Oklahoma Local Agriculture Collaborative
It’s completely free to join OLAC, just complete this membership form!
Oklahoma Growers, please complete this Johnny’s Seed survey!
The ONIE Project was awarded the Regional Food System Partnership Grant to establish the Oklahoma Local Agriculture Collaborative with Langston University and Healthy Oklahoma Nutrition Alliance (HONA) as sub-awardees.
The overarching goal of OLAC is to strengthen and grow the capacity of Oklahoma’s local agriculture in three areas: improving communication and access to underutilized resources; developing technical support systems to foster innovative practices; and creating a statewide registration and membership network for producers and direct-to-consumer markets. OLAC will specifically focus on rural markets and underserved communities to ensure that all Oklahomans have equal access.
OLAC’s Mission: Unite partner agencies with agriculture entrepreneurs to ensure that the needs of local agribusinesses are recognized and represented.
The project objectives aim to address all the priorities mentioned above.
- Objective 1: Form and maintain an active and engaged Advisory Board consisting of diverse representatives from farmers markets, local agriculture entrepreneurs, and support organizations to guide the vision, innovations, and design of OLAC. Representatives will cover all four regions of the state and include small farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, socially disadvantaged producers, veteran producers, and/or underserved communities.
- Objective 2: Establish an accessible, statewide digital resource hub to promote capacity building of local agriculture that support producers marketing and selling through direct-to-consumer markets.
- Objective 3: Develop, coordinate, and expand training opportunities and technical support (USDA, State, and privately-funded) for farmers markets and agriculture entrepreneurs selling through direct-to-consumer markets; this includes creating 10 regional trainings, workshops and/or field days that provide education on, but not limited to: grant writing, business plan development, value added products, food safety, and marketing.
- Objective 4: Build a network to connect agriculture entrepreneurs, farmers markets, food hubs, cooperatives, agritourism sites, and community support organizations across the state; the network will foster collaboration, encourage innovations, and provide mentorship opportunities.
- Objective 5: Evaluate project effectiveness and identify current resource needs and areas for growth by conducting a needs assessment among the local agriculture community.
Current OLAC Partnership List
| The Farm LLC |
| Hunger Free Oklahoma (HFO) |
| Healthy Oklahomans Nutrition Alliance (HONA) |
| Langston University Extension (LUE) |
| Lawton Farmers Market (LFM) |
| Legako Family Farm |
| The Looney Farm |
| Mid-America Technology Center (MATC) |
| Muskogee Farmers Market – Oklahoma State University Extension (MFM) |
| Central Oklahoma Young Farmers Market Coalition (COYFC) |
| Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality (OFMQ) |
| Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF) |
| Oklahoma Department of Human Services |
| Oklahoma Farm Bureau (OFB) |
| Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) – Women, Infants, Children (WIC) |
| Oklahoma State University Food and Agricultural Products Center (OSU FAPC) |
| Poteau Mainstreet Matters Farmers Market |
| Robinson Ranch |
| OSU-OKC Farmers Market at Scissortail Park (SPFM) |
| Tillman County Farmers Market |
| Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) |
Interested in being an OLAC Partner? Click here to complete the partnership form.
Interested in being on the OLAC Advisory Board? Click here to complete this interest form.