ATTRA - Voices from the Field

In this episode of Voices from the Field , NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Mike Lewis sits down with Wayne Riley, executive director of the Laurel County African American Heritage Center in London, Kentucky, to discuss his work in the community, including the challenges and benefits that have arisen during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Laurel County African American Heritage Center is a non-p...

In this episode of Voices from the Field , two agriculture specialists who work out of NCAT's headquarters in Butte, Montana, talk about responding to the unexpectedly dry and hot conditions of this year's growing season. NCAT's Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training program (SIFT) operates a high-altitude urban demonstration farm in Butte. Farm manager John Wallace and NCAT Rocky Moun...

This week's episode of Voices from the Field takes a look at solar grazing, the practice of using livestock to manage the vegetation under solar panels. Sheep are widely considered the best animal for solar grazing, and they are being used in many countries with great success. National Center for Appropriate Technology Livestock Specialist Linda Coffey talks with Lexie Hain, a co-founder of t...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, we travel to Jackson, Mississippi, for a discussion of urban agriculture with NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Felicia Bell and Otis Wright, an urban farm manager and consultant. Otis talks about his experience with urban agriculture, as well as the ways he has found that urban agriculture can benefit communities beyond providing nutritious food. Re...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Mike Lewis sits down with Dr. Tom Webster from Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension Services to talk about the role pollinators play in farm ecosystems, how to attract more pollinators, and how to protect them when they arrive. It all comes down to planning, and Dr. Webster offers some great strategies for...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Colin Mitchell talks with Matt Kutugata about using drones in agriculture. Before Matt started pursuing his Ph. D. in Agronomy from Texas A&M, he worked with Colin and the rest of NCAT's Southwest Regional office team on the Subtropical Soil Health Initiative as a graduate researcher at the University of Tex...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Asha Tillman shares the story of James Burch, who left Carroll County, Mississippi, for the military and other pursuits some 40 years ago. Now, he has returned to pursue his dream of starting Coleman's Farm. As a beginning farmer, Mr. Burch is full of plans and advice for other beginning farmer veterans. Related...

Native plants bring both beauty and resilience to the farmscape. In this episode of Voices from the Field, Eric Fuselier, an environmental project manager at the Arkansas and Oklahoma civil engineering firm Crafton Tull, tells the story of native plants and the benefits they offer in a conversation with NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Nina Prater. Native plants bring both beauty and resili...

Not all superheroes wear capes, that includes worms. In this episode of Voices from the Field, Nina Prater, sustainable agriculture specialist in the NCAT Southeast office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, talks with Matt Casteel, owner of Wurmworks, a composting business in Jackson, Mississippi. The two take a closer look at worms as composting superheroes. Casteel explains how to identify "good&qu...

In this episode, you can make the acquaintance of NCAT's new Regenerative Grazing Specialist, Linda Poole. Linda's love of working wildlands began with riding horseback at her family's Eastern Washington ranch and led to a Master of Science degree in wildlife ecology from Oregon State University. She managed The Nature Conservancy's 60,000-acre Matador Grassbank in Montana and...

Regenerative Livestock Specialist Justin Morris may be new to the National Center for Appropriate Technology, but he's no stranger to using grazing as a tool to improve pasture quality and soil health. In this interview with NCAT Program Specialist Tracy Mumma, Justin explains how he first became interested in managing grazing to improve the land resource and discusses how livestock producers...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, National Center for Appropriate Technology Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Martin Guerena speaks with Robert Ramming to learn more about Robert's U-pick operation near Woodland, California. Robert's Pacific Star Gardens raises apricots, berries, melons, tomatoes, and eggs. It sells from a roadside stand and U-pick fields. Robert explains his c...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, National Center for Appropriate Technology Southeast Regional Director Margo Hale talks with Mike Lewis, a new NCAT sustainable agriculture specialist. From his Kentucky farm, Mike explains that farming is part of his DNA. Mike is a military veteran who founded Growing Warriors, a veteran-oriented food security project. In addition, Mike became the first f...

