Special Message from Janie Hipp, Senior Advisor, Office of Tribal Relations in the Office of the Secretary:
On March 3 Secretary Vilsack provided a vision for using farming and ranching as a means to economic recovery. The message is simple: farming and ranching creates jobs in rural communities and benefits our communities as a whole. As Tribal Leaders left Washington DC this Friday after a week of meetings in conjunction with the National Congress of American Indians Winter Executive sessions, we here at USDA, in meeting after meeting with Tribal leaders, heard your message loud and clear. Use of trust lands and Tribal resources to engage fully in farming and ranching is a message heard over and over. We here at USDA want to help make those plans realities by working with you to build strong and resilient American Indian, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian farming and ranching enterprises that will create jobs and strong economies in your communities.
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