ATTRA - Voices from the Field

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Lacy Stephens of the National Farm to School Network talks with Joseph Martinez of Arizona Microgreens, based in Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona Microgreens produce organically-grown microgreens – like micro salad mixes, micro kale, and pea shoots – for restaurants, farmers markets, schools, and hospitals throughout Arizona. Joseph discusses the opportunities, c...

In this episode, Nina Prater, a sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's southeast office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, continues a discussion about electric fencing with her husband, Jeremy Prater. Jeremy is the owner and operator of Cedar Creek Farm, a sustainable diversified livestock operation in the Ozarks of Arkansas. Jeremy has used electric fencing to manage cattle, goats, hogs, an...

In this episode, Nina Prater, a sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's southeast office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, talks about electric fencing with her husband, Jeremy Prater. Jerry is the owner and operator of Cedar Creek Farm, a sustainable diversified livestock operation in the Ozarks of Arkansas. Jeremy has used electric fencing to manage cattle, goats, hogs, and poultry. In this...

This episode is the second in a two-part series featuring NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Kara Kroeger talking with family members Glenn, Melanie, and Linnaea Elzinga from Alderspring Ranch in Idaho. Glenn and his family raise wild, organic grass-fed beef on their remote family ranch and deliver their products to customers across the nation. In this episode, they discuss the family's...

This episode is the first in a two-part series featuring NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Kara Kroeger talking with ifamily members Glenn, Malanie, and Linnea Elzinga from Alderspring Ranch in Idaho. Glenn and his family raise wild, organic grass-fed beef on their remote family ranch and deliver their products to customers across the nation. In this episode, they discuss the family dynamics...

In this episode, the second of a two-part series, NCAT Southwest Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Colin Mitchell continues his conversation with guest Rowan Reid from Australia on agroforestry -— farming with trees. Rowan was a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne for 20 years, is the managing director at the Australian Agroforestry Foundation, and has written or co-authored eight book...

In this episode, the first of two, NCAT Southwest Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Colin Mitchell speaks with guest Rowan Reid from Australia to discuss agroforestry — farming with trees. Rowan was a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne for 20 years and is managing director of the Australian Agroforestry Foundation. He has written or co-authored eight books, including his most recent r...

In this episode, Mike Morris, NCAT's Southwest Regional Director, talks with Dr. Barbara Bellows about her new ATTRA publication, Microbial Inoculants. Also known as biofertilizers or biostimulants, microbial inoculants contain beneficial microorganisms and are intended to stimulate plant growth, reduce pest and disease problems, and protect plants from various stress conditions. Dr. Bellows...

In this episode, Margo Hale, NCAT's Southeast Regional Director, visits with U.S. Senator John Boozman of Arkansas. Margo has known the senator since she was a child and has worked with Sen. Boozman's office on agriculture issues since he entered Congress. With Senator Boozman's new role as Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Margo welcomed an opportunity to visit wi...

In this episode, Mike Morris, NCAT's Southwest Regional Director, talks with Dr. Barbara Bellows about her new ATTRA publication Soil Health Indicators and Tests. Recent years have seen an explosion of new soil health tests, measuring a wide variety of indicators that depend on the activity of soil microorganisms. Dr. Bellows is a soil scientist with the Texas Institute for Applied Environmen...

In this episode, NCAT Southeast Regional Office Director Margo continues her conversation with Linda Coffey, an NCAT livestock specialist, regarding tips for those considering raising livestock. Margo also is a livestock specialist and lifelong livestock producer, and she and Linda both raise livestock near Fayetteville, Arkansas, where the NCAT Southeast Regional Office is located. In Part 1 (Epi...

In this episode, Rockiell Woods, director of NCAT's Gulf States Regional Office in Jackson, Mississippi, has a conversation about the effect the COVID-19 pandemic is having on farms – both as a growing operation and as a business. Joining him are Dr. Cindy Ayers-Elliot of Foot Print Farms in Jackson and Dr. Bill Evans, director of horticulture at Up in Farms Food Hub, also located in Jackson....

