Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Gomez, R. E.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY
1620 STANDLEY DR ACADEMIC RESH A RM 110
LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO 88003-1239

NEW MEXICO PUEBLO BEGINNING FARMER AND RANCHER PROJECT

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service (NMSU CES), 1862 Land Grant Institution (LGI), in collaboration with the Institute of American Indian Arts, Land Grant Programs (IAIA LGP), 1994 LGI, along with local Pueblo governors, mentors, and Pueblo livestock and growers associations, propose the New Mexico Pueblo Beginning Farmer and Rancher Project (NMPBFRP). Through this collaboration, our New Mexico Pueblo BFR's will have the best resources available to them to succeed and become a viable entity in American agriculture.The NMPBFRP proposes to develop a holistic outreach approach to meeting the individual production, marketing and financing needs of American Indian BFR's of the Northern and Southern Pueblos in northcentral New Mexico through this three year project. These efforts will individually assist them in developing sustainable management and production practices and marketing strategies on their farms and ranches in an effort to compete and succeed in American agriculture.The overall goal of the NMPBFRP is to provide the best possible research based and proven sustainable educational and technical assistance to the Pueblo BFR's through culturally accepted methods in an effort to empower them with the skills and knowledge necessary to compete and succeed in their agricultural business endeavors. This project will serve as a model for future BFRDP's at other American Indian farming regions that share similar characteristics.

OBJECTIVES: The overall goal of the project is to provide the best possible research based and proven sustainable educational and technical assistance to the Pueblo BFR's through culturally accepted methods in an effort to empower them with the skills and knowledge necessary to compete and succeed in their agricultural business endeavors. This project will serve as a model for future BFR development programs at other American Indian farming regions that share similar characteristics.Objective 1. Identify all BFR's in the target region and make all available efforts to recruit them into the proposed BFR program.Objective 2. Develop a Pueblo BFR educational and technical assistance curriculum with the assistance of BFR's, Pueblo farmers/ranchers (mentors) and project collaborators.Objective 3. Match cooperating Pueblo farmer/rancher mentors with participating BFR's.Objective 4. Provide one-on-one technical and educational assistance to the BFR's participating in the region that will enhance their ability to compete and succeed in the agricultural industry, thus retaining their customs and culture which are closely tied to the land and ultimately preserving their rural communities.Objective 5. Through a coordinated outreach effort, USDA program opportunities and services will be made available and accessible to the BFR's who participate in this project.

APPROACH: The NMSU CES will administer the SPBFRP. Mr. R. Edmund Gomez, Project Director of the NMSU CES' Rural Agricultural Improvement and Public Affairs Project (RAIPAP), and the New Mexico Small Farm and Ranch Task Force Coordinator will serve as the project director. The RAIPAP office, located at the NMSU Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde (SASCA) will serve as the official project office. Alcalde, New Mexico is located within a three hour drive of the outer boundaries of the target region. Cooperators include the Pueblo livestock and crop associations, Pueblo Governors, and Ms. Charlene Carr, IAIA Director of Land Grant Programs.Mr. Gomez will be responsible for program development and coordination; project supervision; serve as community and agency liaison; develop and coordinate educational network system; assist with the development of culturally accepted educational materials; identify and recruit Pueblo farmer/rancher mentors; provide cultural sensitivity training to specialists as well as overseeing program evaluation and reporting.Ms. Carr, will represent IAIA LGP as our partner and collaborator. Ms. Carr will assist with project program planning; curriculum development; educational and technical delivery; BFR identification and recruitment; Pueblo farmer/rancher mentor identification and recruitment; securing office space and meeting facilities at the IAIA campus; project evaluation and reporting as well as serving on the project advisory committee.Representatives from the Pueblo livestock and crop association will serve as BFR mentors and serve on the