USDA sets 2024 tribal consultations to boost services

Apr 16, 2024

By Farms.com

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is preparing for its Annual Consultation and Listening Session on Tribal Barriers from April 22 to April 26, 2024. These sessions are vital for reinforcing the USDA's relationships with Tribal Nations and understanding their unique needs.

The schedule for the 2024 sessions is as follows:

Education and Research (Monday, April 22): Begins with a Tribal Caucus from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET, followed by the main session until 5:30 p.m. ET. Click Here to Register
Forests and Public Lands Management (Tuesday, April 23): Focuses on managing shared lands and forest resources. Click Here to Register
Farming, Ranching, and Conservation (Wednesday, April 24): Discusses the latest in sustainable practices and conservation in agriculture. Click Here to Register
Economic Development (Thursday, April 25): Concentrates on economic initiatives and support for Tribal businesses. Click Here to Register
Food, Food Safety, and Trade (Friday, April 26): Explores issues around food production, safety standards, and trade relationships. Click Here to Register

These meetings are part of the USDA's broader effort to improve its service offerings and interactions with the 574 federally recognized Tribal Nations. Over the past three years, significant strides have been made in enhancing support for Native producers, including more integration of Native foods into nutrition assistance programs and increased marketing support.

Each session provides an opportunity for Tribal leaders to engage directly with USDA officials, ensuring that the department's policies and programs are aligned with Tribal priorities and needs. This ongoing dialogue is crucial for maintaining the Nation-to-Nation trust relationship and for the USDA to continue adapting its programs to support the self-determination and growth of Tribal Nations.

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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