP): Application Requirements | |
Do you want to be featured like the grantee's below? |
Tag us, @nativeagfund, in your social media posts and we'll reach out to you to highlight in our next newsletter!
| |
Brighton Reservation
Northeast Glades, FL
| |
|
NAAF visited the Brighton Reservation to tour their cattle operation and learn more about how they plan to create an accounting system for tribal ranches using NAAF funds. With a focus on supporting Native agricultural producers on the Big Cypress and Brighton Reservations, the cooperative cattle raising program allows individual tribal ranchers to operate in a larger economy of scale.
Pictured above is the Director of Natural Resources for the Seminole Tribe, Tribal cattle producers, along with FRTEP agents from the University of Florida, NAAF staff and NAAF Board of Trustees.
| |
|
University of Colorado
Boulder, Co
| |
|
Tanka Fund (TF) is a 501c3 whose primary mission is to bring back the buffalo to Indian Country. Using NAAF funding, the 2022 Tanka Landback Youth Project is to create opportunities for long-term land sustainability by utilizing sustainable methods of agriculture and herd management by incorporating Indigenous youth into our everyday processes.
This November we celebrate Tanka Fund as they were featured on ABC news as they helped transported 12 bison to Native Wise, a native-owned and operated business in Sawyer, MN. Learn more about this collaborative work in the news feature below.
“Buffalo were almost too near extinction in the late 1800s, and now we have I think there’s estimates of about 500,000 across the nation that have come back through private producers, nonprofits, and tribal herds,” said Tanka Fund Business Development Director Arnell Abold. “Ideally, we would like to just continue to grow them. With the right management and the right attitudes and celebrations, it’s turning around. It’s very successful. So we’re very happy to be a part of that.”
| |
|
University of Colorado
Boulder, Co
| |
|
From 2021-2022, First Peoples Worldwide engaged Native farmers, ranchers, harvesters, fishers, chefs, and entrepreneurs in the U.S. – over 85 participants in total – to research the current state of Native food supply chains. These encompass any situation where a Native American-owned food business is sourcing from Native food suppliers, buying from or selling to other Native-owned food businesses, selling to Native customers, or working with Native-owned businesses for transportation, processing, or other aspects of the food supply chain.
The culminating report, Supply Chains and Sovereignty: Native-led Food Systems Solutions shows that Native food supply chains are a vital approach to enacting food sovereignty. Research examines overarching trends within Native food chains across industries and collates recommendations towards strengthening these chains from the perspectives of Native food producers. The report spotlights Indigenous values such as sustainability, community health, and generational approaches in Native food businesses; innovation and economic resilience after COVID-19 pandemic impacts; and an array of Native visions for food supply chains from Native food producers working today.
Overarching themes in the report include:
- Native food businesses are creating food systems that care for both Native and non-Native people, guided by Indigenous values and self-determination.
- Systemic racism and inequitable access to capital continue to have profound and far-reaching impacts on Native food systems, from lack of infrastructure to limited personnel bandwidth.
- Many of the barriers limiting the current supply of Native-produced foods can be addressed through creating sustained and equitable access to capital.
- At the broadest level, Native food producers are creating immense social value through their work, guided by Indigenous values that see the interconnections between Native food systems and individual, social, and environmental wellbeing.
| | | | | |