Project Advisory Committee; providing direct guidance and consultation to the project director.An advisory committee will be utilized. The advisory committee represented by BFR's, community elders, Pueblo governors, Pueblo association collaborators and networking partners is primarily responsible for providing input on program format; content; identifying ongoing community needs; helps analyze participant feedback; and recommends necessary changes in Project delivery. The advisory committee will meet annually.The project director will assemble a team of six outreach specialists who possess specialized training in their areas of responsibility. One of these agriculture specialists will be an IAIA LGP faculty member. Through our funding request, we would require (2) FTE positions and we will split position responsibilities of the other (4) specialists (in-kind) to perform our expected outcomes. These specialists will be responsible for one-on-one educational and technical assistance to the BRR's, on-farm demonstrations, subject matter workshops, whole farm conferences and reporting.In an effort to provide USDA program opportunities and services, the project will work closely with USDA agency service providers in accommodating the BFR's in their programs and services. USDA agencies will be invited to participate and present their programs at our workshops and conferences. In addition, the project staff will assist the BFR's in registering with USDA FSA and developing a USDA farm plan. If required, assistance will be provided by the project staff to assist the BFR's in completing USDA application forms and will be made aware of new and recurring programs and services. The project staff will also work directly with USDA NASS and the BFR's (and mentors) in an effort to assist them with completing a 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture document and assuring them that they will be counted.Monthly activity reports along with client contact reports will be required of the specialists. Monthly project team staff meetings will be held to assure overall coordination of project activity. Annual advisory committee meetings will be held with project staff participation. Based on these advisory committee meetings, project activity can be adjusted to better serve the target audience.

PROGRESS: 2016/08 TO 2019/07
Target Audience:The New Mexico Pueblo Beginning Farmer and Rancher Project (NMPBFRP) proposes to develop a practical approach to meeting the individual production, management, marketing and financing needs of American Indian Beginning Farmers and Ranchers (BFR's) of the Northern and Southern Pueblos in New Mexico through a three year USDA BFRDP project. These efforts will assist them in developing sustainable management practices and marketing strategies on their farms and ranches in an effort to compete and succeed in American agriculture. These BFR's are located within the Pueblos of Taos, Picuris, Okay Owingeh (San Juan), Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Pojoaque, Nambe, and Tesuque which comprisethe Eight Northern Pueblos Council. In addition, the Pueblos of Cochiti, San Felipe, Kewa (Santo Domingo), Sandia, Santa Ana, Zia, Jemez, Isleta, Laguna and Acoma who comprise the Ten Southern Pueblos Council.These BFR's are considered limited resource as well as socially disadvantaged BFR's by USDA. In addition, many of these BFR's are also U.S. military veterans and 100% of the BFRDP funds will be utilized in working with this audience. The NMPBFRP was represented in participation from the following Pueblos: Acoma Pueblo - 17 BFR's and 1 Mentor Cochiti Pueblo - 18 BFR's and 1 Mentor Isleta Pueblo - 1 BFR Jemez Pueblo - 9 BFR's and 1 Mentor Laguna Pueblo - 7 BFR's and 1 Mentor Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo - 2 BFR's San Felipe Pueblo - 1 BFR Sandia Pueblo - 5 BFR's Santa Clara Pueblo - 1 BFR and 1 Mentor Kewa Pueblo - 20 BFR's and 1 Mentor Taos Pueblo - 7 BFR's and 2 Mentors Zia Pueblo - 4 BFR's Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Year One: On February 17-18, 2017, a project specialist attended along with 6 NMPBFR participants, the Organic Conference in Albuquerque which was sponsored by NMSU CES and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. The workshops included many curriculum topics such as Weed Identification and Management, Identifying Insects, Chile, Greenhouse Basics, Soil Samples, Beneficial Bugs and Your Operation, Managing Soil Fertility, Cover Crops and Soil Health, along with networking sessions for crops, livestock, and Native American farmers. On March 2, 2017, a project specialist attended along with 6 NMPBFR participants, the Fruit Growers Workshop held in Los