ATTRA - Voices from the Field

In this episode, Nina Prater, an agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program talks with farmer Janet Bachmann about Janet's production practices at Riverbend Gardens in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Nina works out of NCAT's Southeast Regional office in Fayetteville, where Janet, who also is a former NCAT agriculture specialist, has been farming since 1989. They talk about specialty cut flower production and marketing and how Janet makes it all work as a one-woman operation.

For more information on this topic, you can contact Nina Prater directly at [email protected]

Related ATTRA Resources:
Specialty Cut Flower Production and Marketing
Market Gardening: A Start-Up Guide
Farmers Markets: Marketing and Business Guide

Other Resources:
Riverbend Gardens Facebook page
Lynn Byczynski, The Flower Farmer
Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers
Native Plant Network

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 1-800-346-9140 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 podcast, we hear from Tammy Howard, agriculture specialist at NCAT's Rocky Mountain West office in Butte, Montana, and David Wise, certified Produce Safety trainer and consultant. They talk about a new tool to help farmers navigate the complicated food safety regulatory environment. The Farmer Regulatory Toolkit helps farmers understand the different regulations that might apply to them based on their size and markets. It also provides an additional tool to conduct a quick food safety self-assessment. This innovative tool will create a document that can be used to present to buyers or any markets that may be requiring food safety standards on the part of the farmer.

Related ATTRA Resources:
ATTRA's On-Farm Food Safety and FSMA page
Farmer Regulatory Toolkit

Additional ATTRA resources include:
Farm-Based Food Safety video series
An Illustrated Guide to Growing Safe Produce on your Farm
Farm Food Safety and Organic Certification Co-Compliance Guide for Specialty Crop Farmers

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 1-800-346-9140 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, Rockiell Woods, director of NCAT's Gulf States Office in Jackson, Mississippi, begins an occasional series on scaling up agriculture operations with Bill Evans, director of horticulture with Up in Farms Food Hub in Jackson.

Rockiell and Bill talk about when scaling up – increasing production or investing in ways to reduce costs – is appropriate. They also set the stage for discussing other issues a small producer considering scaling up would need to address, such as marketing, finance, and labor costs.

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

Related ATTRA Resources:
Food Hub
Local Marketing, Processing, and Institutions
Scaling Up Your Vegetable Farm for Regional Markets
Scaling Up for Regional Markets: Midwest Case Studies
Scaling Up tutorial
Intermediated Markets tutorial
A Conversation with Atina Diffley podcast
Bringing Local Foods to Local Institutions

Other Resources:
Up in Farms Food Hub website
Up in Farms Food Hub Facebook page

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 1-800-346-9140 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, Martin Guerena, a sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program talks with "Amigo Bob" Cantisano.

Bob is a pioneer in California organic agriculture, and he is well known as the founding organizer of the annual Ecological Farming Conference, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2020. It is one of the largest sustainable agriculture gatherings in the western United States.

Martin works at NCAT's Western Regional office in Davis, California.

Martin and Bob discuss the history of organic agriculture and what Bob sees as its challenges and opportunities going forward, including regulatory practices, labor challenges, and increased demand.

You can contact Martin Guerena directly via email at [email protected].

Related ATTRA Resources:
Organic Farming

Other Resources:
Ecological Farming Association
Felix Gillet Institute website
Felix Gillet Institute Facebook page

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 1-800-346-9140 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 podcast Margo Hale, Regional Director of NCAT's Southeast Regional office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, talks with Dr. Anne Fanatico about ecological poultry production and alternative feeds for poultry diets. Anne teaches and conducts research at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. They talk about poultry feed and alternatives to the standard corn and soybean diet, including insects, worms, and potatoes. They also discuss practical tips for ecological poultry production. For more information on this topic, you can contact Margo Hale directly at [email protected]

Related ATTRA Resources:
Pastured Poultry Nutrition and Forages
Pastured-Raised Poultry Nutrition
Poultry Production: Providing Adequate Methionine
Integrating Livestock and Crops
Vermicomposting: The Basics

Other Resources

Webinar - Producing and Using Black Soldier Fly Larvae in Small Poultry Flocks

Sustainable Fish and Invertebrate Meals for Methionine and Protein Feeds in Organic Poultry Production - The Journal of Applied Poultry Research

American Pastured Poultry Producers Association

Fertrell Company - Natural and Organic Fertilizer, Soil Amendments and Livestock Nutrition

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 1-800-346-9140 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

In this podcast NCAT Agriculture Specialist Felicia Bell has a conversation with Tracy Galloway, of Galloway Family Farm near Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Felicia and Tracy talk about how to add value to an existing farm through agritourism. Tracy is a third-generation family farmer who began to transition his farm to a tourist destination three years go with tours, education, special events, and products for sale. Felicia Bell is located at NCAT's Gulf States Office in Jackson, Mississippi.

