Entries by ncat-admin

USDA Programs Can Help Farmers Succeed

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By Margo Hale, NCAT Southeast Regional Director, Armed to Farm Program Director, and Agriculture Specialist I have worked on NCAT’s ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program as an Agriculture Specialist and educator for more than 15 years. Over the years, I have taught thousands of farmers through workshops and presentations. I am often surprised by the number […]

Episode 172. Small (Ruminant) Talk: Internal Parasites

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In this episode of Voices from the Field, Margo Hale, NCAT’s Southeast Regional Office director and a livestock specialist with NCAT’s ATTRA sustainable-agriculture program, joins livestock specialist Linda Coffey to discuss the important problem of internal parasites. The conversation covers why internal parasites are such a force to be reckoned with, as well as ways […]

Giving Your Products Meaning

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By Daniel Prial, NCAT Community Food Specialist It’s Not Just About Your Product Before I was a specialist with NCAT, I was a National Park Ranger at a small historic site in California. Every day, I brought visitors through an old Victorian home and showed them how the folks who once lived in that home […]

Episode 171. Climate-Smart Agriculture

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In this episode of Voices from the Field, Colin Mitchell, a sustainable agriculture specialist based out of NCAT’s Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, is joined by Jeanne Merrill, policy director at the California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN). Colin and Jeanne discuss different “Climate Smart Agriculture” tools and policies in California, including the […]

The Sequel is Better: CFAP2 is Available Now

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By Jeff Schahczenski, NCAT Agricultural and Natural Resource Economist Like many of our favorite movies, the sequel to the Coronavirus Farm Assistance Program (CFAP2) is an expansion and improvement of the original. The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) began taking applications for CFAP2 on September 21, 2020. The program will end on December 11, 2020. […]

Episode 170. Native Seeds 

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In this episode of Voices from the Field, Kara Kroeger, a sustainable agriculture specialist who works out of NCAT’s Southwest Regional Office in San Antonio, Texas, talks with Bill Nieman, the owner of Native American Seed, a native seed company in Junction, Texas. Bill shares his history in the native-seed business and talks about how […]

Beekeeping Basics: Making Splits

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Back in the day, I learned beekeeping at Prairie View A&M University Greenhouse where I started their apiary. Cecil Fry, one of the university’s electricians, started me off and even gave me a hive. With his training as a launch pad, we trained agriculture students and local producers how to be beekeepers.
By Justin Duncan, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist

Episode 169. Livestock Guardian Dogs

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In this episode of Voices from the Field, Linda Coffey, a Livestock Specialist with NCAT’s Southeast Regional Office in Fayetteville, Arkansas, talks with Janet Vorwald Dohner, a farmer and noted expert on livestock guardian animals. The author of four books, Jan brings more than 40 years of experience and a wealth of research and knowledge […]

Episode 168. Water Quality Trading

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In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Colin Mitchell is joined by Brian Brandt, the Agriculture Conservation Innovations Director at the American Farmland Trust. Colin and Brian discuss ecosystem service markets with a focus on water quality trading, a type of ecosystem service market that pays farmers for the adoption […]