ATTRA - Voices from the Field

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Agricultural and Natural Resource Economist Jeff Schahczenski talks with Aria McLauchlan and Harley Cross about how to measure the impact that soil health practices can have in migrating the impacts of weather and climate disruption.

Aria and Harley are co-founders of Land Core, a non-profit organization advancing soil health policies and programs that create value for farmers, businesses, and communities. Land Core guided the successful passage of language supporting soil health at the USDA in both the House and Senate in 2019 and built a broad coalition that helped secure more than $50 million in federal investment for soil health in the 2018 Farm Bill.

Aria is Land Core's executive director, and she previously spent a decade working in communications, business development, and marketing. Harley is a serial entrepreneur with a background in food manufacturing, supply chains, and brand management. They live in Grass Valley in northern California.

NCAT Soil for Water Project
NCAT is scaling up its Soil for Water project to include livestock producers and farmers across eight states.

Soil for Water supports a network of farmers and ranchers who are taking steps to catch and hold more water in the soil through land management practices that improve soil health, reduce erosion, sustain diverse plant and animal life, and filter out pollutants.

The project grew out of persistent droughts, which are straining agricultural producers across the country. It combines the use of appropriate technology, peer-to-peer learning, and on-farm monitoring to encourage the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices.

The Soil for Water project is about building lasting infrastructure that will make farms, ranches and communities more resilient in the face of persistent drought and other natural disasters across the eight-state project region.

Learn more at soilforwater.org.

Related ATTRA Resources:

• Crop Insurance and Risk Management
• Soils and Compost
• Climate Disruptions, Agriculture and Crop Insurance: What are the Connections?
• Climate Change and Perennial Fruit and Nut Production: Investing in Resilience in Uncertain Times

Other Resources

• Land Core

Contact Jeff Schahczenski via email at [email protected].

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA's website.

You also can stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.

Keep up with NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm at its

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-profit founded in 2004 to preserve African American history in Laurel County, Kentucky, and devoted to helping those in the area increase their self-reliance and take greater control of the social and financial aspects of their lives. The heritage center has grown in mission and operations since that time. Today, it operates the center, a working and educational farm, a commercial kitchen, and a farmers market.

Related ATTRA Resources:

• Food Hubs: A Producer Guide
• Guide for Organic Crop Producers
• How to Accept SNAP Cards at Your Farmers Market

Other Resources

• Laurel County African American Heritage Center
• Grow Appalachia
• Community Farm Alliance

Contact Mike Lewis via email at [email protected].

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA's website.

You also can stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.

Keep up with NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm at its website.

Also check out NCAT's Regional Offices' websites and Facebook Pages!

Southwest Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Western Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Rocky Mountain West Regional Office: Facebook

Gulf States Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Southeast Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Northeast Regional Office: Website / Facebook

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 Mountain West Regional Director Andrew Coggins give an update on the changes in crops, pest management, and growing strategies the season brought, and their efforts to work with, not against, the changes.

Related ATTRA Resources:

• SIFT. Small Scale Intensive Farm Training
• SIFT 2018: Lessons from a Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm
• SIFT 2019: Continuing Lessons from a Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm
• SIFT 2020: A Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm and a Year of Local Food
• SIFT Farm's Unusual Year
• Hydroponics at NCAT's SIFT Farm

Contact Andrew Coggins and John Wallace via email at [email protected] and [email protected]

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA's website.

You also can stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.

Keep up with NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm at its website.

Also check out NCAT's Regional Offices' websites and Facebook Pages!

Southwest Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Western Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Rocky Mountain West Regional Office: Facebook

Gulf States Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Southeast Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Northeast Regional Office: Website / Facebook

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 the American Solar Grazing Association. Lexie, who began grazing sheep at solar arrays in 2016, talks about how she began solar grazing and offers practical tips for anyone who is considering the practice.

With agricultural land in high demand and requirements to expand renewable energy, using land for agriculture and energy at the same time is better for the environment, the solar company, the farmers, and the sheep.

Related ATTRA Resources:

• Sheep and Goats

Other Resources:

• American Solar Grazing Association
• Agrivoltaic Solutions

Contact Linda Coffey via email at [email protected].

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA's website.

You also can stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.

Keep up with NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm at its website.

Also check out NCAT's Regional Offices' websites and Facebook Pages!

Southwest Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Western Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Rocky Mountain West Regional Office: Facebook

Gulf States Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Southeast Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Northeast Regional Office: Website / Facebook

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.

Related ATTRA Resources:

• Urban and Community Agriculture

Other Resources:

• 100 Black Men of America
• Tougaloo College

Contact Felicia Bell via email at [email protected].

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA's website.

You also can stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.

Keep up with NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm at its website.

Also check out NCAT's Regional Offices' websites and Facebook Pages!