In this episode, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Colin Mitchell who works out of NCAT's Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, sits down with Stephanie Kasper, a biology research associate at University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, to discuss ways to ensure successful nodulation of legume cover crops. In a crop rotation, legume cover crops have the potential to add bioavailable...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Tammy Howard, a National Center for Appropriate Technology sustainable agriculture specialist at NCAT's Rocky Mountain West Regional Office, talks with Alison Patrick of the Feed our Future initiative, based in northeast Ohio. Tammy and Alison talk about the Feed our Future Farm to School pilot program, which led to the development of a school purchas...

In this episode, Maura Henn, a community food system specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology's Western Regional Office in Butte, Montana, talks with representatives of the Oregon Farmers Market Association. They are Kelly Crane, OFMA's executive director; Amanda Cross, OFMA's programs manager; and Mallory Rahe, PhD, assistant extension professor of Agriculture...

This episode is the second of a two-part discussion with Kara Kroeger, a sustainable agriculture specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology's Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, and Dr. Chris Grotegut of Hereford, Texas, which is located in the Texas Panhandle. Chris is a veterinarian, farmer, and stockman, as well as a cutting-edge producer of organic crops a...

This episode is the first of a two-part discussion with Kara Kroeger, a sustainable agriculture specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology's Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, and Dr. Chris Grotegut of Hereford, Texas, which is located in the Texas Panhandle. Chris is a veterinarian, farmer, and stockman, as well as a cutting-edge producer of organic crops an...

Entrevista en Radio Bilingüe del especialista en agricultura sostenible Martin Guerena del Centro Nacional de Tecnología Apropiada sobre algunas prácticas que promueven la salud y fertilidad del suelo. Recursos de ATTRA Recursos en Español El Manejo Sostenible del Suelo Los Cinco Principios de la Salud del Suelo Suelos Salinos y Sódicos Solarización y Biosolarización del Suelo Hojas de Datos: Comp...

This episode of Voices from the Field is a the second part of a discussion between Ben Thomas of California Alliance of Family Farms, Hope Sippola of Fiery Ginger Farm in West Sacramento, California, and Vince Caguin of the Natomas, California, Unified School District. The conversation begins with Vince asking Hope and Vince what inspires them to be involved in farm-to-school markets. In the first...

This episode is a the first part of a discussion between Ben Thomas of California Alliance of Family Farms, Hope Sippola of Fiery Ginger Farm in West Sacramento, California, and Vince Caguin of the Natomas, California, Unified School District. Hope and Vince discuss how the relationship between Fiery Ginger Farm and the school district has evolved and how the farm set about maintaining school sale...

In this episode, Andrew Coggins, director of NCAT's Rocky Mountain West Regional Office in Butte, Montana, talks with Cora Helm, owner and operator of LC Compost Solutions. The business, located near Helena, Montana, includes what is called "mortality composting," which Cora sees as method for organic waste reduction and a sustainable alternative to land-filling, burial, and cremati...

Multiple income streams can help farmers creatively expand their on-farm business. In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Justin Duncan talks with Edward Morgan, Jr., about how he did just that with by turning a new beekeeping operation into an agritourism experience.  Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this p...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Jenileigh Harris, a National Farm to School Network program associate, talks with Alma Maquitico from Anthony Youth Farm in southern New Mexico. Anthony Youth Farm is a small organic farm that provides farming and training opportunities for rural and low-income youth and sells its products to schools through a purchasing cooperative program facilitated by...

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Lacy Stephens of the National Farm to School Network talks with Alicia Ellingsworth of the Kansas City Food Hub and KC Farm School.  Alicia shares the benefits, opportunities, and strategies for successful school sales from the perspective of a food hub operator and also shares insight on the benefits of selling through a food hub from the perspective of t...