ATTRA - Voices from the Field

This episode of Voices from the Field was produced in partnership with ATTRA and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. To learn more about SARE’s library of practical information and available grants to fund projects that advance sustainable agriculture, visit SARE.ORG.

 In this episode, Maura Henn, an NCAT Local Food Systems Specialist, talks with Michal DeChellis of the Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO) in Montana. Michal is AERO’s Program Manager for the Montana Food Economy Initiative (MFEI), a project that has been funded through a Western SARE Grant.

Maura and Michal talk about the process of conducting Community Food Assessments around Montana and the importance of bringing together multiple stakeholders from different parts of community food systems when building a coalition for food systems work. Maura and Michal also talk about some of the first projects, which were launched in 2020, and adaptations and improvements made to the 2023-2024 round of community assessments.  

Related ATTRA Resources:

·       Farmers Markets

·       Local Food Systems

Other Resources:

·       Montana Food Economy Initiative

·       AERO

·       Montana Food System Resource Library

·       Butte Community Food Assessment Video Story 

·       Butte Winter Farmers Market

·       MSU Food Product Development Lab 

·       Montana Harvest of the Month 

·       Iowa State Food Assessment Training Certificate Program 

·       Double SNAP Dollars - Montana 

·        Northern Plains Resource Council

Contact Maura Henn at [email protected].  

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

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

In this episode of Voices from the Field, urban farmer Pasha Angelle of Healing Den Farms in Houston, Texas, discusses how farming realities led her to shift gears and produce microgreens literally in-house rather than crops out in the field in the brutal Texas climate. This risk-management decision has expanded her experience and led her to a new customer base.  

This podcast is 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 Southern Risk
Management Education Center, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture,
through the University of Arkansas.  

Related ATTRA Resources: 

·        Urban Agriculture 

·        Local Food Systems 

Other Resources: 

·        Healing Den 

Contact Justin Duncan at [email protected].  

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

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

Sheri Langford is a straight-talking Texas shepherd, dog trainer, and retired crime- scene investigator.  

 In this episode of Voices from the Field, Sheri talks with NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Linda Poole about raising Navajo-Churro sheep – which she calls “the mustangs of the sheep world”– with the help of her border collie, Anatolian, and Great Pyrenees guardian dogs. On her Red Feather Ranch, Sheri says, predators are like pilots: there are old predators, and there are bold predators, but, thanks to her dogs, there are no old, bold predators.  

 Sheri also talks about her journey from crime scene investigator to shepherd, how to prepare a flock for wildfire, training sheep to avoid “rope and hoist” milking, and other tales of life with small ruminants. 

 This Voices from the Field episode is part of NCAT’s “She’s Raising Sheep” podcast series. 

 Related ATTRA Resources:  
·        She’s Raising Sheep Series  

·        Tips for Marketing Sheep and Goat Products: Dairy  

·        Tips for Marketing Sheep and Goat Products: Fiber  

 Other Resources:
·        The Red Feather Ranch 

·        Navajo-Churro Sheep Association

·        Farm Fresh Forensics: Life Between the Barnyard and the Body Farm

 Contact Linda Poole at [email protected]. 

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

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

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Tracy Mumma talks with Jim Gronau, who uses oxen as draft animals on his farm in Ontario, Canada. Jim describes some of the environmental, economic, and marketing benefits of using oxen, and he provides pointers for getting started as a teamster and for starting a young team of oxen. Jim also explains what an ox is and talks about how versatile oxen can be on a farm. Finally, Jim reflects on the magic moment when everything comes together and the animals and driver become a team.

Related ATTRA Resources:

·        Episode 333. Draft Animals 101
·        Draft Animal Power for Farming

Other Resources:

·        Draft Animal Power Network
·        Oxen: A Teamster’s Guide to Raising, Training, Driving & Showing
·        Oxen: Their Care, Training, and Use
·        Live Power in Agriculture: Working Equines and Bovines Class
·        Midwest Ox Drovers Association
·        All Things Oxen
·        Oxen in Canada
·        Small Farmer’s Journal
·        Rural Heritage
·        World Draft Cattle Symposium

 Contact Tracy Mumma at [email protected].