Luceros by the NMSU Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde. Workshops included Organic Fruit Production, Soil Building, How to Manage Insect Pests, and Fruit Tree Pruning Basics. These BFR participants are interested in starting their own fruit tree orchards and have limited knowledge of growing fruit trees. This workshop gave them basic knowledge of dealing with soils and the problems of growing fruit in New Mexico climates. A project specialist attended the Women in Agriculture Leadership Conference in Las Cruces May 30 to June 1, 2017, and along with two women participating in the NMPBFR. One is from Santo Domingo (Kewa) and the other is from Jemez Pueblo. From discussions with the 2 participants, the conference was informative in providing information on different topics like communicating agriculture concerns with those who do not have an agriculture background and to stay involved with community concerns and have their voices heard in government. On June 23, 2017, project specialists assisted the Acoma Pueblo Department of Agriculture in planning and implementing Agriculture Day in Acoma. Over 100 producers attended the Acoma Agriculture Day and 20 NMPBFR participants attended from Acoma, Laguna, Jemez, and Cochiti Pueblos. General evaluations showed an overall liking of the workshop topics. These included marketing, cattle health; USDA updates from FSA, NRCS, and NASS, seed saving, and season extension techniques for vegetables. Topics were of a broader nature this year and showed a greater interest in farming as well as ranching. Ranchers benefit from cattle topics that increase their production as well as farmers who learned how to get more production time for their crops. 2/10/18 Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop, NMSU Los Lunas Agriculture Science Center, 5 BFR's in attendance 3/01/18 Fruit Growers Workshop sponsored by NMSU CES, Los Luceros Farm, 5 BFR's attended the workshop August 10, 2018, Sustainable Agricultural Science Center at Alcalde Field Day, three NMPBFR participants attended from Jemez Pueblo. Topics included fruit research, beneficial insects, frost control, grape research, corn and tepary beans, chile, high tunnels, alfalfa, and composting systems. August 24, 2018, Chile Field Day at the Los Lunas Agricultural Science Center, nine NMPBFR participants attended from Acoma, Jemez, Kewa, and Ohkay Owingeh Pueblos. Topics included weed management in chile production, integrated pest management for chile growers, season extension research, ornamental chiles, disease and disorder management, and chile marketing strategies. August 28 to 30, 2018, Applied Cattle Reproductive Conference in Ruidoso, NM sponsored by the NMSU CES and the NM Cattlegrowers Association. Thirteen NMPBFR participants attended from Acoma, Laguna, Kewa, Cochiti, Jemez, and Zia Pueblos. Topics included cow estrous synchronization, artificial insemination, managing cattle stress especially with drought, heifer development, impacts of water quality on reproduction, promoting fertility in bulls, Trichomoniasis, EDPs and genetics, and pregnancy diagnosis. February 15-16, 2019, New Mexico Organic Conference, Albuquerque, NM. Five NMPBFR participants attended from Kewa, Sandia, and Jemez pueblos. The NM Organic Conference addresses many different topics including soil health, irrigation, water concerns, potato growing, and seed saving. From talking to participants, knowledge increased after attending the various workshops especially concerning new topics like potato production. March 1, 2019, Fruit Growers Workshop in Los Luceros, NM sponsored by NMSU CES. Four NMPBFR participants attended from Santa Clara and Jemez Pueblos. In addition, one participant from Ohkay Owingeh attended the Fruit pruning workshop held at Alcalde on March 8, 2019. Topics included frost monitoring, soil health, appropriate fruit and nut varieties, coddling moth and pruning demonstrations. The participants felt that they gained more knowledge as they continue with their own orchards in the maintenance and fertility of their operations that increases fruit yield and profit for their operations. May 7 through May 9, 2019 was the Indian Livestock Days held in Laguna, NM and sponsored by the NMSU CES. The two and half day conference provided workshops on Range Drought Management, USDA updates, Wildfire Preparedness, Solar Wells, Cow Demo, EPDs, Marketing, Sheep Quality, and Horse/Large Animal Rescue. