The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Center on Food Security and the Environment hosted a forum with the USDA's Farm Service Agency Administrator, Zach Ducheneaux. Ducheneaux was appointed Administrator for USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) on February 22, 2021. In this role, he provides leadership and direction on agricultural policy, including the administration of FSA's farm loan, conservation, commodity, disaster, and farm marketing programs through a national network of offices.
About this event
The current reality of agriculture finance is that the capital doesn’t stay deployed long enough to take hold and grow. It’s very much akin to planting a perennial seed, harvesting the crop, and then rebreaking the soil to plant a perennial seed again the following spring. It’s not a sustainable practice.
In order to finance climate-smart agriculture, USDA’s Farm Service Agency is taking steps to better treat capital like a perennial seed rather than an annual crop. Hear from the USDA-FSA Administrator to learn more about the agency’s approach to reimagining agriculture finance to invest in the long-term health of farmers, ranchers, and the natural resources they depend on.
Speaker Biography
Before joining the Biden-Harris Administration at USDA, Ducheneaux previously served as the Executive Director of the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC). He served the IAC in other roles starting in the 1990s. He has also previously served as tribal council representative for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. He has spent his career educating people about the critical role of improved food systems and value-added agriculture, all through the lens of finding ways to address enduring economic and social challenges facing Native Americans and reservations.
Ducheneaux continues to serve on the board of directors for Project H3LP!, a nonprofit founded by his family to benefit their local community by providing life lessons through horsemanship. His family still operates the 4th generation ranch on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.
