Progress 04/01/22 to 01/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers and operators in rural and persistent poverty communities in Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia farming communities. Grant was extended to provide technical assistance and outreach nationally. Beginning Producers Small Farmers Underserved Agricultural Producers Changes/Problems: Uncertainty in NBFA & USDA-NIFA contract ending 12/31/2024. Farmers across different states finding that the application filing period for DFAP has closed, some paying anywhere from $100 - $500 per person with the belief that they will be compensated. Farmers continue to be scammed & misled by non-profit organization based out of Memphis, TN, and local individuals in communities, specifically MS and AL. USDA agencies inability to pay NBFA Conference Sponsorship fee. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? December 8, 2022 - Sumter, SC November 4, 2022 - McComb, MS November 5, 2022 - McComb, MS December 9, 2022 - Lumberton, NC January 23, 2023 - South Hill, VA February 24, 2023 - South Hill, VA July 1, 2023 - Pembroke, NC September 9, 2023 - Starkville, MS September 15, 2023 - Dallas, TX September 16, 2023 - Oklahoma City, OK September 17, 2023 - Tulsa, OK September 20, 2023 - South Hill, VA September 22, 2023 - Savannah, GA September 23, 2023 - Douglas, GA September 24, 2023 - Atlanta, GA September 25, 2023 - Jacksonville, FL September 30, 2023 - Franklin, TN October 1, 2023 - Memphis, TN October 4, 2023 - Phoenix, AZ October 5, 2023 - Lumberton, NC October 7, 2023 - Little Rock, AR October 8, 2023 - Lafayette, LA October 11, 2023 - Billings, MT October 14, 2023 - Birmingham, AL October 15, 2023 - Selma, AL October 18, 2023 - Conway, SC October 21, 2023 - Florence, SC October 22, 2023 - Columbia, SC October 25, 2023 - Pearl, MS October 27, 2023 - Natchez, MS October 28, 2023 - Natchez, MS November 10, 2023 - Elloree, SC November 14, 2023 - Anderson, SC November 15, 2023 - Greenwood, SC November 17, 2023 - Charleston, SC November 21, 2023 - Boydton, VA November 22, 2023 - Boydton, VA November 27, 2023 - Lumberton, NC December 7, 2023 - Memphis, TN December 8, 2023 - Clarksville, TN December 16, 2023 - Houston, TX December 19, 2023 - Oklahoma City, OK December 19, 2023 - Okmulgee, OK December 21, 2023 - Pine Bluff, AR December 22, 2023 - Elaine, AR December 26, 2023 - Cheraw, SC December 26, 2023 - Pinewood, SC January 3, 2024 - St. Thomas, VI January 4, 2024 - St. Croix, VI January 5, 2024 - Selma, AL January 6, 2024 - Montgomery, AL November 1, 2024 - Columbus, GA November 2, 2024 - Columbus, GA How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Impact Statement Shared with Partners and What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Total Cumulative Number of Participants: 67,738 Total Meetings: 54 Total Meeting Participants: 10,953 Total Meeting Participant Hours: 203,008 Total Website Visitors: 254,617 Total Webinars: 25 Total Webinar Participants: 2379 Total Webinar Participant Hours: 5,572.35 Total One-to-one Meeting Participants: 6,016 50,000 callsacross the reporting period, with peak months such as October 2023 (6,802 calls), November 2023 (7,453), and December 2023 (9,165). Website traffic peaked at32,290 visitsin August 2024, with strong traffic continuing through October (10,348), November (22,693), and December (10,472). Social media engagement reached a peak of591,000+ interactionsin November 2024, with an estimated1.9 million+ engagementsoverall during the period. 100+ studentsat Arlington Tech, wide media advocacy including appearances onCNN, FOX, MSNBC, PBS, and a trilogy of regenerative agriculture documentaries. These outreach and education efforts were supported by over1.9 million social media engagements, making NBFA one of the most impactful voices in rural America for farmers.

