ATTRA – Voices from the Field

In this episode of ATTRA’s Voices from the Field Podcast, NCAT Senior Manager Tammy Howard visits with Elliot Smith, co-founder of Kitchen Sync Strategies (KSS). KSS started in 2019 to help connect more people to nourishing, impactful food and connect more big buyers with local producers. KSS has been an important partner in NCAT’s Bringing the Farm to School through New Connections project, which Tammy manages. Elliot shares how KSS supports the farm to school and institution supply chain, the role of brokers in the producer/buyer business relationship, and some exciting success stories around the development of food hub networks.

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.

In this episode of ATTRA's Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Rex Dufour leads a lively discussion with Helen Atthowe, a long-time organic farmer who has farmed in Montana, California, and Oregon. Helen and her late husband, Carl Rosato, co-owned and operated a certified organic orchard in California where they pioneered methods for raising tree fruits without the use of pesticides. In this conversation, Helen shares her life-long passion for on-farm research, which includes ecological weed and insect management and managing living mulches for improving and maintaining healthy soil. Helen is the author of "The Ecological Farm: A Minimalist No-Till, No-Spray, Selective-Weeding, Grow-Your-Own-Fertilizer System for Organic Agriculture," available through Chelsea Green Publishing.

Resources:

The Ecological Farm

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.

In this episode of ATTRA’s Voice from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Darron Gaus interviews Dr. Dirk Philipp, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas. Dirk’s expertise in agronomy and tropical agriculture shapes his understanding of why restoring native prairies matters to agricultural producers.

Darron and Dirk discuss how producers can seed prairie grasses for successful restoration as well as discuss common issues producers can expect such as weed pressure, seedbed preparation, and weather.

Dirk offers practical advice on what separates successful restorations from unsuccessful ones and what producers should consider before they plant their first acre of native grass species.

Learn More: https://www.ncat.org/?post_type=podcast&p=17371&preview=true

In this episode of ATTRA’s Voices from the Field, NCAT Agriculture Specialist Nina Prater talks with Sneha Haridas, a 4th year PhD candidate and Graduate Research Assistant at West Virginia University about her research on dung beetles.

Dung beetles are important for nutrient cycling and improving soil, pasture, and livestock health, but in some regions their populations have declined. Sneha has been researching ways to help livestock producers in West Virginia figure out how to increase the numbers and diversity of dung beetles on their farms – including looking at the best ways to make a dung beetle nursery.

*Correction on a fact stated in the episode: Northeast India is part of two* world biodiversity hotspots, not three, as Sneha accidentally stated. 

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Episode Webpage: https://www.ncat.org/?post_type=podcast&p=17115&preview=true 

Additional Resources:

Project Description for “Enhancing Regenerative Agriculture: Implementing Low-Cost Dung Beetle Nurseries for West Virginia Farms”:

Rowen Insect Agroecology Lab

Recent research on the toxicity of different livestock treatments on dung beetles in West Virginia: https://academic.oup.com/ee/article/54/4/865/8198110?guestAccessKey= 

Contact Sneha Haridas with questions: sh00087@mix.wvu.edu

Mushrooms are one of the most unique agricultural enterprises available to farmers and entrepreneurs. Unlike traditional crops, mushrooms are fungi that thrive on organic materials such as hardwood pellets, sawdust, straw, and agricultural byproducts, transforming low-value resources into nutritious food and profitable products. In this episode, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Gabriella Soto-Velez sits down with fellow NCAT colleague and mushroom grower Cody Brown to explore the fascinating world of mushroom cultivation.

Whether you're curious about growing your first oyster mushroom bucket or considering mushrooms as a farm business, this episode offers practical insights and real-world experience from two growers passionate about sustainable food production.

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Episode Webpage: Episode 392: Growing Mushrooms for Profit and Purpose: A Conversation with Cody Brown – NCAT

 In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Agriculture Specialists Rex Dufour, Audrey Kolde, and Nina Prater talk about the principles of farmscaping - a practice of integrating native and diverse plants into agricultural spaces. Rex has been championing farmscaping for decades as a way to enhance biological control of pests. Audrey and Nina convene with Rex to learn from the master. 

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Learn more and find additional resources: Episode 391: Farmscaping to Enhance Biodiversity and Ecological Pest Management – NCAT

Resources:

Alternative Pollinators: Native Bees

Conservation Hedgerows for the Southwest

Farmscaping to Enhance Biological Control 

Wild Farm Alliance

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Agriculture Specialist Felicia Bell is joined by Alsie Parks, C0-Executive Director of SAAFON and Lindsey Richards, Texas Gulf Coast Outreach and Education Specialist with American Farmland Trust. Alsie and Lindsey share their different yet complimentary perspectives of the importance of planning for farmland succession through estate planning or land trusts, tips for starting hard conversations, and stories of successful farmland hand-offs to the next generation of farmers.

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References:

American Farmland Trust

SAAFON

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Agriculture Specialist Felicia Bell begins a new series highlighting successful women in agriculture. Felicia kicks of the series by interviewing Marguerite Green, Statewide Director of the Louisiana Food Policy Council. Marguerite shares what inspired her to begin farming and what led her to a career in agriculture advocacy and education.

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References:

Louisiana Food Policy Council

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Agriculture Specialist Felicia Bell continues her series on successful women in Agriculture. Felicia talks with Gwen Cannon of Cannon Family Farm, located just outside of Brandon, Mississippi. Gwen shares about what led her to living a life of farming with her spouse, and how the lessons she has learned along the way have helped her serve her community. Cannon Farm provides hands-on education through agritourism in addition to growing food for their region.

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References:

The Cannon Farm

In this episode of ATTRA's Voices from the Field, NCAT Agriculture Specialist Audrey Kolde hosts Garver Akers of Green Akers Consulting. Garver shares the soil health improvements he has seen from using vermicompost tea in medium- to large-scale agriculture production. Drawing from his experience as regenerative farmer, ecological horticulturist, and organic farm and garden consultant, Garver provides an in-depth exploration of the benefits of using vermicompost soil amendments.

NCAT Resources

How to Reduce Synthetic Fertilizer Use Toolkit

Vermicomposting: The Basics

Vermicomposting 101 Webinar