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project activity and results have been collected by the Project Director and will be reported to first, USDA NIFA, NMSU CES and Pueblo governmental leadership and Project Advisory Committee which is represented by each target community. The NMSU CES news media reports most NMPBFRP programs, workshops and conferences. On July 16, 2019, End of Program NMPBFRP Advisory Committee meeting was held in Albuquerque, NM. Sixty participants and partners (County Agents and USDA NRCS, FSA and NASS) attended the conference. Discussions included project overview; each participant shared their overall experience of the program, which included how they gained knowledge/skills, increased their farm and/or ranch production, and achieved their goals during their participation. Ten BFR participants completed posters and shared their experiences of their on-farm demonstrations, which included hoop house production, raised bed extended season production, alfalfa variety trial, cow-calf operation, fruit orchard production, and cattle marketing. Advisory Committee meeting evaluations indicated that participants expressed the importance of programs like this one to support their agricultural endeavors and gained skills and knowledge from the extension resources/assistance provided by the BFR team and program. Overall, the program was well received by BFR participants who provided the team with valuable feedback during the conference and recorded their responses in the evaluations. In addition, an exit interview video was conducted by the NMPBFRP with willing BFR's and their mentors, and will be shared with USDA NIFA, NMSU CES administration as well as Pueblo leadership. https://youtu.be/t-Rp9GKGZc4 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

IMPACT: 2016/08 TO 2019/07
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. As the NMPBFRP began, the project team met with Pueblo leadership from the 8 Northern and 10 Southern Pueblos to introduce the project and develop a plan for recruiting Pueblo BFR's and mentors. In addition, the team meet with Pueblo livestock and growers associations, and together, developed a plan for identifying and recruiting Pueblo BFR's and mentors. A total of 130 tribal farmers and ranchers were interviewed, and as of July 2017, Ninety-two recruited individuals completed necessary documents and the required core programming. . In addition, the project recruited 8 experienced farmers and ranchers to serve as mentors for our BFR's. These individuals are elders, well respected in their communities and serve as ambassadors to our target Pueblos. The NMPBFRP was represented in participation from the following Pueblos: Acoma Pueblo - 17 BFR's and 1 Mentor Cochiti Pueblo - 18 BFR's and 1 Mentor Isleta Pueblo - 1 BFR Jemez Pueblo - 9 BFR's and 1 Mentor Laguna Pueblo - 7 BFR's and 1 Mentor Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo - 2 BFR's San Felipe Pueblo - 1 BFR Sandia Pueblo - 5 BFR's Santa Clara Pueblo - 1 BFR and 1 Mentor Kewa Pueblo - 20 BFR's and 1 Mentor Taos Pueblo - 7 BFR's and 2 Mentors Zia Pueblo - 4 BFR's Objective 2. During the recruitment process in year one, BFR participants were interviewed and asked to participate in the development of individualized curriculum that would best serve their needs. Assessments focused on the collection of qualitative and quantitative data in a three part assessment; first was to assess capacities, two was to identify gaps related to the lack of participation in USDA programs, and three to identify relevant educational workshops to assist stakeholders in an effort to build their capacity. Objective 3. During the recruitment process in year one, several experienced farmers and ranchers were identified and most had the qualities of becoming excellent mentors. When asked if they would be available to participate in the project as farmer/rancher mentors, only 8 were able to commit his/her time to serve as mentors. The BFR's were given the list of available mentors and identified which would best work with them. Several BFR's are utilizing mentors outside of their community but in close proximity to their farms or ranches. At Pueblos where we did not have a mentor, BFR's have also been paired with mentors close to their farms and ranches. After completing year three, all pairings are working well. Objective 4. Year 1 Workshops include: Record Keeping Workshops, Acoma Pueblo, Zia Pueblo, Santo Domingo Pueblo, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, (2) Cochiti Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, Taos Pueblo, San Felipe Pueblo, Jemez Pueblo, Isleta Pueblo, and Laguna Pueblo. Introduction to Soils and Grasshopper Control workshop, Santo Domingo Pueblo Rodent Control Workshop, Sandia Pueblo Beef Cattle Body Scoring and Noxious Range Weed Identification Workshop, Acoma Pueblo BQA Workshop, Sandoval County Extension Office Weed Identification and Control, and Soil Interpretations Workshop, Cochiti