Publications

Progress 04/01/23 to 03/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:1. Beginning producers 2. Immigrant producers 3.Underserved agricultural producers Changes/Problems: Older demographic Limited travel Limited resources Midst of pandemic Misinformation, specifically with the idea they will receive something from closed settlements (Pigford) because they "filed an application" from an organization based out of Memphis, Tennessee. Low literacy Saving farmersfrom farm foreclosure and bankruptcy. Distrust in USDA Lack of outreach from FSA and lack of staff in offices. Limited knowledge of staff regarding programs. DFAP When being introduced to the lengthy40-page application, farmers would become intimidated, discouraged, and even deterred from want to file an application. Many farmers believed they would not receive a payment even if they filed. Lengthy application time. Average application time to complete was 5 hours. Low literacy leading to a lack of confidence and fear of incorrectly filing an application. Physical inability that impedes farmers from being able to write. Lack of accessto printer, internet, or scanner to make copies of their documents. Staff from Windsor Group and Analytic Acquisitions would not have the best understanding about the application they were assisting farmers on filing. Calls into question training (or lack of) they may have received. Extremely limited number of staff to service individual states. With an average of one DFAP office per state, farmers would have to travel several hours for in-person assistance. Some states had no office, while other state offices closed down months before the deadline. Lack of outreach Native American farmers being the only group of people required to submit additional documentation to prove their identity and racial background. And the different requirements based based off federal and state recognition. Misinformation from people, groups, and other organizations. Deceptive practices from lawyer and attorneys offices. After the deadline, farmers began to receive correction request from DFAP.The NBFA receives an average of 100+ calls a week from farmers expressing their confusion about the instructions they received in their mailbox about their "request for additional information" from the DFAP Claims Administrator/Technical Assistance Providers. Pages 1, 4, 39, and 40 of the paper DFAP application are included in the request packet, but they do not come with instructions. DFAP offices are closed and not operating, leaving farmers who relied on these offices with nowhere to go for technical assistance. The NBFA continues to work via emails, social media, and over the phone as well as in-person with farmers who need to submit corrections. Additionally, farmers are still being told by deceiving organizations that they can still submit an application for DFAP despite the end of the filing period. An additional challenge that came with DFAP was the NBFA being a partner, but not a cooperator. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The NBFA has provided training and professional development at every meeting and annual conference it has hosted through presentations, workshops, on-site farm training, development of business plans, creation of value-added products, risk mitigation, sustainability, and regenerative agriculture practices. As well as providing USDA-FSA resources and programs based on their farming operation. The networking portion of our meetings allows farmers to connect with other local farmers & producers, thus building a stronger local network of growers. We also include speakers and direct connections to local and national banks, USDA staff and offices, and local farmers, producers, and organizations paving the way for farmers to come. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results will be disseminated to communities of interest through the annual conference, meetings, and partnerships. Through the power of digital storytelling, the NBFA has various projects to share the plight of the Black farmers and its history with USDA, to ensure advocacy efforts are remembered and that they spark hope in the next generation of farmers. As well as our impact reports with our partners, and following up with our members regarding federal programs/ and complaints via the website, newsletters, and social media. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? NBFA "Keeping Farmers Growing With USDA" project conducted outreach and provided culturally appropriate sustainable agricultural education along with risk management training targeting new /beginning, limited resource, veteran, youth, and socially disadvantaged producers/landowners to assist them in sustainable agriculture production, marketing, legal, financial, and risk mitigation. Participants wereprovided direct technical assistance to become producers of specialty crops and underserved commodities, including livestock and forage. The NBFA has a unique and valuable history ofbuilding and maintainingrelationships with socially underserved farmers across the country and U.S. territories. Throughout this project, the NBFA has piqued the interest of thousands of prospective new/beginning farmers, many of whom are familiar with the NBFA through their parents or grandparents. However, it seems that outreach efforts from USDA-FSA offices are nonexistent. This is concerning because the United States is losing thousands of farmers a year, and the population of minority farmers is declining even more rapidly. The NBFAserviced 5,751 farmers and landownersbetween NC, SC, VA, and MS. Throughout our meetings the NBFA saw that many minority farmers were 60+ years in age, low income, low literacy,andmanywith some limited mobility.The NBFA increased the participation of socially underserved farmers all acrossNC, SC, MS, & VA. Specifically within NC & SC,the NBFA had the highest participation in Robeson County, NC & Sumter County, SC. Serving approximately 628farmers in NC and 857 in SC. The NBFA hosted five meetings in NC, ten meetings in SC, six meetings in MS, and five meetings in VA.Serving a majority of new/beginning farmers,Black, Native American, & Hispanic farmers.During these meetings, theNBFA identified fourimmediatefarm-related educational needs: The firstbiggest immediate farm educational need for socially underserved farmers is assisting them with getting "on-grid," meaning that they have registered their farm operation with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and have received a farm serial number. Many experienced farmers have been growing for years and have an interest in expanding their operation, however, many of them have little to no communication with their local FSA office. The second immediate farm educational need is the dire need for farm succession planning. The majority of farmers who attended our meetings were 60+ years of age, and many of those farmers are worried about the future of their farms, land, and legacies. This issue canbe complex and extensiveregarding heirs' property and family mediation. Additionally, families are often not properly informed of thelegal process or are financially prepared to hire a lawyer or attorney to assist them. The third immediate farm educational need is that FSA and NRCSmust equip their offices with culturally sensitive and diverse staff. And that current staff beprovided additional training regarding customer service and knowledge of programs and processes. The fourth immediate farm educational need is access to financialresources, financial literacy,cost-share incentives, etc. The NBFA hosted a total of 26 meetings between the four states we serviced. The NBFA hosted two annual conferences in McComb and Natchez, MS with an average of 600 attendeesper conference. Farmers traveled between 1 and 5 hours to attend our meetings.At no cost to the farmer and in some instances,provided travel and room stipends to farmers on a need-by-need basis.The NBFA provided educational outreach and technical assistance to218veteran farmers between MS, NC, SC, and VA. Approximately42% of our attendees were women.The NBFA worked and assisted Hispanic & Latino farmers, with the highest participation in NC. Improving participation among Hispanic & Latino farmers presented a different set ofchallenges that includedlanguage barriers, citizenship status, and land ownership. Additionally, many Hispanic & Latino farmers and producers are just simply unaware that FSA offices are there as a resource. However, many FSA offices do not have staff that speak Spanish. Although there are pamphlets, brochures, and information sheets that have been translated, Hispanic & Latino farmers need that one-on-one assistance. We developed and updated our websites to share and provide agricultural educational material to farmers. Additionally, we expanded our social media footprint and have received over 5 million engagements across X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Eventbrite, Instagram, etc. The NBFA also made sure to include traditional methods of communication such as postcards via mailings, direct calling, and radio broadcasts to ensure older farmers also received the information. Dr. Boyd has made appearnaces on various media outlets advocating for farmers, driving engagement and awareness.