Southwest Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Western Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Rocky Mountain West Regional Office: Facebook

Gulf States Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Southeast Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Northeast Regional Office: Website / Facebook

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 increasing pollinator health and diversity on your farm.

Related ATTRA Resources:

• A Pictorial Guide to Hedgerow Plants for Beneficial Insects
• Alternative Pollinators: Native Bees

Contact Mike Lewis via email at [email protected].

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA's website.

You also can stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.

Keep up with NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm at its website.

Also check out NCAT's Regional Offices' websites and Facebook Pages!

Southwest Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Western Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Rocky Mountain West Regional Office: Facebook

Gulf States Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Southeast Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Northeast Regional Office: Website / Facebook

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 Texas at Rio Grande Valley.

Much of Matt's research has been driven by data gathered by drones. He and Colin discuss ways drones increasingly are being used in agriculture, including scouting agricultural operations and using multispectral cameras to monitor cover crops.

This podcast was produced by the National Center for Appropriate Technology through the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program, under a cooperative agreement with USDA Rural Development. This podcast was also made possible in part by funding from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant #69-3A75-17-281. ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.

Related ATTRA Resources:

• Subtopical Soil Health Initiative
• Cover Crops for Hot and Humid Areas

Other Resources:

• The Application of Advanced Technologies for Agriculture and Rangeland Management
• Integrating Emerging Technologies in Understanding Complex Agroecosystems: Evaluating Cover Crops Using Unmanned Aerial Systems in South Texas.
• Automatic Camera Trap Classification Using Wildlife-Specific Deep Learning in Nilgai ManagementAutomatic Camera Trap Classification in Nilgai Management
• Seed Rain Potential in Late-season Weed Escapes can be Estimated Using Remote Sensing

Contact Colin Mitchell via email at [email protected].

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA's website.

You also can stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.

Keep up with NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm at its website.

Also check out NCAT's Regional Offices' websites and Facebook Pages!

Southwest Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Western Regional Office:

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 ATTRA Resources:

• Armed to Farm: Sustainable Agriculture Training for Military Veterans
• Farm Start-Up
• Beginning Farmer Tutorials
• A Beginning Farmer Tells Her Story

Other Resources:

• AgPlan
• Using an Excel Sheet for Farm Financial Records
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives (EQUIP) Program
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Wildlife Habitat Program
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Work for Honey Bees
• How NRCS is Helping Pollinators

Contact Asha Tillman via email at [email protected].

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA's website.

You also can stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.

Keep up with NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm at its website.

Also check out NCAT's Regional Offices' websites and Facebook Pages!

Southwest Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Western Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Rocky Mountain West Regional Office: Facebook

Gulf States Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Southeast Regional Office:

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 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.

Farmers can use native plants in many creative ways to provide such benefits as biological pest control, bioremediation, and erosion control. Eric and Nina also talk about different ways farmers can create profitable enterprises with native plants, such as native forage species for livestock, native food crops, native cut flower production, and herbal medicines.

Related ATTRA Resources:

• A Pictorial Guide to Hedgerow Plants for Beneficial Insects
• Farmscaping for Biological Control
• Pawpaw: A "Tropical" Fruit for a Temperate Climate
• Voices from the Field. Episode 170. Native Seeds
• Voices from the Field. Episode 163. Farming Medicinal Plants

Other Resources:

• Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes
• Arkansas Native Plant Society
• Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants
• iNaturalist

Contact Nina Prater via email at [email protected].

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA's website.

You also can stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.

Keep up with NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm at its website.

Also check out NCAT's Regional Offices' websites and Facebook Pages!

Southwest Regional Office: Website / Facebook

Western Regional Office: Website / Facebook

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" compost, the ins-and-outs of worm composting, why compost is so good for soil health, and how composting can put food waste to good use.

Related ATTRA Resources:
Worms for Bait or Waste Processing
Vermicomposting: The Basics
Managing Soils for Water: How Five Principles of Soil Health Support Water Infiltration and Storage
Worms for Bait of Waste Processing (Vermicomposting)

Other Resources:
wurmworks
Teaming with Microbes
Texas Worm Ranch
The Worm Farmer's Handbook
Dr. Norman Arancon, University Hawaii
Soil Food Web
Chris Trump (Korean) Natural Farming
The Good Food Revolution
aWorms Eat My Garbage

Labs that perform compost bioassay:
Small Labs -
https://catalystbioamendments.com
https://www.crescivesoil.org/
Big Labs -
https://midwestbiosystems.com/services/
https://www.blinc.com/services/agriculture-analysis/manure-and-compost-analysis
Sources for Worms:
http://txwormranch.com/
https://www.texaswormfarm.com/
https://www.wormcastings.biz/
https://unclejimswormfarm.com/

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other reso