ARPTAI Cooperators

The primary goal of the American Rescue Plan Technical Assistance Investment Program is to ensure improved understanding of and equitable participation in the full range of USDA programs and services among underserved farmers, ranchers, forest land owners and operators through supporting the organizational delivery and establishment of comprehensive technical assistance projects and networks.

Through this program, a network of Cooperators are working collaboratively with USDA and with other cooperators to deliver targeted technical assistance programs and outreach activities focused on a range of relevant topics including:

effectively accessing USDA programs and personnel,
agricultural production,
agriculture credit,
rural development,
financial literacy,
risk management,
mediation,
cooperative development, and
land access.

USDA, through NIFA, selected its first round of ARPTAI cooperators (Cohort I) in November 2021, which included 20 organizations ($75M) and announced the second round (Cohort II) of cooperators in October 2022, which included 13 universities and nonprofits ($31.5M).

Details for each cooperator are listed in the table below.

No.	Organization	Point of Contact	Focus	Project Info	Geographic Reach
1	Federation of Southern Cooperatives	Cornelius Blanding Email	Providing assistance to African American farmers and landowners around financial planning, farm and forest management, business planning, tax planning, market planning, cooperative development and support and land tenure/heirs property issues	Link	Multistate - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas
2	Intertribal Agriculture Council	Kari Jo Lawrence Email	Distributing a suite of producer-focused resources rooted in promoting equitable agricultural and food systems for Indian Country	Link	National
3	National Black Farmers Association	John Wesley Boyd, Jr. Email	Working with USDA agencies to educate and provide resources for farmers and operators in rural farming communities in Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia	Link	Multistate – NC, SC, VA, MS
4	The Socially Disadvantaged Farmer and Rancher Policy Center at Alcorn State University	Eloris Speight Email	Providing specialized services that includes outreach to underserved farmers; access to mediation; training in finance, cooperative development and capacity building; and technical support with land access, agriculture production, agriculture credit, and rural development	Link	National
5	Indian Land Tenure Foundation	Cris Stainbrook Email	Providing information and complex technical support on land management issues to Indian agricultural producers, including the development of agriculture resource management plans as well as estate planning legal services	Link	National
6	Land Loss Prevention Project	Savonala Horne Email	Providing farmers, ranchers and forest landowners with technical assistance through the creation of a “smart growth business center,” which is designed to help farmers build viability and establish sustainable businesses while managing risk	Link	State – North Carolina
7	Rural Coalition	Lorette Picciano Email	Launching a farmer–mentor technical assistance network that will build resilient agriculture and rural economies of the future through specialized services, training, and/or farmer-to-farmer mentoring sessions	Link	National
8	Center for Farm Financial Management	Kevin Klair Email	Supporting underserved producers in learning financial planning, business planning, and tax planning, as well as introduce them to USDA programs to benefit producer growth	Link	National
9	Hmong American Farmers Association	Janssen Hang Email	Providing outreach and technical assistance to underserved farmers and ranchers by increasing the scope of its existing work with Hmong farmers, expanding its reach to four new geographic areas, and developing a special program for young people	Link	Multistate – MN, WI, OR, WA
10	Farmer Veteran Coalition	Jeanette Lombardo Email	Hosting expert-led training workshops and webinars, followed by a veteran-to-veteran peer learning model approach, and concluding with individualized technical assistance administered by FVC’s veteran service providers	Link	National
11	The Kohala Center, Inc.	Cheryl Ka’uhane Lupenui Email	Engage 500 producers in education and technical assistance in agribusiness and cooperative development to facilitate the ownership and operation of successful farms and ranches and increase familiarity with and participation in USDA and other government programs that support agriculture	Link	State - Hawaii
12	Farmer Legal Action Group	Scott Carlson Email	Creating a legal advisory council to help guide rapid response to farmer needs; developing educational materials to acquaint farmers with federal programs, laws, and resources; and providing direct technical assistance to farmers and other producers.	Link	National
13	Alaska Village Initiatives	Charles Parker Email	Scalable online or in-person delivery of curriculum specifically developed to meet the business side of agricultural producers in rural Alaska	Link	State – Alaska
14	National Young Farmers Coalition	Vanessa Polanco Email	One-on-one technical assistance to help answer questions and support farmers in filling out the loan applications	Link	National
