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 | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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 | Caitlin Spence | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | Anthony Martinez | 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 | 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 | Amelia Sanchez | 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 | Christine Nardi | 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 | Elzadia Washington | 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. | Maria Moreira | 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 | 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 | Bilingual technical assistance to underserved producers | Link | State – WA |
| 23 | Athens Land Trust (GA) | Emmanuel Stone | 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 | 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) | Andrew Antone | 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 | Increase underserved producer access to USDA programs through expanded outreach, coaching, and technical assistance | Link | National |
| 27 | Ecotrust (OR) | Stephanie Gutierrez | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | Expanding technical assistance, education, outreach, and mentoring efforts to new and beginning farmers | Link | State - NY |
| 34 | American Indian Higher Education Consortium | John Phillips | Build the capacity of 1994 Land Grant Tribal College Extension programs to provide socially disadvantaged and under-served Native American farmers, ranchers and community food producers increased knowledge and access to USDA programs and services; and best practices that promote sound agribusiness management, food production, and land management and conservation | Link | National |
Program type
Grant Program
External Resources
Page last updated: April 11, 2025