ATTRA - Voices from the Field

In this episode, NCAT's Tammy Howard has a conversation with her colleague, Adrian Card, about his 15-year career as an extension agent in Boulder County, an increasingly urban area of Colorado. Adrian talks about his experiences with developing useful tools and programming for farmers in the front range of Colorado. Tammy Howard is an agriculture specialist at NCAT's Rocky Mountain West...

In this podcast NCAT horticulture specialists Luke Freeman and Guy Ames discuss the joys and trials of growing grapes in the humid Southeast. The conversation touches on organic grape production; diseases and pests; trellising and pruning grapes; organic grape management; and cultivars of table grapes, wine grapes, and muscadines suited for organic production. Luke and Guy both work as horticultur...

In this episode, Colin Mitchell, a sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, discusses regenerative rangeland management with Travis and Mandy Krause of Parker Creek Ranch in D'hanis, Texas. Travis and Mandy are taking part in NCAT's Soil for Water Project. Colin works out of NCAT's Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas. Tra...

In this episode, Lee Rinehart, an agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, talks with Jill Pegnataro of GreenWave, a nonprofit focused on expanding opportunities for fisherman and farmers to start sustainable shellfish and aquatic plant farming enterprises. Jill works as a farm manager and instructor with GreenWave in New Haven, Connecticut. Lee works out of N...

In this episode, airing on National Farmers Market week (August 4 -10), Tammy Howard, agriculture specialist at NCAT's Rocky Mountain West office in Butte, Montana, talks with Ben Feldman, interim director of the Farmers Market Coalition, a national organization representing farmers markets. Tammy and Ben discuss the important role that farmers markets play as business incubators and their ec...

Today, we hear from Martin Guerena, agriculture specialist at NCAT's Western Regional Office in Davis, California, and Jo Ann Baumgartner, Executive Director of the Wild Farm Alliance. In this episode, they talk about birds on farms: are they friend or foe? Well, you might be surprised to know that birds can be very beneficial to your farm. In fact, birds are being used as agrosystem provider...

In this episode, Nina Prater, an agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program talks with farmer Janet Bachmann about Janet's production practices at Riverbend Gardens in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Nina works out of NCAT's Southeast Regional office in Fayetteville, where Janet, who also is a former NCAT agriculture specialist, has been farming since 1989. The...

In this podcast, we hear from Tammy Howard, agriculture specialist at NCAT's Rocky Mountain West office in Butte, Montana, and David Wise, certified Produce Safety trainer and consultant. They talk about a new tool to help farmers navigate the complicated food safety regulatory environment. The Farmer Regulatory Toolkit helps farmers understand the different regulations that might apply to th...

In this episode, Rockiell Woods, director of NCAT's Gulf States Office in Jackson, Mississippi, begins an occasional series on scaling up agriculture operations with Bill Evans, director of horticulture with Up in Farms Food Hub in Jackson. Rockiell and Bill talk about when scaling up – increasing production or investing in ways to reduce costs – is appropriate. They also set the stage for di...

In this episode, Martin Guerena, a sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program talks with "Amigo Bob" Cantisano. Bob is a pioneer in California organic agriculture, and he is well known as the founding organizer of the annual Ecological Farming Conference, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2020. It is one of the largest sustainable...

In this podcast Margo Hale, Regional Director of NCAT's Southeast Regional office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, talks with Dr. Anne Fanatico about ecological poultry production and alternative feeds for poultry diets. Anne teaches and conducts research at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. They talk about poultry feed and alternatives to the standard corn and soybean diet, in...

In this podcast NCAT Agriculture Specialist Felicia Bell has a conversation with Tracy Galloway, of Galloway Family Farm near Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Felicia and Tracy talk about how to add value to an existing farm through agritourism. Tracy is a third-generation family farmer who began to transition his farm to a tourist destination three years go with tours, education, special events, and p...