15	National Latino Farmers and Ranchers	Email	Training and technical assistance and support services that enhance capacity building to underserved Latino farmers and ranchers	Link	National
16	The Center for Heirs Property Preservation	Jennie Stephens Email	Providing education and resources about heirs’ property to all of South Carolina’s 46 counties	Link	State – South Carolina
17	National Immigrant Farmer Initiative, Inc	Rigoberto Delgado Email	Supporting underserved producer communities and partner organizations with training development, program coordination, mentoring, communication, multilingual informational materials and network development to help immigrant and refugee farmers begin or transition into independent farming operations	Link	National
18	National Cooperative Business Association	Teia Evans Email	Creating a community-led cooperative development ecosystem, which will provide small producers with marketing and purchasing power, networks, training and a voice not available to individuals	Link	National
19	National Black Growers Council	Hazell Reed Email	Providing underserved Black row-crop farmers and other producers with educational and technical assistance programs and activities, primarily through model farm field days, annual meetings, workshops, and other events	Link	Regional – Southeast U.S.
20	World Farmers, Inc.	Henrietta Isaboke Email	Supporting immigrant and refugee farmers in the Northeast with the tools, training and services needed to support their businesses	Link	Regional – Northeast U.S.
21	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (TX)	Aisha Cruz-Reyes Email	Coordinated provision of a range of enhanced technical assistance services, delivered by a strong partnership of organizations led by a Hispanic-serving institution	Link	State - TX
22	Grow Food (WA)	Michael Frazier Email	Bilingual technical assistance to underserved producers	Link	State – WA
23	Athens Land Trust (GA)	Michael Roberts Email	Intensive farm business development education and a “train the trainer” approach to building farmer peer leadership	Link	State - GA
24	Virginia State University (VA)	William Crutchfield Email	Equipping underserved producers with the tools and skills needed for them to make informed decisions in owning and operating profitable farm businesses, while increasing their participation in USDA programs, and Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) programs, and introducing Climate Smart Practices	Link	Multistate – VA, NC
25	Southwest Indian Agricultural Association, Inc. (AZ)	Homer Marks Email	Working closely with USDA on delivering targeted technical assistance/training in Native American communities, improving equitable participation of Native producers in USDA programs and services and improve Native producers’ business management skills, promote local food production, and increase their resiliency and self-reliance	Link	Regional - Southwest U.S.
26	American Farmland Trust (DC)	Cris Coffin Email	Increase underserved producer access to USDA programs through expanded outreach, coaching, and technical assistance	Link	National
27	Ecotrust (OR)	Stephanie Gutierrez Email	Establish a Community of Practice for Tribal agroforestry producers; building upon the knowledge and experiences of Tribal producers in collaboration with USDA partners to increase the relevance, participation, and impact of USDA programs and services; and co-developing actionable research and tools	Link	Regional – Pacific Northwest
28	The International Rescue Committee, Inc. (NY)	Aley Kent Email	Delivering targeted financial training and credit access, technical assistance in agricultural production and marketing, brokering relationships with local USDA service providers and landowners, and creating land access and training materials that are specifically honed to the language and literacy needs of the new Americans	Link	Multistate - UT, VA, CA, AZ
29	OurSpace World, Inc. (MD)	Aitalohi Amaize Email	Developing a comprehensive a technical assistance (TA) learning network, provide a range of TA activities, and developing a robust TA training infrastructure	Link	Multistate – MD, VA, GA, AL, WI, CA
30	The Food Group Minnesota Inc. (MN)	KaZoua Berry Email	Strengthening farmers’ capacity and project partners to provide culturally appropriate technical assistance in agricultural production and access to USDA programs and services	Link	State - MN
31	Black Farmers Collective - TEN FORWARD (WA)	Raymond Williams Email	A collaborative, culturally sensitive, peer-to-peer approach bolstered by cultural/linguistic support including customized personal and group trainings, consultation, and coaching; guides and videos to reinforce training; and hands-on assistance to individual farms	Link	State - WA
32	Michigan State University (MI)	Jude Barry Email	Supporting an Inter-institutional network of technical assistance experts; creating a core pathway for Michigan farming communities of color to engage with agricultural resources in a way that is restorative, supportive and a revised model of outreach in target communities	Link	State - MI
33	Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County (NY)	Melinda Meddaugh Email	Expanding technical assistance, education, outreach, and mentoring efforts to new and beginning farmers	Link	State - NY