Latest News
ATTRA’s daily recap of sustainable agriculture news and resources gleaned from the Internet.
1st Annual Soil Health Innovations Conference
Our inaugural virtual conference was a huge success! Almost 700 people learned about cutting edge soil-health practices and technology.
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Blog 59. Fruit and the Freeze of 2021
Better Than I Feared but Worse Than It Looks By Guy K. Ames, NCAT Horticulture Specialist Photo at right: Peach flowers from a previous spring, a sight we won’t be seeing much of this year because of the deep freeze. A dipping polar vortex delivered a cruel and chilling Valentine’s gift to the Midwest and South on Valentine’s Week 2021. The damage in Texas may be among the worst. It certainly garnered the most headlines. An estimated $300 million winter citrus crop in the Rio Grande Valley is gone. Gone. Worse, it’s likely that the trees in the valley suffered...
16 April, 2021
Blog 58. Safety Nets and the Polar Vortex
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the polar vortex that hit the United States in mid-February: leaving people in Texas without power for up to two weeks, coming within five minutes of crashing the entire Texas power grid, and devastating farms and ranches across the state, including some good friends of mine. It was a “teachable moment” for sure, offering lessons about climate disruption and power industry deregulation among other things. As someone who spent several years working on improving crop insurance for organic farms, the storm also got me thinking about safety nets: who has them and why some people don’t.
By Mike Morris, NCAT Southwest Regional Director09 April, 2021
Blog 57. Reflections on NCAT’s First Soil Health Innovations Conference
Everyone has their “thing”—that topic or interest that they just can’t get enough of. That topic that you bore people with at parties (remember parties?) when you talk about it just a little too long. For me, my “thing” is soil. I find the topic of soil so endlessly fascinating, and I get to think about, talk about, teach about, and play with soil as a job and a way of life. I’m lucky enough to be a soil specialist for NCAT and I live on a family farm.
By Nina Prater, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist07 April, 2021
Blog 56. Connecting with the Customer
Before I get into another blog post on farm marketing, I need to tell you that I am a dreamer. I was the high school kid who participated in mock government and wrote bills to solve all the county’s issues. I went into the Peace Corps. I’ve only ever held a job working with and for the public and nonprofit sectors. Somewhere, deep inside of me, hidden beneath veneers of humor and rational thinking, is an optimist.
By Daniel Prial, NCAT Community Food Specialist29 March, 2021
Upcoming Events
ATTRA’s interactive calendar of events will keep you updated on the the goings on in Sustainable Agriculture. We also provide the opportunity for organizations to publicize their upcoming event, festival and projects through our online events calendar.
Internship Opportunities
A directory of on-the-job learning opportunities in sustainable and organic agriculture in the U.S. (and some in Canada) has been published since 1989 as a tool to help farmers and apprentices connect with each other.
Funding Opportunities
A clearinghouse of available grant and funding opportunities within the realm of Sustainable Agriculture.
Episode 198. Schools and Covid
A Conversation with Fiery Ginger Farm and Natomas Unified School District Ben Thomas of CA Alliance of Family Farms, Hope Sippola of Fiery Ginger Farms, and Vince Caguin of Natomas, California, Unified School District Th
21 April, 2021USDA Reminds Producers It Is Accepting CFAP-2 Applications
USDA reminds agricultural producers that the Farm Service Agency is currently accepting new and modified Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) 2 applications. The CFAP 2 signup period has reopened as part of USDA
20 April, 2021Video Explores Conservation Culture in Washington County, Iowa
Zach Johnson and Mitchell Hora, the hosts of American Public Media’s popular sustainable agriculture podcast Field Work, produced a short video that explores the conservation culture that developed in Washington Co
20 April, 2021
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