Pueblo Soil testing: As part of the core requirements in the program, recruited farmers are required to take a soil sample to build their understanding of soils and build their soil health. The NMPBFRP has completed 71 soil samples for 58 BFR participants during project activity. Year 2 Workshops: Alfalfa Workshop, Pueblo of Santo Domingo Horse Care Workshop, Jemez Pueblo Season Extension, Basics of Seed Saving, and Soil Test Interpretations Workshop, Taos Pueblo Developing a Business Plan, USDA Program Opportunities, and Bovine Bull Management Workshop, Pueblo of Sandia Gopher Control Workshop, La Mesilla Farm Part II Business Planning and USDA Program Opportunity Workshop, Cochiti Pueblo Integrated Pest Management and the Soil Composting Workshop, Pueblo of Sandia Chile Production and the Insect Identification Workshop, Pueblo of Jemez Part I Business Planning and Integrated Pest Control Workshop, Taos Pueblo Year 3 Workshops: BQA (Beef Quality Assurance) Workshop, Acoma Pueblo Acoma Resource Day, Acoma Pueblo Part II Developing a Business Plan Workshop, Taos Pueblo Part II Developing a Business Plan and Livestock Nutrition Workshop Hoop House Construction & Record Keeping Workshop, Santo Domingo Pueblo Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop, Santo Domingo Pueblo Hoop House Construction Workshop, Taos Pueblo Hoop House Construction Workshop, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo Hoop House Construction Workshop, Santo Domingo Pueblo Integrated Pest Management and Hoop House Production Workshop Raised Bed & Cool Season Planning Workshop, IAIA campus Raised Hoop Bed Construction Workshop at the IAIA campus Conferences include: Year One: Indian Livestock Days held in Laguna Pueblo and sponsored by the NMSU CES. Year Two: New Mexico Beginning Farmer/Rancher Agriculture Conference, IAIA Campus, Santa Fe, NM, Indian Livestock Days Conference, Laguna Pueblo Year Three: NMNPBFRP hosted the National BFRDP Project Director's meeting in Albuquerque NM. Approximately 180 participants attended the meeting. NMPBFRP Advisory Committee meeting in Albuquerque, NM. NMPBFR Agriculture Conference, Albuquerque, NM. Indian Livestock Days, Laguna Pueblo End of program NMPBFRP Advisory Committee meeting in Albuquerque, NM. On-farm demonstrations: On-farm demonstrations are a vital component in conducting educational programing to our BFR's. Year Two: On-farm forage variety demonstrations at the Pueblo of Cochiti (1), Pueblo of Sandia (2), and the Pueblo of Kewa (Santo Domingo) (2). Year Three: Hoop house construction, production and raised hoop house bed at Taos Pueblo, Ohkay Owingeh, Santo Domingo and Laguna Pueblos. Forage variety demonstration, Jemez Pueblo Forage variety demonstrations, Jemez Pueblo and Santo Domingo Pueblo Objective 5. Project coordinators continued to meet with local USDA service providers and informed them of project activity and invited them to participate in providing educational and technical assistance to the BFR's in the program. The following are workshops that USDA NRCS, FSA and NASS have presented their programs and provided time for them to sign-up BFR's in their programs: Year One: Record keeping and USDA workshops at Acoma Pueblo, Zia Pueblo, Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, Cochiti Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, (2) Taos Pueblo, San Felipe Pueblo Indian Livestock Days, Laguna Pueblo Acoma Agriculture Day, Acoma Pueblo Year Two: Alfalfa Workshop, Pueblo of Santo Domingo Season Extension, Basics of Seed Saving, and Soil Test Interpretations Workshop, Taos Pueblo Developing a Business Plan, USDA Program Opportunities, and Bovine Bull Management Workshop, Pueblo of Sandia New Mexico Beginning Farmer/Rancher Agriculture Conference, IAIA Campus, Santa Fe, NM Part II Business Planning and USDA Program Opportunity Workshop, Cochiti Pueblo Integrated Pest Management and the Soil Composting Workshop, Pueblo of Sandia Indian Livestock Days Conference, Laguna Pueblo Part I Business Planning and Integrated Pest Control Workshop, Taos Pueblo Year Three: Acoma Resource Day, Acoma Pueblo Part II Developing a Business Plan, Taos Pueblo Part II Developing a Business Plan and Livestock Nutrition, Acoma Pueblo Hoop House Construction & Record Keeping, Santo Domingo Pueblo NMPBFR Agricultural Conference, Albuquerque, NM Indian Livestock Days Conference, Laguna Pueblo During these workshops, USDA assisted the BFR's in developing a USDA farm plan and made sure that they were enrolled at the USDA FSA district office. They also provided information of USDA programs and services that BFR's are eligible to participate in and provide one-on-one assistance in completing USDA application forms.