In this episode, Omar Rodriguez, a sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, has a conversation about biostimulants with Meerae Park, a master's degree student in the Plant Sciences Department at the University of California Davis. Omar, who works out of NCAT's Western Regional Office in Davis, California, and Meerae give an overview of bi...

In this episode, Margo Hale, director of NCAT Southeast Regional Office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Linda Coffey, a livestock specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, discuss some timely spring topics that are impacting their own farms: pastures, parasites, and predators. Margo and Linda, who whose farms are both in the area talk about: handling excess forage, electron...

In this episode, Kara Kroeger, a sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, talks with Nicole Masters, a New Zealand agroecologist and director of Integrity Soils. Kara, who works out of NCAT's Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, caught up with Nicole via telephone while Nicole was visiting a client in Big Timber, Montana. They talk...

In this episode, John Wallace, manager of NCAT's SIFT farm, talks with Robin Kelson of the Good Seed Company in Whitefish, Montana. Robin and John discuss questions that beginning seed savers often have as well as resources that are available for those who want to get into the subject in more depth. The SIFT – or Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training – farm is part of NCAT's ATTRA sustaina...

In this second half of a two-part series, Steve Thompson, executive director of NCAT, sits down with Loren Birdrattler, project manager of the Blackfeet Agriculture Resource Management Plan, or ARMP. They take a closer look at a new partnership between NCAT and the Blackfeet Nation to evaluate the feasibility of a multispecies meat-processing plant. This project is a key part of the Tribe's s...

In this first part of a two-part series, Steve Thompson, executive director of NCAT, sits down with Loren Birdrattler, project manager of the Blackfeet Agriculture Resource Management Plan or ARMP.They talk about a new partnership between NCAT and the Blackfeet Nation to evaluate the feasibility of a multispecies meat processing plant. This project is a key part of the Tribe's strategy to cre...

In this episode, Nina Prater, a soil specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, sits down for a conversation with NCAT Southeast Regional Director Margo Hale to talk about the basics of soil health and to go over the five soil health principles that farmers and ranchers can follow to regenerate soil to a healthy, productive condition. Margo is a livestock specialist, and sh...

In this episode, Ann Baier, a program specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, talks with California pastured poultry producers Caleb Barron of Fogline Farm on the central coast of Santa Cruz and Gary Roberts of Zenter's Fogbound Farm in Petaluma during a break at the recent Small Farm Conference at the University of California Davis. Ann, who works out of NCAT'...

In this episode of Voices from the Filed, Al Kurki, a program specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, interviews Karla Buck, co-owner of Bear Paw Meats in Chinook, Montana. Al, who works out of NCAT's headquarters in Butte, Montana, talks with Karla about how the Bucks raise, process, and market meat to school districts in the area surrounding their business. Relate...

In this episode Dave Scott, agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, sits down with Korey Fauque, a farmer of 4,500 acres and owner of KW Insurance, a crop insurance company in Sunburst, Montana. He has an Agriculture Technology degree from Montana State University Northern in Havre, Montana. Dave Scott is located at NCAT's Rocky Mountain West Office in B...

In this episode, Andy Pressman, director of the National Center for Appropriate Technology's Northeast Regional Office in Keene, New Hampshire, and a specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, talks with two farmers with differing experiences in offering Community Support Agriculture – or CSA – subscriptions to their customers. Sam Humphrey, director of the NCAT Demons...

In this episode Guy Ames, horticulture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program at NCAT's Southeastern Regional Office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, talks with Jared M. Phillips, author of the new book Hipbillies: Deep Revolution in the Arkansas Ozarks. In his book, Jared writes about the back-to-the-land movement of the 1960s and 1970s and how that counterculture affect...

In this podcast Rex Dufour, director of NCAT's Western Regional Office in Davis, California, talks with Omar Rodriguez, sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, about working with California farmers to establish hedgerows. Hedgerows provide many benefits to farms in addition to adding beauty. They play an important role in pest management and...