ATTRA - Voices from the Field

En este episodio de Voices from the Field , Martin Guerena, especialista en agricultura sostenible de la oficina regional occidental de NCAT en Davis, California, habla con Patricio O'Neil de Soil Health Services en Alamosa, Colorado. Su conversación describe los cultivos característicos de la región del valle de San Luis Colorado, la sequía de la región y sus desafíos, prácticas para mejorar...

This special edition of Voices from the Field takes a look back at some highlights from the podcast during 2022. It was a great year for Voices from the Field , with 50 interesting conversations and loads of practical information running the gamut of sustainable-agriculture topics.  We’re honored that Voices from the Field has become a trusted source of information about sustainable agriculture an...

This episode features a conversation between Stacie Peterson, NCAT’s Energy Program Director and Manager of the AgriSolar Clearinghouse, and Lexie Hain, the country’s leading solar grazing expert.   It is the third in a series of AgriSolar Clearinghouse podcasts that are being featured on ATTRA’S Voices from the Field podcast.  Lexie is a farmer, solar grazer, and the Director of Agrivoltaics at L...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Horticulture Specialist Tammy Howard talks with Drew Shanafelt, Director of Abundant Montana. Abundant Montana has been a local foods directory staple in Montana since the 1990s. In recent years, it has evolved from being a static directory to a dynamic multimedia resource for consumers, food suppliers, and producers. In this conversation, Tammy and...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , we meet Dr. Carolyn Krejci, an industrial engineer and expert on supply-chain management at the University of Texas at Arlington who is designing surprising new ways of supporting local and regional food systems.  She and NCAT Southwest Regional Director Mike Morris sit down to discuss her pioneering research on food transportation and the ingenious new “...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Luz Ballesteros talks with Michael Navarro of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley about his biochar research. Michael, working with biochar created from grapefruit peels, is examining its ability to remediate soils that have been contaminated with heavy metals. Luz and Michael also talk about the ways biochar i...

This episode is a conversation between Stacie Peterson, NCAT’s Energy Program Director and Manager of the AgriSolar Clearinghouse, and Nate Tassinari, the owner of Million Little Sunbeams, a third-generation hay farm in Monson, Massachusetts. It is the second in a series of AgriSolar Clearinghouse podcasts that are being featured on ATTRA’S Voices from the Field podcast.    Nate’s hay operation is...

Lynette Niebrugge, Associate Director of Education and Training at the Carbon Cycle Institute (CCI), and Loren Poncia, co-owner of Stemple Creek Ranch in Tomales, California, broke new ground with one of CCI’s first Carbon Farm Plans almost a decade ago.   In this episode of Voices from the Field, Lynette and Loren speak with NCAT Climate and Agriculture Program Manager Elise Haschke about what it...

How is organic farming changing in America? Should soil-free hydroponic produce be certified as organic? And why have 1,100 certified-organic farms started adding a Real Organic label to the familiar green USDA Organic label? In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Southwest Regional Director Mike Morris sits down with Linley Dixon, Co-Director of the Real Organic Project, for a conversati...

Sixteen-year-old Maloi Lannan is a passionate and knowledgeable climate warrior using profits from her self-published soil health coloring book to build a flock of 100-percent grassfed sheep in Montana's Paradise Valley.  In this episode of Voices from the Field , Maloi and her mom Meagan tell NCAT's Linda Poole about their approach to maintaining their fifth-generation family ranch. The...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Specialist Kei Matsunami talks with Chris Gaskell of Grasmick Produce of Twin Falls and Boise, Idaho, about the company’s farm to school sales and DoD Fresh contract with the Montana Office of Public Instruction. This podcast is produced by the National Center for Appropriate Technology through the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program, under a cooper...