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2016/08 TO 2019/07
No publications reported this period.

PROGRESS: 2016/08/01 TO 2017/07/31
Target Audience:The New Mexico Pueblo Beginning Farmer and Rancher Project (NMPBFRP) proposes to develop a practical approach to meeting the individual production, management, marketing and financing needs of American Indian Beginning Farmers and Ranchers (BFR's) of the Northern and Southern Pueblos in New Mexico through a three year USDA BFRDP project. These efforts will assist them in developing sustainable management practices and marketing strategies on their farms and ranches in an effort to compete and succeed in American agriculture. These BFR's are located within the Pueblos of Taos, Picuris, Okay Owingeh (San Juan), Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Pojoaque, Nambe, and Tesuque which comprise the Eight Northern Pueblos Council. In addition, the Pueblos of Cochiti, San Felipe, Kewa (Santo Domingo), Sandia, Santa Ana, Zia, Jemez, Isleta, Laguna and Acoma who comprise the Ten Southern Pueblos Council. (Figure 1.) These BFR's are considered limited resource as well as socially disadvantaged BFR's by USDA. In addition, many of these BFR's are also U.S. military veterans and 100% of the BFRDP funds will be utilized in working with this audience. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?On February 17-18, 2017, a project specialist attended along with 6 NMPBFR participants, the Organic Conference in Albuquerque which was sponsored by NMSU CES and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. The workshops included many curriculum topics such as Weed Identification and Management, Identifying Insects, Chile, Greenhouse Basics, Soil Samples, Beneficial Bugs and Your Operation, Managing Soil Fertility, Cover Crops and Soil Health, along with networking sessions for crops, livestock, and Native American farmers. On March 2, 2017, a project specialist attended along with 6 NMPBFR participants, the Fruit Growers Workshop held in Los Luceros by the NMSU Sustainable Agriculture Science Center at Alcalde. Workshops included Organic Fruit Production, Soil Building, How to Manage Insect Pests, and Fruit Tree Pruning Basics. These BFR participants are interested in starting their own fruit tree orchards and have limited knowledge of growing fruit trees. This workshop gave them basic knowledge of dealing with soils and the problems of growing fruit in New Mexico climates. May 10 through May 12 was the Indian Livestock Days held in Laguna, NM and sponsored by the NMSU CES. The two and half day conference provided workshops on Cattle Markets, Beef Quality Assurance Training, Range Management, Solar Training, Developing Reputable Indian Cattle and Nutrition and Cattle Scoring, American Branded Beef Program. The United States Department of Agriculture provided speakers including the Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Agricultural Statistic Service and the Farm Service Agency. About 30 BFR's attended the Indian Livestock Days at the Route 66 Casino. They were from Acoma, Laguna, Santo Domingo (Kewa), Cochiti, Jemez, and Zia Pueblos. Most of these producers also attended the Beef Quality Assurance training. A project specialist attended the Women in Agriculture Leadership Conference in Las Cruces May 30 to June 1, 2017, and along with two women participating in the NMPBFR. One is from Santo Domingo (Kewa) and the other is from Jemez Pueblo. From discussions with the 2 participants, the conference was informative in providing information on different topics like communicating agriculture concerns with those who do not have an agriculture background and to stay involved with community concerns and have their voices heard in government. On June 23, 2017, project specialists assisted the Acoma Pueblo Department of Agriculture in planning and implementing Agriculture Day in Acoma. Over 100 producers attended the Acoma Agriculture Day and 20 NMPBFR participants attended from Acoma, Laguna, Jemez, and Cochiti Pueblos. General evaluations showed an overall liking of the workshop topics. These included marketing, cattle health, USDA updates from FSA, NRCS, and NASS, seed saving, and season extension techniques for vegetables. Topics were of a broader nature this year and showed a greater interest in farming as well as ranching. Ranchers benefit from cattle topics that increase their production as well as farmers who learned how to get more production time for their crops. