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 The National Center for Appropriate Technology's Sustainable Agriculture Spotlight is a weekly Internet radio show. The show covers a wide range of topics on sustainable agriculture, including on-farm production of biodiesel, integrated pest management, growing crops for farmers' markets, organic crop certification and federal farm policy. Each week host Jeff Birkby, ATTRA outreach directory, interviews regional and national experts. The show airs live Thursdays at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on the Green Talk Network (www.attra.ncat.org/radioshow2009). Archives will be listed here 24 hours after the show.
- October 1, 2009 ~ Local Government Support for Sustainable Agriculture
- September 24, 2009 ~ Federal Farm Policy and Sustainable Agriculture
- September 17, 2009 ~ Organic Small Grain Production
- September 10, 2009 ~ Minorities in Agriculture
- September 3, 2009 ~ Energizing Your Farm
- August 27, 2009 ~ Urban Farming: Cultivating Food and Communities
- August 20, 2009 ~ Local Food in School and College Cafeterias
- August 13, 2009 ~ Farmscaping—Ecological Pest Control
- August 6, 2009 ~ Rural Life in the 1940s—Lessons for Agriculture Today
- July 30, 2009 ~ Sheep and Goats for Profit
- July 23, 2009 ~ Biodiesel—Small Scale Production and Economics
- July 16, 2009 ~ Using Hoop Houses to Extend Your Growing Season
- July 9, 2009 ~ Healthy Pastures, Healthy Livestock
October 1, 2009
Local Government Support for Sustainable Agriculture
Zoning ordinances, progressive tax incentives, and agricultural land trusts are just a few of the tools that local governments are using to support local farming around their communities. During this episode of Sustainable Agriculture Spotlight, host Jeff Birkby interviews Margaret Krome, Policy Program Director for the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, on the impact of local government regulations on sustainable agriculture. We’ll discuss what communities across the nation are doing to encourage local agriculture, and how antiquated zoning laws in growing urban areas are being updated to keep and encourage sustainable agriculture operations.
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Listen | 55:37 min
September 24, 2009
Federal Farm Policy and Sustainable Agriculture
Innovative federal farm policies and programs are critical to ensuring the future of sustainable agriculture, family farming, and healthy local foods for consumers. During this episode of Sustainable Agriculture Spotlight, host Jeff Birkby interviews Ferd Hoefner, Policy Director with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Hoefner will discuss exciting new developments in federal farm policies and programs that support sustainable agriculture. These programs include new beginning farmer initiatives to reduce entry barriers for the next generation of farmers and ranchers, transition support to help farmers catch up with consumer demand for organic and other certified foods, new programs to encourage healthy local foods in our school cafeterias, conservation assistance for good land stewardship, and other federal initiatives that will help make our farms more profitable and environmentally sustainable, and healthy local food more available.
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Listen | 54:57 min
September 17, 2009
Organic Small Grain Production
Organic small grains represent an important part of the organic retail market. Organic grain production currently accounts for only 0.5% of the total grain production in the United States, but the demand for organic grain is growing. During this episode of Sustainable Agriculture Spotlight, host Jeff Birkby interviews crops specialist Susan Tallman, Topics discussed include organic small grain production, weed control, soil nutrient management, crop rotation, and organic grain marketing strategies.
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Listen | 54:21 min
September 10, 2009
Minorities in Agriculture
Asians, Latinos and other minorities comprise a growing segment of U.S. farmers, bringing not only ethnic diversity to agricultural systems, but also crop and livestock diversity. But these minority farmers face unique challenges. In addition to the normal economic, market and technical challenges all farmers face, minorities are often confronted with language and cultural differences as they navigate access to markets, information, technical assistance, and other resources. In some cases, they may also experience discrimination. On the other hand, minority farmers have great strengths and opportunities, including expertise in specialty crop production, familiarity with ethnic niche markets, and access to a growing number of targeted programs providing training, business incubation, and business loans. During this radio episode, host Jeff Birkby interviews Marisa Alcorta and Hannah Lewis, two experienced practitioners in the area of minority farmer outreach and assistance.
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Listen | 54:21 min
September 3, 2009
Energizing Your Farm-Harvesting Wind, Sunlight, and Energy Efficiency
Farming today depends on razor-thin profit margins. But harvesting the wind, solar, and biomass energy on your farm, as well as making all your farm operations more energy efficient, can help your farm make a healthy profit. During this episode of Sustainable Agriculture Spotlight, host Jeff Birkby interviews farm energy specialists Dave Ryan and Vicki Lynne with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). We’ll discuss what’s involved in profitably generating electricity from wind and solar power on your farm. We’ll also discuss how you can find hidden dollars by using energy more efficiently in your farm buildings and farming activities. Finally we’ll shed a light on energy success stories from farms around the nation, and focus on information resources you can tap to help make your farm produce more energy and save wasted dollars through energy efficiency.
