Request for Applications Open for WIC Community Innovation and Outreach Project (WIC CIAO) | |
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Up to $10 million in subgrants are available for WIC state and local agencies, including Indian Tribal Organizations and nonprofit entities and organizations, to develop, implement, and evaluate innovative outreach strategies to increase Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) awareness, participation, benefit redemption, and reduce disparities in program delivery.
WIC CIAO is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through a cooperative agreement with the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition (GSCN), the Native American Agriculture Fund, (NAAF) and UnidosUS.
When are applications due?
Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on March 23, 2023
Significant technical assistance will be provided throughout the application process to organizations in underserved communities that may have limited resources and or capacity. Technical assistance will also be provided to all subgrantees throughout the subgrant period.
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- Overview of the WIC CIAO Subgrant RFA
- Watch the recording
- Subgrant Project Design & Work Plan
- Wed 2/8/2023 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
- Budget & Personnel
- Wed 2/15/2023 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
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NAAF Furthers Commitment to Increasing Access to Capital for Native Farmers and Ranchers | |
Last month NAAF hosted an Advanced Underwriting school in partnership with the Center for Farm Financial Management, a training for Native agriculture lenders looking to expand on their experience in agriculture lending. The Advanced Underwriting school was attended by lenders from Community Development Financial Institutions, who increase access to capital for Native farmers and ranchers through lending and equity grants, as well as provide essential technical assistance to support and grow producer success. | |
2023 National Agriculture in the Classroom NAAF Scholarship | |
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Deadline: February 15, 2023 by 11:59 pm EST
The Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) is pleased to partner with the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization (NAITCO) to help sponsor teachers to attend the upcoming NAITCO "Beyond the Beaches" conference in Orlando, FL from June 26, 2023 - June 29, 2023.
In order to be eligible for the scholarship, you need to either: teach at a Tribal government operated school, a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) school, or a BIE-supported school, a school on a reservation teaching Native students; teach at a non-reservation school that has a high percentage of Native American students; or be a teacher with Tribal affiliation.
Scholarships Include:
📍 - conference registration
✈️ - flight costs
🏨 - hotel costs
Last year NAAF sponsored 15 teachers to attend the NAITCO conference. They participated in interactive workshops, panel presentations, an agriculture educator resource fair, and toured ag industries within the New York region. To learn more and hear from the teacher's themselves visit the Teacher Highlight section linked below.
See last year's Teacher highlights.
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Commodity Classic
March 9-11, 2023
Orange County Convention Center, Orlando FL
Commodity Classic is the top annual convention and trade show of the wheat, corn, soybeans, sorghum, and agriculture equipment manufacturers industries. Farmers from across the country gather and discuss everything from the latest equipment and technology to pressing policy issues.
NAAF will have a booth at the conference to connect with Native producers and national agriculture agencies.
Come see us!
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Reservation Economic Summit (RES)
April 3-6, 2023
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) is embracing EMPOWERING FOR GENERATIONS for the 2023 Reservation Economic Summit. The event features tribal leaders, members of Congress, federal agency representatives, state and local officials, and top CEO's on a national platform.
Come visit with NAAF throughout the conference!
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Upcoming Deadlines for Public Comment | |
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USDA Ag Marketing Service
Comments due by Feb. 7 2023
AMS is requesting feedback on renewal of an existing information collection activity that may burden producers utilizing its services. Concerning information collection on Regulations Governing Inspection Certification of Fresh & Processed Fruits, Vegetables, & Other Products.
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Food and Nutrition Service
Comments due Feb. 21 2023
FNS proposes revision of regulations governing the WIC food packages to intended to provide WIC participants with a wider variety of foods that align with the latest nutritional science; provide WIC State agencies with greater flexibility to prescribe and tailor food packages...
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Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund | |
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The Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund is accepting applications until February 14th! This small grant program provides direct assistance to veterans who are in their beginning years of farming or ranching. The Fellowship Fund does not provide funds directly to veterans, but rather to third-party vendors for items the veteran has identified will make a crucial difference in the launch of their farm business.
Awards range from $1,000 to $5,000 and must be used within six months of receiving the award.
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Intertribal Agriculture Council Regenerative Agriculture | |
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Are you using regenerative agriculture practices (such as rotational grazing, reduced tillage or cover crops) on your farm or ranch?
If so, consider joining a new project that IAC is conducting in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund. The goal of this project is to better understand the full impact that regenerative agriculture provides to Native producers – and insights from farms and ranches like yours can help.
Visit the Intertribal Agriculture Council website to learn more about the project and how you can get involved: https://www.indianag.org/regenerative-agriculture-projects
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This spring, the Native Farm Bill Coalition is organizing a series of “fly-ins” for Tribal leaders and Native producers across the country to talk directly with members of Congress, their staff, and the Biden Administration.
By participating in these fly-ins, Coalition members will have the opportunity to advocate for policy changes that would positively impact Indian Country, such as strengthening tribal self-governance, allowing Tribes to manage nutrition programs, investing in economic development opportunities in rural communities, and much more.
To learn more about the tentative schedule and fly in details visit the NFBC website.
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Census of Agriculture Closes Next Monday Feb. 6 | |
The Census of Agriculture helps inform programming and support, such as increasing access to capital and investments in infrastructure at all levels of national, state, and tribal policies. The data gathered from the census is used by many entities, including NAAF, to help conduct outreach efforts to areas with high populations of Native producers to help support them through grantmaking opportunities. Native producers have been underrepresented in agricultural policies due to a lack of accurate data representation.
Filling out the Agriculture Census will provide the foundation for future advocacy initiatives and will be a step towards providing equitable policies which uplift Native agriculture. Learn more about how the Ag Census helps show the impact of diversity of agriculture in Indian Country.
Join us as we show the diversity and strength within Indian Country.
Deadline February 6, 2023
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AgFirst Scholarship for Native American Students
AgFirst provides wholesale funding, cutting-edge technology and a range of support services to local agricultural and rural lenders in 15 states and Puerto Rico. As a $42 Billion Bank, they are the largest financial institution headquartered in South Carolina.
AgFirst is offering educational scholarships to full-time Native American students studying business and/or agricultural related fields. Each scholarship recipient will receive $3,000 per academic year ($1,500 per semester).
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TAF Scholarship Deadline in 8 Days
Tribal Agriculture Fellowship is looking to fill their second cohort with the next generation of agricultural professionals and will be accepting applications through February 10, 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
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Job Opportunity with Bay Mills Community College: Livestock Educator | |
Full-Time Position | Apply by February 17, 2023
The Livestock Educator will provide support for the Waishkey Bay Farm of Bay Mills Community College, under shared supervision of the Farm Manager and Land Grant Director. The Livestock Educator will work closely with the Waishkey Bay Farm team to carry out day-to-day livestock activities. This includes activities such as poultry production management, travel/professional development planning, mobile processing unit construction/purchasing oversight, planning and facilitation of poultry processing educational activities, sales and distribution, and production and processing record keeping. Position will be exposed to out-door weather conditions, in close proximity to livestock. Use of equipment such as farm tractors and implements, all-terrain vehicles, and other motorized tools will be required.
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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!
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Robeson Community College
Lumberton, North Carolina
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In 2019, the Robeson Community College offered scholarships to students interested in agriculture careers and provided continuing education classes for farmers, ranchers and growers looking to promote their businesses.
Throughout the program Robeson Community College served 119 farmers through webinars and three pop up mobile unit access to credit events.
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University of Colorado
Boulder, Co
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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.
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