ATTRA - Sustainable Agriculture

In this episode, NCAT Specialist Linda Coffey talks with Courtney Ross and Audrey Hollis of the United People’s Community Organization Market and Farm in North St. Louis City, Missouri. The mother and daughter discuss how their organization came to be after they observed how getting involved with gardening created interest in food among neighborhood children and how much the children enjoyed taking part in gardening tasks.

In this episode, NCAT’s Daniel Prial has a conversation with Cary Junior of the Southeast Michigan Producers Association. SEMPA is a cooperative of black, rural farmers outside Detroit. Its focus is getting the cooperative's produce into urban areas, especially areas with high food insecurity.

In this episode, Rich Myers of the National Center for Appropriate Technology talks with Austin Harley, a second-generation blueberry farmer near Covert, Michigan. Harley talks about changing market strategies as producers in more states choose blueberries as a crop; the labor market, and the challenges of dealing with plant-specific insect pests.

In this episode, we talk with Mike Andreas of Andreas Homestead near Raleigh, N.C. Mike, who has had a successful career in the entertainment industry, and his wife, Lynn, moved to North Carolina. After beginning to raise their own poultry, with help from neighbors, they have begun a small poultry meat business, sustainable raising around 300 to 500 birds each year, as well as 10 to 20 goats, on 10 acres. Mike talks about how after just a few years, others in the area have begun asking them for advice, the challenges of processing in North Carolina, and regenerating the tobacco-depleted land the operation is on.

With about a month to go for farmers to participate in the 2017 Census of Agriculture, Brad Summa, Director of the Heartland Region of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, encourages farmers to complete their surveys. The survey, which is completed every five years, plays a significant role both in determining agricultural policy and in providing information producers can use down to the county level across the country. Mr. Summa emphasizes the importance of farmers’ voices being heard and how important the survey is making that happen.

In this episode NCAT specialist Martin Guenera interviews Aldo Andres Marega, an organic farmer from El Gauchito Hill Farm in Yolo County California. The interview includes: biography, first years of experience, farmer's markets and restaurant sales, challenges or challenges of fertilization and pest control, and advice for beginning farmers.

In this episode NCAT Soil Specialist Nina Prater has a wide ranging discussion with Hannah Smith-Brubaker. Hannah is an organic farmer and co-operator of Village Acres Farm near Mifflintown, PA.

She is also a farmer representative on the Northeast SARE Administrative Council and former Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. Hannah talks about the economic benefits of organic and sustainable agriculture and the importance of including all producers in the conversation regardless of their current practices. She notes the strides being made by organic agriculture in Pennsylvania, including high rates of cover cropping and commitment by state government. She also describes her family’s long history of organic farming.

Interview with Aldo Andres Marega organic farmer from El Gauchito Hill Farm in Yolo County California. The interview includes: biography, first years of experience, farmer's markets and restaurant sales, challenges or challenges of fertilization and pest control, and advice for beginning farmers. With Martin Guerena, NCAT program specialist.

In this episode, Luke Freeman, horticulture specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology, talks with Hannah Hemmelgarn, the education program coordinator at The Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri.

The conversation focuses on the wide-ranging possibilities of agroforestry and how producers can determine which may work for their operation. Hannah also lists some available resources; also check out NCAT horticultural specialist Guy Ames' publication "Fruit Trees, Bushes, and Vines for Natural Growing in the Ozarks."

In this episode, National Center for Appropriate Technology Poultry Specialist Kevin Ellis discusses the importance of biosecurity measures for pastured and organic poultry flocks.