First Nations Development Institute Publishes Free ‘Business of Indian Agriculture’ Curriculum to Assist Native American Farmers, Ranchers and Ag…

First Nations Development Institute Publishes Free 'Business of Indian Agriculture' Curriculum to Assist Native American Farmers, Ranchers and Ag Producers

LONGMONT, Colo., Feb. 26 -- The First Nations Development Institute issued the following news release:

First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) today announced it has published a comprehensive curriculum for Native American farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers that can be downloaded for free from the First Nations website. It is designed to be used by tribal college instructors, extension agents or workshop instructors. It is titled "The Business of Indian Agriculture" and includes both a 562-page Instructor Guide and a 323-page Participant Workbook.

The curriculum is designed to help farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers succeed in managing their businesses. It covers useful topics like how to develop a business plan, how to set up bookkeeping systems, and marketing. It also covers important topics like risk management, personal financial management, and using credit wisely.

The project was supported by the USDA-NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the CHS Foundation. Development of the curriculum was made possible through a partnership between First Nations and the First Americans Land-Grant Consortium (FALCON), which is a nonprofit professional association of administrators, faculty and staff of land-grant tribal colleges and universities. FALCON is sanctioned by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC). John Phillips, who is executive director of FALCON, was the primary author. Phillips is also the land-grant program director for AIHEC.

The curriculum has five main modules:

Module 1: Business

Module 2: Accounting

Module 3: Financial Management

Module 4: Agribusiness Economics and Marketing

Module 5: Land Use and Management

The curriculum is offered free to anyone. It can be viewed as an online "flipbook," or it can be downloaded as PDFs. Interested parties can also request a Word version of the materials to use and/or adapt for their own classes or other uses. To access the materials, please go to this link: www.firstnations.org/knowledge-center/foods-health/biz_of_indian_ag.

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