ATTRA - Voices from the Field

In this episode of Voices from the Field , we get acquainted with Dr. Tina Cone, a retired veterinarian in Berryville, Arkansas. In a conversation with NCAT Livestock Specialist Linda Coffey, Tina talks about the life she now leads during her second career -- raising beef cattle and practicing regenerative grazing.    Tina loves what she does and describes the family business and the joys and chal...

Farmers markets are a key ingredient for connecting communities with locally grown foods, hand-made products, and value-added goods. According to the Farmers Market Coalition, markets stimulate local economies, increase access to healthy food, support communities, promote sustainability, and preserve farmland. Based on recent USDA Census data, farmers markets generated $2.4 billion in sales for Am...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , northern Montana organic farmer Doug Crabtree and NCAT Agriculture and Natural Resource Economist Jeff Schahczenski talk about one of their favorite topics -- crop insurance.   They discuss the hope for a reform of Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) and about the particular challenges of crop insurance for a large, highly diverse sustainable production...

 In this episode of Voices from the Field , we get to know a new member of NCAT’s staff, Local Food Specialist Molly Kirkham. Molly tells her NCAT colleague, Community Foods System Specialist Maura Henn, about the chance encounter with a community garden that began her interest in local foods. She talks about her time with AmeriCorps at a food bank in Montana, her time farming, and how she came to...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , Arkansas veterinarian Dr. Ann Wells talks with NCAT Livestock Specialist Linda Coffey about her experience raising healthy animals and helping other farmers do the same. She shares her journey from conventional veterinary practices to her philosophy of holistic animal health as well as practical strategies for keeping livestock healthy.  Related ATTRA Res...

The widespread narrative on why we’re experiencing a food crisis is that it is because of high fuel and fertilizer prices, the disruption in market chains caused by the war in Ukraine, and lingering COVID impacts. But that’s not the whole story. When there is a food crisis, the common narrative is that increasing productivity is the answer and that global agribusinesses and global markets can meet...

Janet McNally is a seasoned shepherd from Hinckley, Minnesota, and a master of regenerative grazing in a landscape beset with challenges for livestock. She pasture-raises sheep and cattle amidst huge packs of wolves, hidden legions of deadly internal parasites, rank swards of grass, and deep-snow winters. It’s common knowledge that “grass-based livestock production won’t work here” but in this epi...

Winter feeding is one of the biggest expenses for most livestock operations. In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Agriculture Specialist Lee Rinehart and NCAT Regenerative Grazing Specialist Justin Morris discuss strategies graziers can use to plan for winter stockpile during the summer grazing season.   Stockpiling is the practice of allowing forage to accumulate during a portion of th...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Specialists Nina Prater, Guy Ames, and Lee Rinehart explore the history of fertilizer use to understand how we got to an agricultural system that relies so heavily on synthetic rather than biological fertilizers. They discuss alternatives to this system and ways farmers can build soil health in order to require less synthetic fertilizer to maintain p...

Welcome back to a conversation between NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialists Felicia Bell and Justin Duncan about traditional and indigenous farming techniques, both in their own families and in cultures around the world.  This episode of Voices from the Field is second of a two-part series. If you missed the first half of the discussion, you can find a link to it in the show notes accompanying...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialists Felicia Bell and Justin Duncan begin a conversation about farming techniques passed down through generations of indigenous people and how those practices have similarities around the world.   Felicia and Justin grew up in families with relatives who taught younger generations traditional practices, handing down tra...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , we meet new NCAT employee Elise Haschke, who is leading the development of a new program, “Climate Smart Agriculture.” Elise explains the “transformative moments” in her life that led her from a love of science and nature to studying nutrition and food systems, improving nutrition in school lunch programs, running farmers markets, and helping the City of...

This episode of Voices from the Field is the second part of a conversation between NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Mike Lewis and Michael O’ Gorman, an organic farming pioneer and founder of the Farmer Veteran Coalition.   Mike and Michael talk about mitigating risk, in tomato crops in particular and agricultural operations in general. Michael also describes why he thinks the current high...

