07/17/2026
On June 29th and 30th, ITBC conducted the Region 4 Field Harvest Training, hosted by Taos Pueblo. The first day was spent in the classroom, where guest speakers discussed topics such as Tribal governance opportunities for food sovereignty, meat quality considerations, and the USDA Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity Technical Assistance Program (MPPTA). Participants also learned about the new ITBC Mobile Harvest Unit Guide, a resource that opens up conversation around integrating traditional harvest elements with modern food safety protocols and efficiency through the use of a field harvesting unit, and had the opportunity to tour Taos Pueblo's processing facility. On the second day, participants put those lessons into practice, using Taos Pueblo's mobile harvest unit to field harvest a buffalo.
We want to extend a big thank you to our guest speakers from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Taos Pueblo Department of Natural Resources, Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, Flower Hill Institute, South Dakota State University Animal Science Department, New Mexico Department of Health, ITBC Southwest RCPP Director Beth Baragary, and ITBC contractors Lisa and Arlo Iron Cloud. We also want to thank Taos Pueblo for hosting the training. Everyone's support made this event possible!
If you would like to attend an ITBC Field Harvest Training, registration is still open for the Region 3 training in Hardin, MT. We hope to see you there!
Registration link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfunfRk84hzMSZgyNdY6GqSfY2uAkv8sAVI6uO4-AjYV59Y1g/viewform?usp=dialog
This project is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Tribal Relations.