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project activity and results have been collected by the Project Director and will be reported to first, USDA NIFA, NMSU CES and Pueblo governmental leadership and Project Advisory Committee which is represented by each target community. The NMSU CES news media reports most NMPBFRP programs, workshops and conferences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The BFR team will continue to focus on providing subject matter presentations related to crop and animal productions and other related agricultural topics based on the individual curriculum developed for each BFR participant. As we will be approaching the end of physical year 2017, the project team will be assisting the BFR's in participating in the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture and work closely with USDA NASS. The project team is planning, developing and ready to implement small agricultural business training for the next reporting period to increase BFR's understanding of strategic planning, business planning, record keeping, grant writing and application assistance, grant management, developing a cooperative, developing market strategies and identifying markets. Previously, the team collected information from BFRs to assess their capacities and determine an approach to provide BFRs with appropriate training. Assessments focused on the collection of qualitative and quantitative data in a three part assessment; first was to assess capacities, two was to identify gaps related to the lack of participation in USDA programs, and three to identify relevant educational workshops to assist stakeholders in an effort to build their capacity. This first part of the assessment is preliminary data to assess the capacity of BFR participants. During the interviews, it was also observed that BFRs had little to no interaction with USDA. BFRs small agricultural business interests may be coupled or affected directly by their lack of interaction with USDA and/or capacities. Project team will continue to work one-on-one with BFR's and assist them on their farms and ranches. On-farm demonstrations will be conducted during year 2 with BFR's that are interested in developing an innovative change to their current production plan. A small scale demonstration funded by the project will allow the BFR to participate without financial risk and allows them to advance their record keeping experience. In addition, the NMPBFRP Advisory Committee will be meeting on November 14, 2017 to evaluate the first year of project activity and provide the project team with direction and advice on the implementation of the second year of project activity.

IMPACT: 2016/08/01 TO 2017/07/31
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Identify all BFR's in the target region and make all available efforts to recruit them into the proposed BFR program. Project team met with Pueblo leadership from the 8 Northern and 10 Southern Pueblos to introduce the project and develop a plan for recruiting Pueblo BFR's and mentors. In addition, the team meet with Pueblo livestock and growers associations, and together, developed a plan for identifying and recruiting Pueblo BFR's and mentors. The BFR agents interviewed and recruited eligible participants from August 2016 to February 2017 throughout the 10 Southern and 8 Northern Pueblo communities. The sign up process for participants consisted of completing an application, needs assessment, and developing with a project specialist their own curriculum plan. A total of 130 tribal farmers and ranchers were interviewed and as of July 2017, a total of 92 recruited individuals completed necessary documents and the required core programming which includes attending record keeping and USDA workshops; additionally, recruited farmers completed a soil sample(s) for their farm lands. Also, the project recruited 8 experienced farmers and ranchers to serve as mentors for our BFR's. Objective 2. Develop a Pueblo BFR educational and technical assistance curriculum with the assistance of BFR's, Pueblo farmers/ranchers (mentors) and project collaborators. During the recruitment from August 2016 to February 2017, BFR participants were interviewed. The assessment targeted New Mexico tribal farmers, ranchers, tribal leaders, and natural resource or agricultural program directors. The Director collected 130 responses of the small agricultural business assessment survey from within the Southern and Northern Pueblos. Assessments focused on the collection of qualitative and quantitative data in a three part assessment; first was to assess capacities, two was to identify gaps related to the lack of participation in USDA programs, and three to identify relevant educational workshops to assist stakeholders in an effort to build their capacity. Objective 3. Match cooperating Pueblo farmer/rancher mentors with participating BFR's. During the recruitment process, several experienced farmers and ranchers were identified and most had the qualities of becoming excellent mentors. When asked if they would be available to participate in the project as farmer/rancher mentors, only 8 were able to commit his/her time to serve as mentors. The BFR's were given the list of available mentors and identified which would best work with them. Several BFR's are utilizing mentors outside of their community but in close proximity to their farms or ranches. At Pueblos where we did not have a mentor, BFR's