NRDP-USDA Partnerships
The links below will connect you with different partnerships between USDA and NRDP.
Here are some of the successful partnerships that State Councils have had with USDA. (Collaborations with CSREES, the Forest Service, NRCS, and USDA-RD are listed separately.) For more information, contact Office of Community Development Desk Officer Ella Ennis.
To further support compliance with farm conservation regulations, Idaho Rural Partners developed One Plan, a single farm conservation plan that comprehensively meets government requirements. To gain farmers' and ranchers' acceptance of One Plan, the Council facilitated meetings, developed a concept paper, raised seed funding, identified brokering partners and funding, and marketed the plan. IRP gained local and national support, and the US EPA, USDA-National Resources Conservation Service, and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture formally recognized One Plan as a national leader in farm conservation planning. In 1999, after IRP and its key partners met with USDA officials, One Plan became 1 of 25 USDA Business Process Reengineering projects nationwide.
The fourth edition of Idaho Rural Partnership's Idaho Small Business and Community Development Resource Directory was released in summer 2001. Originally created in 1995, this IRP product became so popular that it was updated in 1997, 1999, and again in 2001. The directory, a widely used reference document that provides rural citizens with information on all funding and non-funding resources, is used during the Community Review Project as a reference for additional funding assistance. To date, 14,000 copies of the first through fourth editions have been printed and distributed at no charge to Idaho's community leaders, elected officials, business owners, and rural development practitioners. Electronic copies in text and database format are available on diskette or may be downloaded from the IRP web site. Partnering with IRP on this effort were Idaho Department of Commerce (assisted with funding), Idaho Department of Labor (printed 4,000 copies of the fourth edition), US Small Business Administration (mailed the directory to the IRP mailing list), Idaho Small Business Development Centers (facilitated distribution to all small businesses in Idaho), USDA Farm Service Agency (assisted with distribution), and US West (assisted with funding).
In his keynote speech at the Maine Rural Development Council's 9th annual policy forum on December 9, 1999, Governor King emphasized that agriculture would have a greater role in Maine's economic future. "Agriculture is the thread that binds the social and economic fabric of our state together," he said. "Agriculture is what can make us a 'OneMaine'!" More than 175 participants from farms, communities, and education and government organizations publicly discussed and debated agriculture and community development in rural Maine. The forum featured work sessions where participants shared ideas about agricultural land use, local marketing, and value-added products. MRDC organized this event in partnership with other organizations, including: Maine Organic Farm Growers Association (MOFGA), Maine Potato Board, Maine Farm Bureau, Agricultural Council of Maine, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Agriculture Center, Coastal Enterprise Inc., Western Mountains Alliance, Small Business Development Center, USDA, and the Maine State Planning Office and Department of Agriculture. The findings of these sessions helped define policy actions recommended at the regular session of Maine's 119th Legislature.
At the behest of the FORVM for Rural Maryland, the Governor and Maryland General Assembly recently enacted the "Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance (MAE&RDA) Fund Act of 2000." This legislation was a catalyst for bringing together both rural nonprofit organizations and rural legislators to work on a major statewide rural initiative. To aid in the preparation of this legislative initiative, the FORVM surveyed a wide range of nonprofit organizations and community colleges involved in rural economic development, community development, or agricultural and forestry education.
The Rural Partners of Michigan (RPM), with the Michigan Association of Regions and the Michigan Association of Resource RC&Ds, hosted the 2001 Partnership Conference, "Building Sustainable Communities," in March 2001 in Battle Creek. Thirty-two sponsoring organizations (including USDA-RD and USDA- Farm Service Agency) partnered with RDCM and its co-hosts for this event, which drew over 260 participants. The conference kicked off with an afternoon workshop dedicated to grant writing and helping local community organizations tap into funding opportunities; the Council of Michigan Foundations coordinated and sponsored this workshop. The conference then focused on many of the issues important in building thriving, sustainable communities. Workshop sessions included Community Visioning and Capacity Building, Strategies for Brownfield Redevelopment, Facilitating Business and Community Development, Transportation and Infrastructure Planning, Agriculture Development, Facilitating Coordinated Planning and Cooperation Between Communities, Master Planning and Zoning -- Surviving the Legal Challenges, Community, Natural Resources Inventory, and Natural Resource Protection and Innovative Designs for Development.