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

NCAT Resources
Agritourism for Beginners

Roots to Revenue: Making Agritourism Work for Your Farm

Tips for Selling with Agritourism and “Pick-Your-Own”

Other Resources

Iowa State University resources and risk-management for agritourism

Home | Galloway Family Farm

You can get in touch with NCAT specialists and find access to our trusted, practical sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.

In this episode, Omar Rodriguez, a sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, has a conversation about biostimulants with Meerae Park, a master's degree student in the Plant Sciences Department at the University of California Davis. Omar, who works out of NCAT's Western Regional Office in Davis, California, and Meerae give an overview of biostimulants – which are generally described as substances that aren't fertilizers, pesticides, or growth regulators but can affect plants' yield, quality, and vigor. They discuss categories of biostimulants, how they may affect plants, the sometimes difficult task of defining which substances are biostimulants, how farmers can research which biostiumulants might be helpful for their crops, and other aspects of Meerae's research. For more information on this topic, you can contact Omar Rodriguez directly at [email protected].

Related ATTRA Resources:
Sources of Organic Fertilizers and Amendments
Resource Guide to Organic and Sustainable Vegetable Production
Understanding the Soil Microbiome with Nicole Masters

Other Resources

Biostimulants: What are they and do they work?

Crop Biostimulants

Plant Biostimulants: Definition, concept, main categories and regulation

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 1-800-346-9140 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 /

In this episode, Margo Hale, director of NCAT Southeast Regional Office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Linda Coffey, a livestock specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, discuss some timely spring topics that are impacting their own farms: pastures, parasites, and predators. Margo and Linda, who whose farms are both in the area talk about: handling excess forage, electronet tips and warnings, weeds and poisonous plants, and grazing recordkeeping. They also touch on pasture management to minimize internal parasite problems and the use of livestock guardian animals to protect stock from predation.  They refer to a number of resources and invite listeners to contact them with ideas for future podcasts. To suggest podcasts subjects or get more information on the issues in this podcast, you can contact Margo Hale and Linda Coffey directly via email at [email protected] and [email protected]

Related ATTRA Resources:
Pasture, Rangeland, and Grazing Management
Livestock
ATTRA Grazing Planning Manual and Workbook
Sheep and Goats: Frequently Asked Questions
Managed Grazing Tutorial
Livestock and Pasture
FAMACHA Out West

Other Resources

Food Animal Concerns Trust website

Food Animal Concerns Trust Livestock Guardian Animal Overview

Livestock for Landscapes

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 1-800-346-9140 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:

In this episode, Kara Kroeger, a sustainable agriculture specialist with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program, talks with Nicole Masters, a New Zealand agroecologist and director of Integrity Soils. Kara, who works out of NCAT's Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, caught up with Nicole via telephone while Nicole was visiting a client in Big Timber, Montana. They talk about ways in which the "soil microbiome" system that acts as a plant's digestive system mirrors the microbiome of the human digestive system. They discuss how to understand the health of an agricultural operation's soil microbiome, and they talk about ways regenerative agriculture with its focus on soil health can help mitigate the challenges to agriculture that come with a changing climate. Nicole and Kara share resources they see as helpful resources for understanding the topic in more depth.

Related ATTRA Resources:
Soil for Water
Soils & Compost
National Center for Appropriate Technology website

Other Resources

Integrity Soils website

Teaming with Microbes:The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web

The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health

Science in Agriculture

Fertility Pastures

Dirt to Soil

Nourishment

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 1-800-346-9140 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 / Faceb

In this episode, John Wallace, manager of NCAT's SIFT farm, talks with Robin Kelson of the Good Seed Company in Whitefish, Montana. Robin and John discuss questions that beginning seed savers often have as well as resources that are available for those who want to get into the subject in more depth. The SIFT – or Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training – farm is part of NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program and is located NCAT's headquarters in Butte, Montana.For more information on this topic, you can contact John Wallace directly at [email protected].

Related ATTRA Resources:
Directory of Organic Seed Suppliers
Seed Production and Variety Development for Organic Systems

Other Resources

The Good Seed Company Facebook

The Good Seed Company Website

Free the Seeds workshop videos

Seed Savers Exchange Facebook page

The Seed Garden: The Art & Practice of Seed Saving

Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance Facebook page

Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance Website

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 1-800-346-9140 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