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

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

For centuries, draft animals were the premier power source for agriculture.  Although tractors eventually usurped draft animals on most farms, ranches, and forests, some teamsters have kept the traditions alive. With the upswing of modern homesteading and people striving for ecologically beneficial agricultural practices, it looks like draft power is making a comeback. 

 In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist and
wanna-be teamster Linda Poole quizzes seasoned experts Tracy Mumma (also an NCAT staff member), Tracy’s husband David Sturman, and Jim Gronau – an oxen teamster from Canada –on the what, why, and how of getting started with draft animals.  

If you want to learn more, be sure to come back for the next episode– an in-depth conversation between Tracy and Jim about using draft animals in farming. 

Related ATTRA Resources: 

·        Draft Animal Power for Farming: 

Other Related Resources: 

·        Oxen: A Teamster’s Guide to Raising, Training, Driving & Showing 

·        Oxen: Their Care, Training, and Use  

·        Small Farmer’s Journal  

·        Rural Heritage 

·        Draft Animal-Power Network 

·        Live Power in Agriculture: Working Equines and Bovines Class 

·        Midwest Ox Drovers Association 

·        All Things Oxen 

·        Oxen in Canada 

Contact Linda Poole and Tracy Mumma at [email protected] and [email protected]. 

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

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

This episode of Voices from the Field was produced in partnership with ATTRA and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. To learn more about SARE’s library of practical information and available grants to fund projects that advance sustainable agriculture, visit sare.org.

In this episode, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Justin Duncan talks with Edmund Frost at the Twin Oaks Intentional Community in Virginia. Edmund is the managing director of Common Wealth Seed Growers, a cooperative of seed growers producing farmer-grown, regionally trialed seeds in the Southeast.

Since 2013, he has received funding from Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education for research and breeding work with butternut squash. Justin and Edmund talk about breeding strategies to produce butternut squash that is resistant to downy mildew while still maintaining its eating quality. They also discuss how Edmund conducts taste tests of the squash and how he gathers the data from his research.

Related ATTRA Resources:

Adventures in Mirliton

Squash Bug and Squash Vine Borer: Organic Controls

Organic Pumpkin and Winter Squash Marketing and Production

Related SARE Resources:

Breeding a Better Butternut

Breeding and Evaluation of Butternut Varieties for Southeast Organic Farms

Winter Squash Evaluation and Improvement for Downy Mildew Resistance and Fruit Quality

Identifying and Marketing Open-Pollinated and Organic Cucurbit Seedstocks for Virginia

Other SARE/NCAT Podcasts:

Episode 327. ATTRA and SARE: The Commercial Potential of Mulberries in the Midwest.

Other Resources

Twin Oaks Intentional Community

Common Wealth Seed Growers

 Contact Justin Duncan at [email protected].

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

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

This episode of Voices from the Field introduces one of NCAT’s newest staff members. Danielle Duni recently joined NCAT as a Carbon Farm Planner who will aid Wyoming shepherds as they build profitable businesses and healthy landscapes.  

 Danielle shares her winding career path working with livestock across the western U.S. and her vision for ranchers “finding that interface where we can all work together to build resilient communities.” 

Also, Danielle and NCAT Grazing Specialist Linda Poole sketch the shape of the Climate Beneficial Fiber Partnership, a five-year program to provide technical assistance and cost-sharing to ranchers and farmers growing wool or cotton using climate-beneficial practices. With support from USDA’s Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities, Danielle will lead NCAT’s work to build a better future for Wyoming woolgrowers and working lands. 