In this edition of Voices from the Field, Lacy Stephens of the National Farm to School Network talks to Rae Rusnak of L&R Poultry and Produce and Kate Seybold of Minneapolis Public Schools. L&R Poultry and Produce has been consistently selling to MPS for more than eight years. Rae and Kate discuss what has made this partnership successful and beneficial for both of them, and they each shar...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialists Nina Prater and Lee Rinehart talk about how to improve profitability on livestock operations. They focus specifically on ruminants — choosing the right animals for your environment, grazing management, farm infrastructure, and marketing. Lee shares some guiding questions farmers and ranchers can ask themselves when...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , Stacie Peterson, Energy Program Director at the National Center for Appropriate Technology, talks with Meg Caley, Executive Director and co-founder of the Colorado nonprofit Sprout City Farms.  Sprout City Farms began in 2010 with a vision of increasing food access and community resiliency through farming underutilized urban land. Among its partnerships,...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Martin Guerena, who works out of NCAT’s office in Davis, California, has a conversation with Patrick O’Neill of Soil Health Services in Alamosa, Colorado. They discuss Patrick’s projects, including consulting with farmers on cover crops systems, volunteer work with the Rio Grande Farm Park, and a conservation distri...

This episode of Voices from the Field is the second of a two-part series about a new project called the Texas Soil Wealth Alliance.   NCAT’s team on the project – Climate Smart Agriculture Coordinator Elise Haschke and Sustainable Agriculture Specialists Robert Maggiani and Darron Gaus – talk with others involved in the project. They discuss the Texas Soil Wealth Alliance’s starting goals, the pro...

This episode of Voices from the Field is the first of a two-part series on a new project called the Texas Soil Wealth Alliance. NCAT’s team on the project – Climate Smart Agriculture Coordinator Elise Haschke and Sustainable Agriculture Specialists Robert Maggiani and Darron Gaus – join with other organizations and producers involved in the project to spread the word. Related ATTRA Resources: ·   ...

The primary goal of grazing, or any other farming endeavor, is to convert light energy efficiently and profitably from the sun into food. Many graziers think of themselves as grass farmers, harvesting sunlight and converting it through forage into animal products.   In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialists Lee Rinehart and Justin Morris talk specifically...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Felicia Bell talks grassfed beef and lamb with Mississippi grazier Johnny Wray. Johnny and his wife Deb own High Hope Farm in western Clay County, Mississippi, near the village of Cedar Bluff.   Johnny talks about the farm’s rotational grazing setup and use of composted manure with no chemical inputs. Johnny describ...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , North Carolina State University researcher Dr. Andrew Smolski and NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Justin Duncan look at farmer well-being through the lens of a Southern SARE funded project.   The project, “Navigating Financial and Mental Health Crises,” is aimed at understanding how farmers are accessing resources that address farm finances, stres...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Chris Lent has a conversation with Sarah Speare of Tootie's Tempeh in Biddeford, Maine.    NCAT and two other organizations – Health Care Without Harm and the Plant Forward Future Project -- partnered to form a producer cohort in the Northeast to develop and market plant-based proteins to hospitals.    The proj...

Minnesota shepherd Janet McNally has learned from facing challenges. In fact, dealing with a wolf pack bent on her flock as a food source was one of the factors that led her to regenerative grazing. In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Regenerative Grazing Specialist Linda Poole talks with Janet about her successes and challenges, including those wolves, along with parasites, drought, t...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , Margo Hale, NCAT’s ATTRA Program Director, visits with Charley Jordan, a flower farmer in Tennessee. Charley is a military veteran and talks with Margo about his journey to farming.  Charley discusses his farm operation and the enterprises he has pursued, including how his military service and farming experience led him to horticulture therapy. Charley sh...

This episode of Voices from the Field continues a conversation between Dr. Sam Fuhlendorf of Oklahoma State University and NCAT Grazing Specialist Linda Poole about using grazing to bolster, rather than unintentionally harm, desirable wildlife on farms and ranches.  Many regenerative ranchers use mob grazing – dense herds of livestock grazing a place for a very brief time before moving on – to inc...

Many regenerative ranchers use mob grazing – dense herds of livestock grazing a place for a very brief time before moving on – as a way to increase grass production and improve soil health. Graziers from across the globe have had success with this approach, but, hey, what about the wild things? Is it always true that what's good for the herd is good for the bird?    This episode of Voices fro...