ATTRA - Voices from the Field

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 conversation in hopes of helping people succeed with these dogs. Jan talks about the history and traits of livestock guardian dogs and how to find and manage them. She explains how to handle some common problems experienced by dog owners and talks about how to set up our dogs for success.

We'd appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to complete a survey about the podcast. It really helps us improve our sustainable-agriculture resources. The link is in the notes below.

Related ATTRA Resources:

Livestock Guardian Animals: Protecting the Flock or Herd

Other Resources:

Jan Dohner Website

Farm Dogs; A Comprehensive Breed Guide to 93 Guardians

The Encyclopedia of Animal Predators

Livestock Guardians; Using Dogs, Donkeys, and Llamas to Protect Your Herd

The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds

Food Animal Concerns Trust webinars

• Livestock Guardian Animal Overview—Llamas, Donkey, and Dogs: October 18, 2018
• A Deeper Dive into Livestock Guardian Dogs: November 1, 2018
• Troubleshooting Livestock Guardian Dog Behaviors: November 15, 2018
• Predator Protection for Poultry: January 7, 2019
• Predator Protection of Livestock: January 14, 2019

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Resources

Livestock Guardian Dog Program

Livestock Guardian Dogs

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Facebook page

Please complete a brief survey to let us know what you thought of the content presented here.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Resources

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 /

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 quality through the reduction of runoff from manure, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, and sedimentation from soil erosion. Brian goes into extensive detail discussing a multistate water quality trading pilot project focused on the Ohio River Basin watershed and a new pilot on the Scioto River watershed in Central Ohio.

For more information on this topic, you can contact Colin Mitchell directly at [email protected].

Related ATTRA Resources:

Payments for Ecosystem Services

Payments for Ecosystem Services Part I (webinar)

Payments for Ecosystem Services Part II: Carbon Markets and Credit Stacking (webinar)

Other Resources:

American Farmland Trust

Ohio River Basin Trading Program

National Network on Water Quality Trading

Nutrient Tracking Tool

Comet Farm

Please complete a brief survey to let us know what you thought of the content presented here.

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, Margo Hale, NCAT's Southeast Regional Director and Director of NCAT's Armed to Farm Program, talks with Eric Grandon and Sara Creech. Eric is an Army veteran and owner of Sugar Bottom Farm in Ovapa, West Virginia. Sara is an Air Force veteran and owner of Blue Yonder Organic Farm in North Salem, Indiana. Both are alumni of NCAT's Armed to Farm program, a week-long, sustainable agriculture training for military veterans.

Eric and Sara share their experiences in accessing various USDA programs. They talk about the programs and services they have utilized, how those programs have helped them reach their farm goals, and tips for veterans and other farmers as they navigate USDA programs.

This podcast was supported with funding by USDA's Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement.

For more information on this topic, you can contact Margo Hale directly at [email protected].

Related ATTRA Resources:

NCAT's Armed to Farm: Website / Facebook

Veteran Resources

Financing Your Farm: Guidance for Beginning Farmers

Financing Your Farm: Guidance for Beginning Farmers

Federal Conservation Resources for Sustainable Farming and Ranching

High Tunnels and the NRCS

Other Resources:

Eric's Sugar Bottom Farm: Website / Facebook

Sara's Blue Yonder Organic Farm: Website / Facebook

USDA Veteran Initiatives

USDA Service Center Locator

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA)

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

Please complete a brief survey to let us know what you thought of the content presented here.

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 /

In today's episode, Justin Duncan, sustainable agriculture specialist at NCAT's Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, interviews Helen Smiley, a sustainable agriculture consultant located in Turkey. Helen is formerly of Texas and was invited to Turkey to educate refugees in organic farming. She shares some of the differences in agriculture in Turkey versus Texas — from giant-sized cabbage to purple carrots.

For more information on this topic, you can contact Justin Duncan directly at [email protected].

Related ATTRA Resources:

Organic Specialty Crop Production in Texas: A Grower's Handbook

Please complete a brief survey to let us know what you thought of the content presented here.

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, Andrew Coggins, director of the National Center for Appropriate Technology's Rocky Mountain West office, has a conversation with farm manager John Wallace about the unusual growing season so far at NCAT's SIFT Farm.

Both Andrew and John work out of Butte, Montana.

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 high-value, nutrient-rich food on small parcels of land. And in Butte's case, in a challenging climate.

This year, the Butte farm site has endured a heavy spring snow and subsequent high winds, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. John talks about how the farm has reacted, both in production and in its community associations.

Please take a few minutes to complete a survey when the podcast is done. We really value your feedback to help us make our podcasts better. The link is in the notes below.For more information on this topic, contact John Wallace directly at [email protected].

