Breakout Session Presentation: Rebuilding the Bridge (CARE).pptx
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
0 likes•3 views
From the 2022 NACD Annual Meeting. The Conservation and Agriculture Reach Everyone (CARE) Project is a collaborative effort to increase the number of producers that are participating in USDA-NRCS and local conservation district programs. The multi-state project focuses on socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers. Join us for a session discussing the project and learn how its objectives, goals, actions and results are transferable to your state!
Recommended
More Related Content
Similar to Breakout Session Presentation: Rebuilding the Bridge (CARE).pptx
Similar to Breakout Session Presentation: Rebuilding the Bridge (CARE).pptx (20)
More from National Association of Conservation Districts
More from National Association of Conservation Districts (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Breakout Session Presentation: Rebuilding the Bridge (CARE).pptx
- 1. Conservation and Agriculture Reach Everyone Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts and Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project Inc. program
- 2. What is the CARE Project? • The purpose is to increase the number of farmers/ranchers participating in conservation planning and programs in order to improve soil health, water quality, and the viability of working lands. • The CARE project places an emphasis on assisting socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers/ranchers. • The project builds the capacity of participating organizations. • The CARE program creates a path for underserved farmers and ranchers to access their government via USDA and conservation districts. 2 6/28/2022 Add a footer
- 3. Why? • Decades of evidence gathered both internally at USDA and from independent organizations show that discrimination has resulted in the loss of land for minority producers. • We cannot address the natural resource concerns of communities if we only know the concerns of a few people. 3 6/28/2022 Add a footer
- 4. How? • Identify community ambassadors • Educate CARE Champions on opportunities and their rights • Educate conservation district employees and partners about the history, challenges, perspectives, rights, and opportunities for minority and veteran producers • Collect technical data (WORMS) • Host both informal and organized roundtable discussions with champions and conservation leaders from across the state and nation • Encourage SDA Producers to participate in local working groups • Encourage minority and veteran producers to run for conservation district board positions and serve on FSA committees 4 6/28/2022 Add a footer
- 5. Progress so Far • 4,391 producers reached • 2,329 SDA • 288Veterans • 23 Champions Identified in OK • 6 Champions Identified inTX • 23 Demonstration projects in either soil health or invasive species removal have been designed and implementation has begun 5 6/28/2022 Add a footer
- 6. HowYou Can Get Started Ideas • Find out if there any minority farmer community based organizations in your state • Be intentional with who you invite to the table • Address any measures that would prevent minority or veteran farmers from being on district boards • Change how and when you do outreach 6 6/28/2022 Add a footer
- 7. ResourcesYou Can Customize & Use • Resource Concern Survey • How to Select Champions Documents • Demonstration Process Steps • WORMS • Press Releases • Champion Interviews • Champion Marketing Pieces • Agreements • Recorded webinars on the Black farmer experience, the Native American Experience, Heir’s Property & Estate Planning 7 6/28/2022 Add a footer
- 8. Benefits for our Champions • $70/acre for up to 40 acres for a demonstration project in soil health or invasive species removal • Free soil tests • Specialized Conservation Planning Assistance • Free registration at state wide, area, national conferences • Trip opportunities to SAVE Farm in KS, National Association of Conservation Districts Conference, and the Nature Conservancy Leadership Class 8 6/28/2022 Add a footer
- 9. 9 6/28/2022 Add a footer
- 10. 10 6/28/2022 Add a footer
- 11. 11 6/28/2022 Add a footer
- 12. Community Partners 12 6/28/2022 Add a footer
Editor's Notes
- Good morning. My name is Sarah Blaney and I am the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts. The Conservation and Agriculture Reach Everyone or CARE project is a collaborative effort between the OACD and the Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project.
- These are the goals of our project and we were able to achieve a lot of them. The effort to build bridges between minority farmers/ranchers, the government, and community agriculture organizations is a long term, multi-year process. The CARE project itself is funded for one year. We have received funding for a second year and we are very grateful for that. We really believe that these efforts are the beginning of our organization and the conservation districts in Oklahoma being more intentionally inclusive. Relationships are key in agriculture. We are still very much a sector of the economy that runs on word of mouth, advice from neighbors, and small networks so we wanted that to be the key piece of our project. Providing leadership opportunities and continuing education focused on the needs of SDA producers. We have also made it a priority to educate non-minority farmers and ranchers about the experience of minorities in agriculture. We believe that knowledge and understanding are key to solving access issues and stopping land loss.
- In some ways, agriculture is one of those sectors that still has not caught up with times so to speak. A lot of these groups, for example, conservation districts, we have board members that have served for 50 years and we also have a lot of families where the father served on the district board and now the son does. The demographics of our country and ag are not represented accurately in those serving in leadership positions. The number of Hispanic owned farms increased by 21% between 2007 and 2012. There was also an increase in Native American, African American and Asian operators. It is our responsibility as community agriculture organizations to embrace these agriculture producers and include them in our organization’s leadership. Furthermore, diverse organizations make decisions quicker, they demonstration greater innovation and creativity and diversity opens up your organizations pool for future leaders. How community ag organizations can help can be very simple. Be inclusive and be intentional, make personal invitations to minority landowners to attend your events. Include leaders of minority farming groups in the bigger ag community. For example, during the legislative session, we host an annual banquet. In my 8 years working for my organization, not always in my current role, I don’t know that Mr. Tillman was ever invited to that dinner and we invite every ag group leader. So, last year I made sure that he was present and recognized. I don’t tell you that to tell you that I’m so great, but that even people who want to be allies a lot of times are not always conscious of what they are doing, so it’s important that we remind organizations to be inclusive.