Conferences
Risk Management Education for Non Reservation Native American Farmers and Ranchers
Jennie Popp
Summary
University of Arkansas, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the American Indian Center of Arkansas developed a program to provide risk management information to non-reservation Tribal farmers and ranchers in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Mississippi. Agricultural producers within these Nations historically have had limited access to agricultural production and management information for two reasons. First, the traditional link to educational organizations such as Extension is not nearly as strong as the Tribal members´ link to their own Tribes. Second, extension personnel may not be prepared to meet their needs because a clear understanding of the composition of the Indian agricultural community and their needs is lacking. The Extension Indian Reservation Program is designed to meet the needs of reservation-based Tribal producers, but the program we undertook was to begin to address the needs of non-reservation-based Tribal producers. Through our program, we: 1) developed a risk management guidebook covering 40+ topics, 2) presented this material to 100s of producers at farm shows and in half day training sessions, and 3) developed a website for minority farmers and ranchers. We are developing a network of Tribal leaders, agricultural specialists, USDA personnel, and others interested in furthering risk management education in the region. Having successfully spread our information in our area, we are currently extending our program through train-the-trainer activities at intertribal conferences. This poster will discuss some of the factors that have led to our success as well as highlight remaining needs of minority farmers and ranchers.
Details
| Conference | 2005 National Extension Risk Management Education Conference |
| Presentation Type | Poster |