MPPTA PARTNERS
Directory of Resources
A list of industry consultants ready to assist you and your projects needs.
Flower Hill Institute has developed a directory of individuals and companies who have expressed interest in providing services such as grant writing and feasibility assessment. Individuals and firms listed in this directory have voluntarily listed their information and credentials. No endorsement is made by Flower Hill Institute, and we cannot warrant the accuracy of this information. This is provided primarily as a contact list to help connect individuals and organizations with consultants.
MPPTA Partner Spotlights
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MPPTA Partners
Founded in 2003, the American Grassfed Association works to promote the benefits of grassfed meat, and to protect the integrity of the meaning of “grassfed production.” The standards and certification introduced by AGA in 2009 are today recognized as the recognized definition and standard for grassfed meat and dairy production by multiple industry-leading organizations. In addition to the certification program for grassfed producers, AGA communicates the value of grassfed products to consumers, chefs, and the media and serves as a resource for information.
The American Pastured Poultry Produces’ Association is a membership-based organization that provides education, collaboration, an networking opportunities for pastured poultry farmers. APPPA cherishes transparency, collaboration, and innovation. APPPA provides members with resources to keep producers competitive within the pastured poultry industry with provocative topics, technical insights, regional networking, and informed discussions.
We at the Center for Rural Affairs are unapologetically rural. We stand up for rural America—the family farmer and rancher, small business owner, and rural communities. Since 1973, we've been a leading force engaging people to build a better rural future. Our policy analysis and advocacy span the nation, with a focus on Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Our community development, food systems, and farm viability demonstration and service are based in Iowa and Nebraska. With support from the USDA Meat and Poultry Intermediary Loan Program (MPILP) and other funds, we offer financing, training, and advising for qualified projects in Nebraska.
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CONTACT
Media, Rhea Landholm, Communications Manager
Farm & Meat Loans, Wyatt Fraas, Farm & Community Assistant Director
Farm Aid’s mission is to keep family farmers on the land. We’re best known for our annual music, food and farm festival, but the truth is we work each and every day, year-round to build a system of agriculture that values family farmers, good food, soil and water, and strong communities. Learn more about our day-to-day work to celebrate and strengthen farmers, advocate for fair farm policies, connect farmers and eaters, and bring family farm food to everyone.
We cultivate a new generation of farmers and food leaders, and develop viable employment and meaningful careers through the collaboration of the farming and military communities. We believe that veterans possess the unique skills and character needed to strengthen rural communities and create sustainable food systems. We believe that agriculture offers purpose, opportunity, and physical and psychological benefits.
Farmer’s Outreach Solutions Inc., a North Carolina-based nonprofit organization, focuses on agribusiness economic development to help farmers improve their business practices and help them earn a better income while also teaching farmers proper financial management.
Farmer’s Outreach Solutions works to provide farmers training and development, enhance entrepreneurial skills, and expand and educational awareness and empowerment to minority, small, limited resource farmers in financial planning and analysis.
We’re on a mission to catalyze marketplace innovation, connection, and education across the meat supply chain in order to increase the economic viability and ecological impact of livestock farmers who invest in healthy land, animals, and people.
We envision a future where meat is produced ethically and responsibly, by an industry that invests in healthy animals and landscapes, values people all across the food supply chain, and nourishes diverse, well-informed consumers.
The Growing Generalized Regenerative Agriculture Sourcing Specification (GRASS) project, funded by the USDA “Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities” program, deploys the GRASS verification system to validate the climate benefit of regenerative grazing systems. This collaboration between farmers, ranchers, and herders, processors, brands, and experts aims to help increase the supply and profitability of regeneratively raised beef and bison byproducts.
To reestablish healthy buffalo populations on tribal lands is to reestablish hope for Indian people. Members of the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC) understood that reintroduction of the buffalo to tribal lands will help heal the spirit of both the Indian people and the buffalo. ITBC was originally formed in 1991 as a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization. Since then, ITBC has been reorganized as a federally charted Indian Organization under Section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act. This was approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 2010. ITBC consists of a membership that includes all the Tribes that have joined the organization and is governed by a Board of Directors, which is comprised of five elected officers and four regional representatives.
To protect, preserve, and serve historically discriminated against farmworkers, farmers and ranchers. Latino Farmers and Ranchers International Inc. will conduct activities in rural communities of the US and beyond. One hundred percent of LFRI”s time is dedicated to the mission of protecting, preserving and serving our constituents. Funding for the organization will come from grants, donations, fund raising activities and partnerships with 100% of funds being reinvested into the organization’s mission. Our mission and activities allow us to provide resources and opportunities for our constituents to have direct access to identified resources and opportunities both public and private that they have previously been denied. This allows our constituents to be self-sufficient and further develop and assist their communities. LFRI initiates local involvement and is the bridge to domestic, national and international markets for the opportunity that will assure success and sustainability especially within the most recent and current climate crisis events worldwide.
