Preview of Executive Summary:

The USDA Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) is pleased to present this inaugural report to the Secretary of Agriculture and to the relevant Committees of Congress per our committee charge. The TAC, authorized by the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 6921(b)) and seated in December of 2023 is tasked with submitting recommendations no less than once annually to relevant committees of Congress and the Secretary of Agriculture surrounding USDA programs in Indian Country, including recommendations to Congress of suggested amendments or new laws. Over the course of 2024, the TAC held four public meetings and 34 subcommittee meetings to seek input from federal partners, stakeholders, agricultural producers and others. Two of the four public meetings were held virtually and two were in-person, one in Washington, D.C. and one in Las Vegas coinciding with the Intertribal Agriculture Council’s annual convention. From these TAC meetings, subcommittee meetings and the four public comment periods, the 78 recommendations contained herein were each passed unanimously by a quorum of the full TAC on December 11th, 2024. 

The Committee would be remiss to not frame this report with the context that Tribal agriculture is vital to the health and food security of all Americans. Tribal agricultural producers operate nation-wide, within and outside of reservation boundaries, and on all types of land. Market value of agricultural products sold by American Indian and Alaska Native producers nearly doubled from $3.6 billion in 2017 to $6.4 billion in 20221. While the vast majority of Native farms and ranches are livestock operations, Indian Country represents a broad spectrum of modern and traditional farm production, seafood, subsistence farming including hunting and gathering, value- added production, timber harvest, and more. The United States farm policy that serves as the catalyst for the world’s safest, most affordable and most nutrient-dense food supply directly impacts the regional economies throughout the United States and the world. The TAC is seated with representatives from throughout Indian Country, including experts in agricultural extension, Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), restaurateurs, agricultural non-profits, Tribal nations, Tribal conservationists, legal counsel and agricultural producers. The diverse perspectives and expertise on the Committee have made for robust discussion and the participation from Indian Country agricultural producers in the public comment period has brought us to the recommendations contained herein.