A Conversation with Atina Diffley
In this episode, NCAT community foods outreach specialist Daniel Prial, and Andy Pressman, director of NCAT’s Northeast Region office in Keene, New Hampshire, talk to Atina Diffley, author of Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works, a 2013 Minnesota Book Award winner.
Both Andy and Daniel work with NCAT’s ATTRA sustainable agriculture program.
Atina is a Minnesota organic farmer and public speaker. Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works is a memoir based on Atina’s life running the Gardens of Eagan organic vegetable farm. Her advocacy has addressed the pressures of suburban development, and she successfully led a legal and citizen campaign opposing Koch Industries to create an organic mitigation plan for organic farms in Minnesota.
Andy and Daniel have a wide-ranging discussion on organic production with Atina, touching on intermediary markets, the links between risk management and crop diversity, strategies for scaling up production, pricing, labor, the history of the organic movement, and more.
If you would like more information on this topic, you can contact Andy Pressman and Daniel Prial directly via email at andyp@ncat.org and danielp@ncat.org
Related ATTRA Resources
Scaling Up Your Vegetable Farm for Regional Markets
Scaling Up for Regional Markets
Sustainable Farming Internships and Apprenticeships
Positive Practices in Farm Labor Management
Tips for Selling to: Wholesale Buyers at Terminal Markets
Scheduling Vegetable Plantings for Continuous Harvest
Other Resources
Atina Diffley website (including information on purchasing Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works)
Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 1-800-346-9140 or e-mail us at askanag@ncat.org. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.
You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA’s website.
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Southwest Regional Office: Website / Facebook
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