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CONTACT
Rudy Arrendondo, Founder/Director
Eugene Pickett, Assistant Director
The merger in 2020 of the United States Hide Skin and Leather Association and the Leather Industries of America brought together the two main organizations representing our industry in the U.S. Today Leather and Hide Council of America serves as a force for good in the global leather market and actively promotes leather as a versatile, natural and sustainable choice to a new generation of designers, craftspeople and consumers.
We are a community bound by the heritage of the American Bison. Our mission is to bring together stakeholders to celebrate the heritage of American bison, to educate, and to create a sustainable future for our industry. We represent more than 1,100 ranchers, processors, tribal producers and bison enthusiasts. And, we are the go-to source of information on all things related to raising, processing and marketing bison and deliciously healthy bison meat.
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CONTACT
Jim Matheson, Executive Director
Lydia Whitman, Program Director
The National Farmers Union is the nation’s largest organization advocating for family farmers, ranchers, fishers, and their communities through education, cooperation, and legislation. National Farmers Union believes that good opportunities in production agriculture are the foundation of strong farm and ranch families, and strong farm and ranch families are the basis for thriving rural communities. Vibrant rural communities, in turn, are vital to the health, security and economic well-being of our entire national economy.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) is an alliance of grassroots organizations that advocates for federal policy reform to advance the sustainability of agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and rural communities. NSAC’s vision of agriculture is one where a safe, nutritious, ample, and affordable food supply is produced by a legion of family farmers who make a decent living pursuing their trade while protecting the environment and contributing to the strength and stability of their communities.
Our mission is to be a high-quality, high-performing, sustainable community and economic development corporation providing the tools and resources necessary for individuals and families, businesses and communities in rural reservation and urban Native areas in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota to not just survive, but to thrive.
The Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA (RAFI-USA) challenges the root causes of unjust food systems, supporting and advocating for economically, racially, and ecologically just farm communities. Through a variety of interrelated programs, RAFI-USA provides direct assistance to farmers and this on-the-ground work informs our policy advocacy. RAFI-USA's Farmers of Color Network provides farmer-led technical assistance and funding opportunities, and hosts farm tours, networking events, and gatherings to highlight ancestral traditions and knowledge, as well as explore market solutions. Currently, the program serves farmers of color in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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CONTACT
Carolina Alzate Gouzy, Farmer Outreach Manager
Aaron Johnson, Policy Co-Director
Rodale Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to growing the regenerative organic agriculture movement through rigorous research, farmer training, and education. Our groundbreaking science and direct farmer-support programs serve as a catalyst for change in farming and food production worldwide. Over our 75-year history, we have proven that organic farming is not only viable, but essential to humanity’s survival.
We envision a future with healthier people and planet. One that celebrates farming and honors reciprocity, resilience, and the connections we share among all life on earth.”
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CONTACT
Bridget Gilmore, Market Development Manager
Cate Batson Baril, Market Coordinator
The Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural is an alliance of farmers, farmworkers, indigenous, migrant and working people from the United States, Mexico, and beyond working together since 1978 toward a new society that values unity, hope, people, and the land.
Born of the civil rights and anti-poverty rural movements, Rural Coalition has for 44 years linked our more than 50 diverse member organizations to work in solidarity on the issues that affect them all. We seek to secure a just and sustainable food system that brings equitable pay and safe working conditions to farm and food system workers and fair returns to their diverse small farmers and ranchers. The foundation of this work is strong local, regional and national organizations that work to assure the representation and involvement of every sector of this diverse fabric of rural peoples.
The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) is a nationwide organization of independent cow-calf producers, backgrounders, feedlot operators, livestock transporters, and regional processors. Founded in 2007 and based in Washington, D.C., USCA aims to strengthen the bottom line for U.S. cattle producers to ensure a successful and sustainable future for the industry.
Women in Ranching (WIR) exists to support women on the land by cultivating community, increasing equity, and building power amongst women. WIR creates opportunities for connection through in-person gatherings on host ranches alongside engaging, year-round virtual programming. Do you believe in the power of community? Do you care about land stewardship? Are you willing to show up and support others in their important work on the land? Then you are welcome at Women in Ranching!
Note: Flower Hill Institute has established partnership agreements with organizations representing communities that would most benefit from services provided by the USDA AMS MPPTA program. However, views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by our partners are solely their own and do not necessarily represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Flower Hill Institute.