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

Related ATTRA Resources:

NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm website

Urban and Community Agriculture

ATTRA COVID-19 Response

SIFT 2018: Lessons from a Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm

SIFT 2019: Continuing Lessons from a Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm

Production to Address Community Needs

Cherries and Honeyberries in a Cold Climate

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: Websi

In this episode, Nina Prater, a soil specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable-agriculture program, and NCAT's Southeast Regional Director Margo Hale discuss soil pH. They cover the basics – why it's important, how to measure pH, and how to best remedy soil acidity, which is a common concern in Arkansas where they live. They don't discuss alkaline soils in as much depth because it is not Nina's area of expertise. But as she points out, NCAT's ATTRA program does have other specialists who can address that soil issue with farmers.

Margo is a livestock specialist, and she earned degrees in Animal Science and Agricultural & Extension Education without taking a single soil class, so Nina likes to get Margo caught up on all things soil-related. Margo and Nina both work out of NCAT's Southeast Regional Office in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

And please take a few minutes to complete a survey when the podcast is done. We really value your feedback to help us make our podcasts better. The link is in the notes below.

For more information on this topic, contact Nina Prater directly at [email protected] and Margo Hale at [email protected].

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

Related ATTRA Resources:

Voices from the Field: Soil Sessions. Interpreting a Soil Test

Voices from the Field: Soil Sessions. Soil Health and the Five Soil Health Principles

Soil Sampling: A Management Strategy

Soil Management: National Organic Program Regulations

Sustainable Soil Management

Nutrient Cycling in Pastures

Other Resources:

University of Arkansas Extension Service Limestone Quality Calculator

Natural Resources Conservation Service: Soil Quality – Agronomy Technical Note No. 8: Liming To Improve Soil Quality in Acid Soils

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, Devona Bell, NCAT's Director of Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Communities, has a conversation with Maya and Ed Skopal.

Maya and Ed own I-TAL ACRES, a medicinal plant farm and apothecary in Floyd County, Virginia. The Skopals discuss their philosophy of medicinal plants, some of the plants they grow and the methods they use to grow them, how the medicinal plants are processed into products, and I-TAL ACRES' business philosophy.

For more information on this topic, you can contact Devona Bell directly via email at [email protected].

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

Related ATTRA Resources:

I-TAL Acres video playlist

What are some options for marketing medicinal herbs?

Other Resources:

I-TAL Acres

Herbal Resources

Buhner Protocol

Making Plant Medicine

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

IToday's podcast is part of the occasional series entitled "Starting a Farm" 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 episode is about soil considerations on a new farm. They talk about factors that affect soil, how to have yours tested, and the various ways you can improve your soil.

For more information on this topic, you can contact Rockiell Woods directly at [email protected].

Related ATTRA Resources:

ATTRA Soil Resources

Sustainable Soil Management

How to Add Compost on Your Small Farm

Soil Management: National Organic Program Regulations

Tipsheet: Manure in Organic Production Systems

Tipsheet: Assessing the Soil Resource for Beginning Organic Farmers

Other Resources:

Web Soil Survey

Please complete a brief survey to let us know what you thought of the content presented here.

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, NCAT Livestock Specialist Dave Scott has a conversation with Caleb Pirc of Good Shepherd Farm in Meridian, Idaho, about integrated pest-management strategies for their sheep operations. Dave, who, among other duties, works with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable-agriculture program out of NCAT headquarters in Butte, Montana, is the co-owner of Montana Highland Lamb near Whitehall, Montana.

Caleb, who also is the director of governmental affairs for the Idaho Wool Growers Association, raises registered Katahdin. He and Dave talk about reducing parasites in their flocks through grazing strategies, selective deworming, and selecting for genetic resistance in their animals, including the use of the National Sheep Improvement Program’s Estimated Breeding Values.

We'd appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to complete a brief survey to let us know what you thought of the content we’ve presented here. For more information on this topic, you can contact Dave Scott directly at [email protected].

Related ATTRA Resources:

Integrated Parasite Management: Train the Trainer

Other Resources:

Good Shepherd Farm

Sheep Things Podcast

Idaho Wool Growers Association

Katahdin Hair Sheep International

Rocky Mountain Katahdin Association

National Sheep Improvement Program

National Sheep Improvement Program Estimated Breeding Values

Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education

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: Fac

Today's episode is about hydroponic systems NCAT has used at its Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training Program (SIFT) demonstration farm. Lilianna Bento, Energy Corps Intern at NCAT, interviews Andrew Coggins, Director of NCAT's Rocky Mountain West regional office in Butte, Montana, about innovations and simplifications made to their hydroponic system since 2016.

For more information on this topic, you can contact Andrew Coggins directly at [email protected].

ATTRA Resources:

SIFT 2018: Lessons from a Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm

SIFT 2019: Continuing Lessons from a Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm

SIFT Blogs:

Hydroponics: Root Indicators By John Wallace, SIFT Farm Manager

SIFT Hydroponics SystemBy Westley Lund, SIFT Intern

Small Hydroponics Experiment Comparing Two Systems By Andrew Coggins, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Project Coordinator

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