Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota – USDA MPPTA Client Story
Food sovereignty is gaining traction on South Dakota's vast Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Nick Hernandez (Lakota) of Makoce Agriculture Development, Inc., has a passion for helping his community develop control over their food systems through initiatives like the Regenerative Poultry Producers Project.
Nick, an agriculture and food systems veteran who once directed the Food Sovereignty Initiative for Thunder Valley CDC, continues to dedicate his expertise to empowering his Lakota community. His mission? To teach Lakota families and youth how to humanely raise and process poultry, all while instilling entrepreneurial business know-how for poultry processing. The project equips them with the tools, education, and training to foster skills that strengthen community food sovereignty by developing sustainable, locally controlled food systems.
A Generous Gift
The venture garnered attention and a generous gift – a Mobile Processing System, capable of transforming live poultry into consumable, locally raised protein, all in a 54 x 8 mobile trailer.
As the initiative grew exponentially, they began producing over 200 pounds of food in just 50 days, thanks to this mobile processor. It was a game-changer, enabling them to create consumable, locally sourced food, a concept they aim to scale for their community.
Planning Smart Growth
Carrying on that goal of expansion and planning for smart growth, they sought technical assistance, especially concerning scaling mobile processing plants. Surprisingly, in the Upper Great Plains territory, they discovered they possessed the only mobile processing plant in a five-state region.
Chris is Our Guy
In their quest for expert guidance, they contacted several regional agriculture organizations. Then Nick and his team met Chris Roper from MPPTA, who brought a wealth of experience and connections to the table. In his words, "My job now is to provide meat and poultry technical assistance within Indian Country, so I'm your guy!"
Chris initiated site visits to processing plants in Oklahoma and introduced them to a poultry processing plant in Clinton, Arkansas. This plant, while large, focuses on smaller-scale poultry processing. Nick's team witnessed these systems in action, providing invaluable insights for their expansion.
Further collaboration with Chris led to a webinar organized by a Colorado poultry processing facility builder. They aspire to venture to Colorado and see the operation in person. Nick emphasizes, "Chris is still looking for companies, communities, or people that are doing similar work to us. We have a really nice relationship with Chris and MPPTA."
Goals. Goals. and More Goals
Nick's ultimate goal is to boost capacity for maximum food sovereignty on Pine Ridge and to attain USDA certification, a reservation requirement. To achieve this, they have acquired 40 acres of Tribal allotted land to establish the first operating, educational farmland on Pine Ridge Reservation. They’re building the first production and training farm on Pine Ridge. This farm will supply their processing plant, poised to process over 135,000 birds annually, a significant leap from their current capacity of about 3,000 birds.
As they expand the farms and co-ops, their production is set to grow exponentially, supplying local communities and economies with nutritionally dense, locally sourced food. Chris and MPPTA have become vital partners in this remarkable journey toward food sovereignty on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
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Please note: The Meat and Poultry Processing Technical Assistance (MPPTA) Program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. The MPPTA Project Coordinators do not offer or provide direct contractor services or financial capital, grant writing, or project management services, nor does the voluntary use of MPPTA guarantee the success of a grant application or the grant-funded project