have also been paired with mentors close to their farms and ranches. After completing year one, all pairings are working well. Objective 4. Provide one-on-one technical and educational assistance to the BFR's participating in the region that will enhance their ability to compete and succeed in the agricultural industry, thus retaining their customs and culture which are closely tied to the land and ultimately preserving their rural communities. A total of 9 record keeping workshop were provided between February 2017 to May 2017. Record keeping workshops provides participants with valuable knowledge to assess their current operations and plan for future goals regarding their farming or ranching operations. Participants receive record keeping binders to keep track of NMBFR program documents, USDA records, farm/ranch receipts, and keep important dates and activities documented in a three year calendar. The BFR team coordinate workshops and soil samples for BFR participants from May 2017 to July 2017. Subject matter workshops included grasshopper control (Dr. Ashely Bennett, NMSU IPM Specialist) and an introduction to soils (Charlene Carr, IAIA Director of Land Grant Programs) workshop on 5/8/17 located at Santo Domingo Pueblo; rodent control (Dr. Sam Smallage, NMSU Wildlife Specialist) workshop on 6/2/17 located at Sandia Pueblo; beef cattle body scoring (Steve Lucero, Sandoval County Extension Agent) and; noxious range weed identification (Dr. Kert Young, NMSU Extension Rangeland Brush and Weed Specialist) workshop on 6/22/17 located at Acoma Pueblo; BQA (Steve Lucero, Sandoval County Extension Agent) workshop on 7/7/17 located at the Sandoval County Extension Office; and weed identification and control (Dr. Leslie Beck, NMSU Weed Specialist) and soil interpretations (Charlene Carr) workshop on 7/21/17 located at Cochiti. A grand total of 172 participants attended the above mentioned workshops where participants were able to gain skills and knowledge to make decision making strategies for their farms and ranch operations in regards to grasshopper control, soils interpretation, weed identification and control, and beef quality assurance and nutrition. As part of the core requirements in the program recruited farmers are required to take a soil sample to build their understanding of soils and build their soil health. New Mexico's soils are poorly structured and can be for production because of the dry conditions of New Mexico's climate. NM soils are depleted of essential macro and micro nutrients and organic matter which leads to poor aggregation, water, air and nutrient holding capacities. NMSU and IAIA specialists provided soil sampling assistance to 44 farmer participants. 58 Soil samples were taken.Participants were given their results on 7/21/17 at the Cochiti workshop and provided their soils interpretation by the IAIA specialist. Farmers gain knowledge regarding their soil sample results and provided an interpretation in an effort to build their soil health under harsh NM conditions. Project team specialists have conducted over 150 one-on-one farm and ranch visits to assist our BFR's in dealing with specific needs and concerns. Objective 5. Through a coordinated outreach effort, USDA program opportunities and services will be made available and accessible to the BFR's who participate in this project. Project coordinators met with local USDA service providers and informed them of project and invited them to participate in providing educational and technical assistance to the BFR's in the program. The USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Farm Service Agency agreed to participate in our program and assist our BFR's with agency programs. The USDA National Statistic Service also agreed to participate as 2017 is scheduled on the 5 year cycle of administering the USDA Census of Agriculture and the Native American farmers and ranchers have been historically undercounted. The USDA NRCS, FSA and NASS have presented their programs and provided time for them to sign-up BFR's in their programs at 10 NMPBFRP workshops this first year. During these workshops, USDA assisted the BFR's in developing a USDA farm plan and made sure that they are enrolled at the USDA FSA district office. They also provided information of USDA programs and services that BFR's are eligible to participate in and provide one-on-one assistance in completing USDA application forms. As a result of this USDA interaction, 90% of the BFR's have developed USDA farm plans and are preparing for applying for NRCS programs i.e. EQUIP. At the end of year one, at least 7 micro loans had been approved by FSA to assist our BFR's in purchasing farm implements. As we will be approaching the end of fiscal year 2017, the project team will be assisting the BFR's in participating in the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture and work closely with USDA NASS. .

PUBLICATIONS: 2016/08/01 TO 2017/07/31
No publications reported this period.