In this episode, Nina Prater, a sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's southeast office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, talks with Dr. Phillip Owens and Dr. Amanda Ashworth about a new piece of farm technology called a subsurfer. Dr. Owens is research leader with the Dale Bumpers Small-Farm Research Center in Booneville, Arkansas, and Dr. Ashworth is a research soil scientist with the USDA...

In this episode, Margo Hale and Linda Coffey, lifelong livestock producers and long-time NCAT livestock specialists, talk about getting started in livestock. What is the appeal, and what are the important considerations? Margo is director of NCAT's Southeast Regional Office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where she and Linda both work. In their conversation, Margo and Linda emphasize the importanc...

In this episode, Jeff Schahczenski, NCAT agricultural and natural resource economist, and Marieke de Ruyter de Wildt discuss issues surrounding the possibly disruptive technology of blockchain as used in agriculture and food supply chain management. Blockchain technology is often described as a system that maintains a record of transactions across several computers that are linked to a peer-to-pee...

In this episode, Jeff Schahczenski, an agricultural and natural resource economist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology, discusses working-lands conservation solutions with NCAT outreach specialist Rich Myers. Both work out of NCAT's headquarters in Butte, Montana. In the 2018 Farm Bill, significant changes were made in the two most important federal working-lands conservation...

This week's episode is part of an occasional series from Rockiell Woods, Director of NCAT's Gulf States Regional Office in Jackson, Mississippi, and Bill Evans, Director of Horticulture at Up in Farms Food Hub in Jackson. This series is all about starting a farm. Today's conversation is focused on water issues. For more information on this topic, you can contact Rockiell Woods direc...

In this episode, Tammy Howard, an agriculture specialist who works out of NCAT's Rocky Mountain West Regional Office in Butte, Montana, talks with two tribal food officials about their approach to sourcing food and selling it through their "mobile markets" in rural areas of Minnesota and Mississippi. They also discuss their approach to providing healthy, local food to tribal members...

In this episode, Martin Guerena, a sustainable agriculture specialist based at NCAT's Western Regional Office in Davis, California, speaks with Alex Ellison of Castlerock Farm in Walnut Creek, California. The conversation includes a description of the Castlerock Farm operation as well as the initial results and challenges of Castlerock's trials in solarization and biosolarization. Alex a...

SIFT — or Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training program — aims to help communities increase their food security by producing their own healthy food. SIFT, with NCAT, has a working, sustainably managed, demonstration farm on five acres at our Butte office. This farm is the center of a program that teaches farmers and future farmers, urban food producers, community leaders, and citizens how to produce...

In this episode, Margo Hale, NCAT's Southeast Regional Office director and a livestock specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable-agriculture program, joins livestock specialist Linda Coffey to discuss the important problem of internal parasites. The conversation covers why internal parasites are such a force to be reckoned with, as well as ways producers can work with nature to manage the...

In this episode, Colin Mitchell, a sustainable agriculture specialist based out of NCAT's Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, is joined by Jeanne Merrill, policy director at the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN). Colin and Jeanne discuss different "Climate Smart Agriculture" tools and policies in California, including the Healthy Soils Program; the Sta...

In this episode, Kara Kroeger, a sustainable agriculture specialist who works out of NCAT's Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, talks with Bill Nieman, the owner of Native American Seed, a native seed company in Junction, Texas. Bill shares his history in the native-seed business and talks about how native seeds can help improve ecosystem health, among other benefits. He also sha...

In this episode, Linda Coffey, a Livestock Specialist with NCAT's Southeast Regional Office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, talks with Janet Vorwald Dohner, a farmer and noted expert on livestock guardian animals. The author of four books about the wonderful dogs that serve as livestock guardians, Jan brings more than 40 years of experience and a wealth of research and knowledge to the conversatio...

In this episode, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Colin Mitchell is joined by Brian Brandt, the Agriculture Conservation Innovations Director at the American Farmland Trust. Colin and Brian discuss ecosystem service markets with a focus on water quality trading, a type of ecosystem service market that pays farmers for the adoption of sustainable agriculture practices that improve water qual...