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Meat and Poultry Processing Technical Assistance Program

What We Do

The Meat and Poultry Processing Technical Assistance Program (MPPTA) is an initiative designed to help stakeholders in the meat and poultry market, with a heavy focus on small, rural, and Tribally owned processors. If you are looking to build or expand your processing or market capacity, click on the resources below.
 
  • What is the MPPTA Program?
  • Getting started with meat processing – meat quality factors, beef carcass value and cutting, and an introduction to USDA grant writing
  • Meat Processing Index
  • Marketing avenues for meat and poultry distribution
  • Exploring different sale channels for processors
  • Becoming a USDA vendor
  • Tribal Colleges and Universities with meat processing or meat processing related programs
  • States with poultry exemptions
  • Navigating Avian Flu in the Supply Chain
  • Targeting the New World Screwworm Fly

IFAI Logo534 W. Research Center Blvd,
Suite 219
Fayetteville, AR 72701

ifai@uark.edu
(479) 575-5666
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The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IF The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI) entered 2025 in a moment of significant change across Indian Country. Our team worked closely with Tribes across all regions, providing one-on-one technical assistance and supporting a wide range of Tribally led food sovereignty efforts. We continued to serve as Indian Country’s trusted agricultural law and policy resources tracking, analyzing, and explaining an unprecedented volume of federal policy changes affecting Tribal food and agriculture operations. We delivered food safety training to Tribal producers and food businesses, offered legal and policy research tailored to community needs, and traveled across the country to meet with stakeholders and policymakers at the Tribal, federal, and state levels.

We encourage you to check out the full report showcasing all of the work we have done this year and the momentum pushing us into the new year. You can find our Annual Report on our website indigenousfoodandag.com (link in bio)
#annualreport #2025
🌲 Weekly Policy Brief Highlights 🌲 🔹Last week, US 🌲 Weekly Policy Brief Highlights 🌲

🔹Last week, USDA’s Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) held its final meeting of 2025 during the Intertribal Agriculture Council’s (IAC) Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV. The various TAC subcommittees provided a recap of their activities and priorities. TAC members and those in attendance raised concerns and offered recommendations and comments to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) representatives. 
 
🔹The FDPIR Tribal Leaders Consultation Work Group also held its final government-to-government consultation of the year with USDA at IAC’s Annual Conference. Tribal leaders wanted to ensure the availability of food supplies in times of crisis going forward, particularly for smaller tribes and those located in remote areas. The public comment period for this consultation will remain open until January 9, 2026.
 
🔹The IFAI Policy Brief is taking a brief Holiday break. IFAI will be out celebrating the holidays from Wednesday, December 24 through Monday, January 5. Happy Holidays from IFAI!

To read the full brief visit our website indigenousfoodandag.com
#USDA #happyholidays #FDPIR #IAC #TAC
Listen to the latest episode of the 🎙Rooted Wisdom Listen to the latest episode of the 🎙Rooted Wisdom Podcast🎙 out today! You can find it available on spotify or on our website indigenousfoodandag.com

#rootedwisdom #podcast #agriculture #indigenous #UARK
❄️ Weekly Policy Brief Highlights ❄️ 🔹There are n ❄️ Weekly Policy Brief Highlights ❄️

🔹There are no Congressional hearings relevant to Tribal food and agriculture this week. 

🔹The FDPIR Tribal Leaders Consultation Work Group will hold its final government-to-government consultation of the year with USDA during the Intertribal Agriculture Council’s Annual Conference on Dec. 10, 2025, from 2-6 PM PST. Participants must register by Dec. 9. Tribal leaders wishing to designate a proxy should do so ahead of time using the proxy template letter posted on the USDA Office of Tribal Relations website.

🔹IFAI is hosting an informational briefing session ahead of the FDPIR Tribal consultation on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, at 2 PM CST. 

🔹The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) will hold its final meeting of the year on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, from 9 AM to 5PM PST.
 
🔹Two Federal Register notices this week include a final rule on Expanding Access to Risk Protection (EARP) and a NOFA for credit assistance.

🔹The IFAI Policy Brief is taking a brief break! IFAI will not publish a Policy Brief next week, Dec. 8, while our staff are attending the Intertribal Agriculture Council’s Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV. 

Check out the full brief at indigenousfoodandag.com
#policybrief  #FDPIR #USDA #Tribalag
Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unl Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. Your donation can help Tribal Nations secure food sovereignty and assist in the future of Native food and agriculture. To donate go to https://bit.ly/DONATESST or check out the link in our bio!

#Giving #foodsovereignty #GivingTuesday #givingtuesdaycampaign
IFAI is hosting an informational briefing session IFAI is hosting an informational briefing session ahead of the FDPIR Tribal consultation. This session is for Tribal leaders and/or their proxies and staff, and will be held virtually on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, at 2 PM CST via ZOOM. To register scan the QR code, click on the link in bio, or follow this link 💻 ➡️ https://bit.ly/FDPIR25
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