Related ATTRA Resources: 

·        Climate Beneficial Practices 

·        Growing Hope: Practical Tools for Changing Climate and Soils 

·        Episode330. Meet NCAT: Carbon Farm Planner Allison Cooley-Agee of Montana 

Other Resources: 

·        Foraging Behavior of Raramuri Criollo vs. Angus Cattle Grazing California Chaparral and Colorado Plateau Shrublands 

·        Collegiate Woolgrowers at Montana State University 

·        International Society for Range Management, Young Professionals Conclave 

 Contact Linda Poole and Danielle Duni at [email protected]and [email protected].

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

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

In this episode of Voices from the Field, we meet one of NCAT’s impressive new staff members, Allison Cooley-Agee. Allison talks with NCAT Livestock Specialist Linda Coffey about her background and the interesting and varied experience she brings to her new position as a Carbon Farm Planner. Training cutting horses, milking goats on an organic dairy, raw milk, 4-H, and Nicole Masters all make their way into the conversation.  

Allison also discusses the Climate Beneficial Fiber Project, which will be the main focus of her work for the next few years and will benefit sheep producers in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. She also explains the process of carbon farm planning, and how to go about applying for the Climate Beneficial Fiber Project.  

Related NCAT Resources: 

• Climate Beneficial Fiber Project 

Related ATTRA Resources: 

• Episode 321. Meet NCAT: Tyler Jenkins on Carbon Farm Planning 
• Spotlighting Carbon Farm Planning 
• Episode 317. Meet NCAT: Cody Brown on Carbon Farm Planning 
• Episode 284. Carbon Farm Planning 
• Carbon Farm and Ranch Planning 
• Climate Solutions 

 Other Resources: 

• Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education 
• Integrity Soils CREATE  
• Fibershed 
• 4-H 

Contact Linda Coffey and Allison Cooley-Agee at [email protected] and [email protected]. 

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

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

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Margo Hale, Director of NCAT’s ATTRA and Armed to Farm programs, visits with Dr. Adam Ingrao, a beekeeper and educator in Michigan. Adam, a military veteran, talks about his farming operation and the programs that have been beneficial to it.  

He shares how his military service and farming experiences led him to beekeeping. He also discusses the Heroes to Hives program, which reaches thousands of veterans each year, and he offers some advice for veterans who are interested in farming. 

 Related NCAT Resources: 

·        NCAT Armed to Farm 

·        NCAT Armed to Farm Facebook page 

 Related ATTRA Resources: 

·        Veteran Resources 

·        Veteran’s Business Planning Tipsheet 

·        Armed to Farm Map Connects Farmer Veterans Across the U.S. 

·        Farmer Veteran Finds Passion in Horticulture Therapy 

·        Programs Focus on Farmer Well-Being 

·        Veterans Discuss USDA Programs 

·        From the Air Force to Alpacas 

Other Resources:  

·        Heroes to Hives 

·        Bee Wise Farms, LLC 

·        Farmer Veteran Coalition 

·        USDA Veteran Initiatives 

·        USDA Service Center Locator 

·        USDA Farm Service Agency 

·        USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service 

·        USDA Rural Development 

Contact Margo Hale at [email protected].  

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

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

This episode of Voices from the Field is the first of a new podcast series, "Lessons Learned on a Southern Farm." In it, NCAT Gulf States Regional Coordinator Felicia Bell talks with Marguerite McClintock from Alchemy Farms and Plants in Huntsville, Alabama.   

Marguerite discusses the lessons she has learned from operating her certified organic vegetable farm and from raising heritage and registered sheep, specifically Katahdin
and Gulf Coast Native. She offers some tips and ideas that Alchemy Farm used to
stay in business while maintaining the farm's organic integrity. 

 Related ATTRA Resources:
·        Tools for Managing Internal Parasites in Small Ruminants: Pasture Management 

·        Ruminant Nutrition for Graziers 

·        Organic Tomato Production 

·        Grazing to Control Parasites 

·        Small Ruminant Sustainability Checksheet 

·        Managing Internal Parasites in Sheep and Goats 

Other Resources: 

·        Alchemy Farms and Plants 

Contact Felicia Bell at [email protected]. 

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

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