Policy

What we do

The IFAI Policy team assists Tribal Nations in strengthening their food systems and agricultural initiatives by delivering timely and accurate analyses of federal laws and policies that affect Tribal agriculture.

Policy Briefings

Policy Brief- August 19, 2025

Policy Brief- August 19, 2025

Congress remains in recess through Labor Day.   IFAI recently published an analysis of the USDA Final Rule on Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers.   Our Rooted Wisdom podcast team interviewed Akiptan’s, Skya Ducheneaux to discuss how Native CDFIs are reshaping...

Policy Brief- August 19, 2025

Policy Brief- August 12, 2025

The public comment period on USDA’s Reorganization Plan is still open. All stakeholders, including Tribal governments, are encouraged to submit their feedback to reorganization@usda.gov by September 30, 2025. The Department’s reorganization plans were published via...

Policy Brief- August 19, 2025

Policy Brief- August 4, 2025

Coming soon: IFAI will be releasing an analysis of the proposed USDA reorganization and its potential impact on Indian Country food systems and agricultural production.   USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is seeking public comments on the Special Milk Program for...

Policy Brief- July 29, 2025

Policy Brief- July 29, 2025

  On Wednesday, the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee will review the USDA reorganization proposal that was dropped at the end of last week. IFAI is working on an analysis of the proposed reorganization and potential impact on Indian Country food...

Policy Brief- July 29, 2025

Policy Brief- July 22, 2025

  IFAI is back to policy briefs after a one-week hiatus following our annual Tribal Youth Summit. We have updated Congressional notes from the last two weeks, including Senate Appropriations hearing on FY2026 USDA-FDA funding, Senate Indian Affairs nomination...

Policy Brief- July 8, 2025

Policy Brief- July 8, 2025

  No IFAI Policy Brief next week, July 14. IFAI staff will be engaged in the 11th annual Tribal Youth Summit. Read more about the Summit here.  A Federal Register notice this week has a call for comments by July 30 on an interim final rule that removes several USDA...

Policy Brief- July 8, 2025

Policy Brief- July 1, 2025

IFAI’s 11th annual Tribal Youth Summit starts next week, read more about it here.  The Indian Health Service is hosting four In-Person Tribal Consultations and one Virtual Consultation starting July 8 proposed realignment and strategic changes.   Several Federal...

Policy Brief- July 8, 2025

Policy Brief- June 24, 2025

The Department of the Interior will hold the last two consultations on June 24 and 26 with Tribal leaders about the Department’s DRAFT FY2026 - 2030 Strategic Plan.   It’s a busy week in the House of Representatives, with House Appropriations holding a Monday night a...

Policy Brief- July 8, 2025

Policy Brief- June 17, 2025

The Department of the Interior will hold further consultations from June 17 - 26 with Tribal leaders about the Department’s DRAFT FY2026 - 2030 Strategic Plan.   There are several Federal Register notices from FNS this week, including one about ending the requirement...

Policy Brief- July 8, 2025

IFAI Policy Brief June 10, 2025

IFAI has a template letter for Tribes interested in commenting on USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service rescinding a 2023 final rule that removed “visual observation” by State agencies on the collection of race and ethnicity data. Comments are due June 15 to USDA.  On...