Increasing Participation in FSA Programs by Socially Disadvantaged Farmers in Wisconsin and Minnesota
In partnership with Renewing the Countryside, MFAI has received funding from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to conduct outreach, education and technical assistance to Socially Disadvantaged Farmers (SDF – includes women, African Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Asians, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, Refugees and immigrants belonging to any of the groups named above). The primary goal is to increase SDF participation in FSA programs and services. For the next 12 months, the project will develop a network of Regional Connectors and FSA staff who will support SDF participants by offering workshops on loan applications, taking visits to local FSA offices, and providing one-on-one guidance on navigating FSA services.
The project team will also assist FSA staff in understanding how to better serve and support SDFs. A review existing FSA information will be done to assess the effectiveness of resources when presented to SDF. This includes information available on the FSA website, social media accounts, handouts in local offices as well as documenting the experiences from SDF as they interact with their respective FSA office. A compilation of FSA materials will soon be available on the MFAI website and updates to FSA programs and services will be included in future Fields Report and MFAI social media posts.
To be learn more about this project, please contact Project Managers:
Donale Richards (WI) – drichards@michaelfields.org
Sara George (MN) - sara@rtcinfo.org