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Listen | 54:36 min
August 27, 2009
Urban Farming: Cultivating Food and Communities
Urban farming is not a new concept, but it is gaining new support. Large cities like Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Seattle, and Toronto have initiated substantial programs to foster urban agriculture. Urban farming involves land use decisions, producing nutritious meals of local foods for schools, creating employment and job training, food processing and delivery, creating of clean, green working spaces in urban areas, developing citywide systems of composting waste, and much more. Urban farms throughout the United States are growing tons of food on small plots, provisioning farmers' markets, restaurants, food banks, and community-supported agriculture share boxes. Urban agriculture today has the potential to relieve food insecurity, strengthen community bonds, and to bolster local and regional economies. During this episode of Sustainable Agriculture Spotlight, host Jeff Birkby interviews Lee Rinehart, who has written and lectured on this new urban farming movement sweeping the nation.
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Listen | 54:53 min
August 20, 2009
Local Food in School and College Cafeterias: Making it Happen in Your Community
Serving locally-grown food in school and college cafeterias is a wildly popular idea. Purchasing local food for cafeterias keeps money circulating in local communities, and lessens environmental impacts by reducing food transportation costs. And food served fresh from the farm is usually healthier and tastier than food shipped from hundreds of miles away. Schools and colleges across the United States are interested in using locally-grown foods, but face a surprising number of barriers including tight budgets, understaffed kitchens, labyrinthine food safety laws, and a lack of local food producers, processors and distributors. During this edition of Sustainable Agriculture Spotlight, host Jeff Birkby interviews Crissie McMullan, who will discuss techniques that work to overcome the challenges and bring local food to lunch trays in school and college cafeterias.
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Listen | 56:26 min
August 13, 2009
Farmscaping—Ecological Pest Control
Farmscaping is a whole-farm, ecological approach to pest management. Farmscaping uses hedgerows, border plants, cover crops, and water reservoirs to attract and support populations of beneficial organisms including insects, bats, and birds of prey. Farmscaping requires more knowledge on the part of the grower than conventional pest management. But the investment needed to learn farmscaping techniques can result in reduced pesticide use and lower pesticide costs, reduced risks of chemical residues in farm products, and an overall safer farm environment for wildlife, plants, and farm families. Ecological pest management is based on preventing pest problems before they happen. With this approach, farmers can avoid the costs of pesticides as well as the fuel, equipment and labor used to apply them. Jeff Birkby interviews farmscaping expert Rex Dufour, who leads us through techniques and successes in managing the farm landscape to promote ecological pest management.
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Listen | 55:37 min
August 6, 2009
Rural Life in the 1940s—Lessons for Agriculture Today with guest speaker Evelyn Birkby
Sustainable agriculture isn't just about growing crops and livestock. It's also about sustaining the farm families and communities that produce those local foods, organic grains, grass-fed beef, and other healthy farm products. Over the past 50 years, the number of farm families and communities in the United States has rapidly declined. During the 1940s, the United States had more than six million farms, with an average farm size of under 200 acres. But today we've lost more than two thirds of those farms, and the remaining farms average almost triple the acreage of those small farms in the 1940s. This episode of Spotlight on Sustainable Agriculture will explore some of the approaches to farm life and community living that were common the rural Midwest in the 1940s, and how we can learn from those experiences to keep our farm families and farming communities sustainable today.
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Listen | 56:07 min
July 30, 2009
Sheep and Goats for Profit
Sheep and goats are important sources of milk, meat, and fiber for millions of people around the world. Sheep and goats also improve pasture and remove unwanted vegetation. In years of drought and wildfires, the animals' ability to graze down flammable undergrowth can be crucial. Meat goat production in particular is on the rise as American farmers become more aware of the meat's popularity among immigrant groups. In this broadcast, Jeff Birkby with the National Center for Appropriate Technology interviews two livestock experts on the booming market and production issues involved in raising and marketing sheep and goats.
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Listen | 57:28 min
July 23, 2009
Biodiesel—Small Scale Production and Economics
Biodiesel fuel can be made from filtered waste vegetable oil, animal fats, oilseed crops like sunflower, and even the oil emitted by algae. Biodiesel has many benefits as a liquid fuel source, but it can also raise environmental and economic concerns. During this broadcast we'll talk to three national experts on the trends and future in on-farm biodiesel production, including crop and soil handling issues, scaling up the process, and pollution issues. We'll also look at the economics of small scale biodiesel projects on the farm and in local communities. Locally produced biodiesel fuel can truly help us change the way we think about transportation and energy.
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Listen | 47:21 min
July 16, 2009
Using Hoop Houses to Extend Your Growing Season
In many regions of the United States, vegetable growers can ask for a premium price if they can bring their crops to farmers markets or restaurants earlier in the year than other growers. Likewise, there is a premium for high-quality produce late in the fall or during the winter, when few other growers are harvesting. Growing crops in low-cost greenhouses called "hoop houses," can help farmers extend their growing season and increase their profits.
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Listen | 43:58 min
July 9, 2009
Healthy Pastures, Healthy Livestock
A healthy pasture is the foundation of sustainable livestock production. Well managed pastures and thoughtful grazing management can often make the difference between profitability and loss for farmers and ranchers faced with high feed costs.
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Listen | 45:28 min
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