Publications

Progress 04/01/22 to 03/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:• Beginning producers • Immigrant producers • Underserved agricultural producers Too often rural community poverty levels are so pervasive and overwhelming, many young people leave after high school and never return, or resort to an endless cycle of crime, teen pregnancy and illiteracy. NBFA works with low income communities to reach community members and producers through direct mailings, flyers, social media and websites. We also provide direct face-to-face educational activities to community members/producers. Heirs/Landowners/Producers are frontline stewards and caretakers of the land and environment. Program participants will engage in hands-on activities to enhance the ability of producers to grow and market high quality agricultural products. Emphasis is placed on outreach, education, research, data gathering and sharing of results that assist farmers with whole farm planning including land loss prevention and heirs property. Resource information and training demonstrations enable attendees to expand the scope of their information base and stop land loss and end poverty through financial health. Success breeds additional successes and replaces the atmosphere of despair with one of hope for underserved populations. Challenges • Older demographic • Limited travel • Limited resources • Midst of pandemic • Misinformation, specifically with the idea they will receive a financial payout from the previous USDA Discrimination Class Action Lawsuits. These settlements are closed and the deadline to file an application has long since past. However, an organization based out of Memphis, Tennessee, continues to share false and misleading information.. • Low literacy Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?• On-farm meetings/farm tours where farmers could ask questions, share their experiences and ideas, as well as establish connections with other meeting attendees. • Lunch provided free to charge • Follow up meetings with each attendee to provide additional technical assistance • Up to date Presentations to give historical background and current events, programs and resources available How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?• Robocall and emails to Black, Native American, Hispanic and Asian farmers who participated in the USDA Discrimination Class Action lawsuits • Over 92,000 Postcards • Podcasts and guest appearances on national news media • Eventbrite Website Newsletters What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue to build the website with a mobile app/chat Meet with farmers to discuss their needs and provide resources to prevent farm foreclosures

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Started creating their business plan Target: 600 Actual: 371 Website: 76K Social Media Interactions: 3.27 Million NBFA's Biggest Accomplishments April 2022-December 2022 • Stopped a judicial farm foreclosure in SC for a Black poultry farmer with a guaranteed loan after ARPA was delayed and then repealed. Farmer received financial assistance under IRA which paid the loan off because the loan had been accelerated with the entire loan amount reported delinquent as of September 2022. • Record-high attendance for the 32nd NBFA Conference in Mississippi. The NBFA had originally planned to hold the annual meeting in NC. However due to the fact the largest number of Black Farmers reside in the Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, the NBFA spoke with Black and other socially disadvantaged farmers to determine a location in MS that would best serve the majority of farmers to attend in-person. • Met with legislators in Washington, DC to advocate for Farmers of Color who were struggling due to delay and repealing of ARPA: o Majority Leader, US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) o Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) o Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) o US House Ag Committee Chairman David Scott (D-GA) o US Congressman, G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) • Spoke with FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux and USDA Attorney General Janie Hipp during the Coopertors meeting in Atlanta, GA about erroneous accounting and other inaccurate records at FSA that has led to Black and other socially disadvantaged farmer foreclosures and land loss. Shared Certificates of Satisfactions that demonstrated how debt forgiveness was non-transactional for direct borrowers in the past. • Attended Vital Farms Farmer recruitment/information session/facility tour in Springfield, MO to facilitate opportunities for farmers in SC, NC, VA, and MS. MS Regional Meeting & 32nd Annual National Black Farmers Association Conference • June 2022-November 2022: Planned and successfully executed national conference. o Included: USDA participation from FSA, NRCS, APHIS, and NASS with workshops, exhibition booths and one-to-one interactions. o We had over 1,000 attends over the course of 2 days. Many of our attendees were elderly Black farmers, a few of whom have passed since the meeting. More than 25% of our attendees were women. A large number of our attendees had some experience with USDA that wasn't very favorable. o Farmers REALLY appreciated having FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux there to present and talk to farmers. Calls Received: 6,384

Publications