This episode of Voices from the Field is the first of a two-part conversation with organic farming pioneer and founder of the Farmer Veteran Coalition Michael O’Gorman. For 50 years, Michael has spearheaded some of the country’s most influential farming ventures. In this part of the conversation, he and NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Mike Lewis talk about Michael’s history and how good pl...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, we meet up with one of NCAT’s newest sustainable agriculture specialists, Luz Ballesteros Gonzalez. In her conversation with colleague Robert Maggiani in the NCAT Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, Luz explains how she decided on a career in sustainable agriculture. After initially setting out to study medicine, her interests in chemistry and...

NCAT’s headquarters in Butte, Montana, has a complicated growing climate to say the least. That makes John Wallace’s job as farm manager of NCAT’s Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training program – or SIFT – challenging as well.  In this episode of Voices from the Field , John talks with NCAT Energy Analyst Victorian Smart about the SIFT farm’s strategies for conserving water. Since the farm is located...

Darron Gaus grew up in Yoakum, Texas, a small agricultural town. After some other career moves, he made his way back to agriculture, including a stint as the farm manager at the San Antonio Food Bank.  In this episode of Voices from the Field , Darron – NCAT’s newest Sustainable Agriculture Specialist -- tells fellow NCAT staffer Justin Duncan about his journey and the passion he feels for spreadi...

Lani Estill has built a good life and strong business around fine-wool sheep on the California-Nevada border. Far from a one-woman enterprise, running 3,000 Rambouillet sheep across a half-million acres of public and private lands involves Lani’s family and contract herders.   This episode of Voices from the Field is part of our “She’s Raising Sheep” series. Lani tells NCAT Grazing Specialist Lind...

For more than 35 years, the National Center for Appropriate Technology’s ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program has been helping farmers and ranchers grow nutritious food and operate successful businesses without synthetic fertilizer. Now, NCAT has released a new toolkit with trusted and practical resources for farmers who want to transition away from the use of synthetic fertilizers.   In this epi...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Mike Lewis introduces us to one of NCAT’s newest staff members, Dan Birnstihl. To say Dan has wide-ranging experience is something of an understatement. He worked on fighter jets while in the Marines, studied sustainable agriculture and managed a farm. And he managed to squeeze in studying audio production in Nashville. H...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Dietetics Intern Melissa Wyatt sits down with beginning farmer Rick Williams and his wife Kyra, to talk about strategies for selling their farm products through the winter.  The couple’s farm, Sugar Beet Row, is located in Butte, Montana -- often known as the icebox of the state. They also own Dancing Rainbow Natural Grocery, a small natural foods st...

This episode of Voices from the Field continues ATTRA’s podcast series on women shepherds, “She’s Raising Sheep.” Becky Weed talks with NCAT Regenerative Grazing Specialist Linda Poole about the role of sheep in “farming as if nature matters.” Becky and her husband Dave Tyler run 80 crossbred long-wool ewes in Montana’s Gallatin Valley, at 13 Mile Lamb and Wool Company. It’s a spectacular setting...

This episode of Voices from the Field introduces us to New Zealand shepherd Bev Trowbridge. It’s the latest in ATTRA’s five-part series “She’s Raising Sheep.” Trained as an agroecologist in the United Kingdom, Bev has raised heritage sheep and small-frame cattle on New Zealand’s North Island for two decades. Bev tells NCAT Regenerative Grazing Specialist Linda Poole that “sheep are the best biosti...

This episode of Voices from the Field is part of “Starting a Farm,” an occasional series from Rockiell Woods, who directs NCAT’s Gulf States Regional Office in Jackson, Mississippi, and Bill Evans, director of horticulture at Up in Farms food hub in Jackson.    In this episode, their conversation focuses on the importance of reviewing the last growing season and planning the next, along with strat...

This episode of Voices from the Field is the first in a five-part series about women raising sheep. The She’s Raising Sheep series features practical tips for starting and growing a profitable sheep business, plus we’ll have some laughs along the way.  Indiana farmer Denice Rackley talks with NCAT Regenerative Grazing Specialist Linda Poole and shares her journey from a city girl with a dream of r...