MFSI Herb Class

Okmulgee, OK – Herb grower Richard Belcher of Checotah will be teaching an evening training session on growing herbs beginning at 6 p.m., Tue., Jan. 31 at Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative located at 100 E. 7th, Suite 101.

Belcher, who has been growing herbs for four years, will offer information on growing herbs which are commonly used in the kitchen, such as rosemary, thyme, parsley, and dill.

Belcher is the manager of the Community Food Project (CFP) in McIntosh County. Part of his work in this capacity includes overseeing Eufaula Indian Garden. He is currently completing the construction of a hoop house that will be used to start seedlings as well as grow vegetables year round.

Please RSVP for the herb training session by calling Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative at (918) 756-5915 or (918) 759-0817. 

Herb Class Press Release

Herb Class Leaflet

"Key Ingredients: America by Food" Presentation

FORT GIBSON, OK – Fort Gibson Historic Site and the Friends of Fort Gibson have rescheduled the educational
event originally planned for December 15, 2011. The presentation on making Osafke by the Mvskoke Food
Sovereignty Initiative Youth Coordinator, Stephanie Berryhill, will be Friday, January 20, 2012.
Berryhill will be demonstrating how the traditional drink “Osafke” is made and what...  Read more...

Black Farmer Class Action Lawsuit Update (Pigford Lawsuit)

Oklahoma City, OK  —  Finally, meetings with class council concerning the second phase of the Pigford lawsuit have begun. The first meeting was held in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The main reason for meeting with council is to get information and assistance with completing applications forms. This means that the filing period has begun. It will end May 11, 2012. Oklahoma's first meeting to meet with council was December 10, 2011 at the Embassy Suites Hotel, located at 1815 S. Meridian, in Oklahoma City.  Additional Dates have been added for Farmers & Ranchers to meet with counsel at the Embassy Suites: Jan. 25 - 28, Feb. 7-8, & April 13.  Another meeting is scheduled  for April 14 at the Hilton Garden Inn Tulsa Airport, located at 7728 E. Virgin Court, Tulsa, OK 74115. Please contact EPIQ at (877) 810-8110 to schedule a meeting with counsel and to get your claim form. You may also contact Langston University at 1.866.466.2231 or 405.466.6154, if you have further questions. For further details, please click on the links below to read letters with Pigford Lawsuit information provided by D. Chongo Mundende, Langston University Associate Professor and Director.

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Deadline for Conservation Stewardship Program is January 13th!

2012 Conservation Stewardship Program Sign-Up

On Friday, December 9, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced that the fiscal year (FY) 2012 ranking period cutoff for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is January 13, 2012.

Interested farmers and ranchers have until January 13, 2012, to complete the initial application form to compete for a spot in the 2012 enrollment class for the program.

To sign up, producers should visit their NRCS local service center.

Conservation Stewardship Flier

31st Annual Horticulture Industries Show - January 6-7, 2012

Tulsa, OK  — January 6-7, 2012, Tulsa Community College, Northeast Campus, located at 3727 E. Apache, will host the 31st Annual Horticulture Industries Show, Propagating Success: Pursuing Excellence in Horticulture.  For more information, event details and registration, please contact: Donna Dollins, (405) 744-6460, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit http://www.hortla.okstate.edu/his.htm

Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SAWG) - January 18-21, 2012

Little Rock, AR  — January 18-21, 2012, The Peabody Hotel will host the Southern SAWG annual conference. The four-day agenda is chock-full of great ideas, sessions, short courses, mini-courses, field trips and farm tours to help inspire and educate farmers, ranchers and growers of the South. The pre-conference events are an additional charge (Jan. 18th & 19th.) Entry fee and schedule information is provided below. We hope to see you there!

Southern SAWG Home

Southern SAWG Conference

Southern SAWG Fee Waiver Info

Super Committee Choice: Need Versus Greed

Washington, DC  — American families are stretched to the limit by record-high unemployment rates and a
prolonged recession. A new report, Food Choices: Families or Corporations, and an online petition, Need vs.
Greed, highlights the reality before policymakers charged with reducing the federal deficit: support food programs that keep tens of millions of Americans from going hungry or continue subsidies for wealthy “Big Ag” corporations.
Released by the Praxis Project and the Alliance for a Just Society (available at http://allianceforajustsociety.org),
the report details the critical role the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s family nutrition programs play in feeding
one out of eight Americans. The report also sheds light on the $95 billion in federal subsidies and contracts the
federal government gives to Big Ag. .... Read More.....

Food Choices Final Report

MFSI on National Public Radio (NPR)

Portland, OR  — MFSI Education and Policy Coordinator Rita Williams was invited to participate in a panel on NPRs "Think Out Loud", during the National Congress of American Indians Convention in Portland, OR......Read More....

Kerr Center Training Update

Poteau, OK  — MFSI Staff participated Nov. 12, 2011 in training for beginning farmers and ranchers at the Kerr Center in Poteau, OK.  The class was very interesting and had around 50+ participants. The program highlights two tracks, Horticulture and Livestock. The courses run on alternating months, beginning with the February 11, 2012 livestock class followed by the March 10, 2012 Horticulture class. This is a USDA sponsored training. The program has several sponsors including MFSI, Kerr Center, OSU Extension, RSA and OFRA.  For more information, please contact MFSI at (918) 756-5915. We hope to hear from you soon, only a few horticulture slots are left for MFSI area beginning or established farmers and ranchers.

Kerr Press Release

Keepseagle Claim - various dates

Across the state of Oklahoma  — Please see attached schedule and information for the Keepseagle Claim. For more information, please contact Randall Ware of the USDA Minority Farmer Advisory Committee, Kiowa Native Farms LLC & Indian Country Agriculture and Resource Development Corporation at Office Ph: (405) 247-1035 or Cell Ph: (405) 638-2285.

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