USDA is here to help. Our agency staffs understand the unique challenges that face farmers, ranchers and entrepreneurs in Indian Country and stand ready to help navigate the landscape of USDA tools and resources.

One of the ways we do this is through the Obama Administration’s place-based initiatives, exemplified by the first tribal Promise Zone -- the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma -- and USDA’s StrikeForce for Rural Growth and Opportunity, which works across the country and in 13 states with American Indian and Alaska Native communities. We partner with community organizations and technical assistance providers in these areas, like the Intertribal Agriculture Council, and provide extra help as they apply for grants, loans and other resources.

Initiatives like the Promise Zones and StrikeForce are just examples of the ways USDA has focused on place-based investments in rural and tribal areas. For example, our microloan program, which is a new initiative managed by our Farm Service Agency, offers small loans of up to $35,000 under a simplified application process with no down payment required. The idea is that by shortening the application process, reducing loan paperwork, and expanding the types of experiences that qualify toward meeting the loan requirements, we can better reach and assist smaller and niche-type operations.

It’s working: since the program began last year, we’ve extended $97 million dollars to more than 4,900 farmers and ranchers, including those in Indian Country. A $35,000 microloan helped one Native American rancher in New Mexico purchase 25 bred cows and begin working her own lease and grazing allotment on Navajo Nation, after being unable to obtain credit elsewhere. In Washington State, a $30,000 microloan helped a Native farmer purchase haying equipment. He wasn’t able to access commercial credit, but the USDA microloan enables him to continue farming while building a credit history for his future.