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].

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