Agriculture agencies attend tribal health fair

STROUD — Representatives from several federal and state agricultural agencies recently attended a Sac and Fox health fair to promote their programs and to encourage tribal members to live healthy lifestyles, officials said.

Scott Biggs, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency in Oklahoma, spoke at the event along with the Chris DeFreese, the agency’s civil rights manager for rural development.

Other speakers included Josh Dale, a specialist for the agency’s risk management division, Troy Marshall, the Oklahoma statistician for the National Agricultural Statistics Service and Chris Cox, a public affairs specialist for the agency’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.

The officials addressed more than 450 people who attended the health fair about the various ways the federal and state governments use their programs to help youth, tribal members, farmers, ranchers and the public.

The event was organized by Dr. Carol Crouch, Oklahoma’s tribal liaison for the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“This event was a great way for USDA to reach out to our tribal partners and educate them on our programs and how we can help them live healthy lives,” Crouch stated in a news release about the event.