Black Agriculture Producers seek to build "A New Foundation" with the USDA

United States Department of Agriculture
2010 Office of Advocacy and Outreach Cooperators Conference
Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel
September 26 - 28, 2010
St. Louis, Missouri.

The USDA Office of Advocacy and Outreach (OAO) was established by section 14013 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, Pub. L. 110-246, with specific authority to carry out “Outreach and Technical Assistance” activities for the benefit of small, minority, limited resource, and new and beginning farmers and ranchers.

The USDA 2010 Cooperators Conference will consist of participants that include farmers and ranchers from all regions of the United States and territories. Your proven leadership on agricultural and rural development issues is invaluable at a time when urban and rural communities face unique challenges in the areas of nutrition, farm credit, and sustainable job growth.

Black Agriculture producers currently are nearly 1 % of our U.S. Agriculture producers and official U.S. Government reports should lead toward cognition of targeted programs and policies to mitigate the current reality.

(http://www.usda.gov/documents/USDA%20Civil%20Rights%20Background.pdf)

The newly created OAO is committed to ensuring that beginning, small, minority and socially disadvantaged farmers are equipped with relevant and up to date program knowledge and technical assistance required to play a key role in the sustainability of urban and rural communities across the nation.

President Barack Obama and his restructured Agriculture Administration are beginning to solidify "A New Foundation" in all aspects of our Peoples Department, the United States Department of Agriculture. If the current reality of 1862 vs. 1890, seperate, very unequal and very limited is opened up to demonstrate equity and equal opportunity our entire nation will benefit.

Black Farmers, once nearly 15% of our nation farmers are currently 1% of our nation’s farmers. This reality is a major threat to our fiscal national security as well as our Black Community as quantified in both U.S. Population Census and U.S. Agriculture Census. If we begin to closely monitor the data and measure current and proposed policy direction, we can become a stronger nation.

An inclusive National Black Agriculture Action Agenda, engaging Black communities throughout America, can address the epidemic levels of diet related disease by supporting the ethnic speciality crops that provide job creation, cultural identification and economic development. Let’s Move, to the beat of the Healing African Drum