The Rural Development Council of Michigan, in cooperation with the Michigan Farm Bureau, organized the Ultimate Farmland Preservation Bus Tour '99. The five-day tour of seven counties in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey showcased more than 163,000 acres of farmland protected from development, highlighting successful farmland preservation projects and their potential impact on the economic future of agriculture. As a result of the tour, many of the participants are leading land use efforts in their local communities and spearheading new local and state legislative initiatives.
Minnesota Rural Partners collaborated with the Minnesota Food Association to create the New Immigrant Agricultural Project, a program which helps new immigrants develop their existing farm skills and move toward self-sufficiency. With the leadership of the MRP and financial assistance from the Otto Bremer Foundation and USDA agencies including FSA, RMA, Rural Development, and Cooperative Extension, the project educates participants in the production of organize, new niche, value-added products that are not in competition with existing Minnesota farmers.
In Fall 2000, the New Hampshire Rural Development Council assembled public and private organizations to form four task forces on Technical Assistance, Health, the Northern Forest, and Community Development. This effort is part of the Council's three-year plan to publish "The State of Rural New Hampshire" and "A Rural Agenda for New Hampshire." The goal of this broader objective is to bring together fragmented data and groups to create a "rural voice" that will impact policy, legislation, and allocation of resources affecting rural communities. USDA is one of three federal agencies represented on these teams. The Council convened and facilitated all but the Technical Assistance task force, for which it brought in an electronic network, the Community Development Forum.
The New York Rural Development Councilco-sponsored two tours throughout New York to demonstrate the changes in agricultural development and highlight the importance of agriculture to the local and state economy. The tours focused on different ways of making connections between rural farming operations and urban markets, with a particular focus on ethnic markets. Over 100 people representing farms, planning and development agencies, agricultural organizations and governments participated in the two-day event.
In an effort to help keep land in agricultural production, the Ohio Rural Development Partnership brought together the Ohio Department of Development, Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Ohio Bankers Association to establish Ohio's Family Farm Loan Guarantee Program in 1998. The program helps farmers acquire a farm, expand an existing farm, or start an agribusiness. Due to its initial success, the Ohio General Assembly has extended the program for an additional two years.
The South Dakota Rural Development Council convened a group of state and local agencies that provide services to help communities develop value-added agriculture projects. The agencies that participated included the SD Department of Agriculture, USDA Rural Development, SD Extension Service, SD State University Department of Agriculture and BioSciences, Bank of Cooperatives, Governor's Office of Economic Development, SD Value-Added Cooperative Center, Small Business Development Centers, East River Electric, SD Agricultural Unity, and the SD Association of Cooperatives, as well as others. As the group's facilitator, SDRDC was useful in educating members of the groups, who were new to value-added agricultural projects, on where agricultural producers could find the information they needed to make a value-added project take shape effectively. The group also created a listserv to keep all members informed about work on projects, so others can take advantage of group members' experience on projects.
The South Dakota Science and Technology Council was launched in December 2000, with the support of the South Dakota Rural Development Council. Work on this new entity began in 1997, with a National Science Foundation grant to the University of South Dakota. At that time, SDRDC was asked to assemble a strong partnership to support development of the proposed council—a challenge in a largely rural, geographically challenged state. SDRDC's challenge was to develop a relationship that involves working across agency and government boundaries, to foster more economic development linkages between science work done on the state's campuses and economic development tools, and to access other federal science and technology resources, particularly those usually not available in South Dakota. In working to create the Science and Technology Council, SDRDC identified partners that would be interested in a coordinated math, science, and technology effort for South Dakota and then convened the kick-off meeting to launch this collaborative effort. Joining NSF as federal partners are NIST, USDA, NASA, and U.S. Departments of Commerce and Education.
After over 18 months of work, the Washington State Rural Development Council completed its report, Washington State Rural Communities Speak Out, distributed in September 2000. Local economic development organizations and the Bonneville Power Administration were the Council's primary partners in this effort, which reflects the input of over 300 rural Washingtonians. The report was developed to meet the need for documentation of rural Washingtonians' thoughts on their livelihoods, communities, and quality of life. To ensure credible feedback, the Council, with USDA representatives, held five listening forums throughout the state. In addition, WSRDC's executive director visited small communities across Washington and partnered with local economic development organizations in conducting seven business climate forums. Information gathered through each of these methods was compiled to create the report, which has been distributed to agency heads, legislative representatives, and community leaders.
In early 1999, the Wyoming Rural Development Council partnered with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Wyoming Business Council, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service to host a forum on ranch/farm diversification. As a result of the workshop, the WRDC and the above mentioned partners, are collaborating on the production of a resource guidebook that will provide farmers and ranchers with the tools necessary to diversify.
