Entries by ncat-admin

Test Driving the New LandPKS Land Monitoring App

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In my work on NCAT’s Soil for Water Project, I’ve tried a lot of different ways of monitoring land and soil health. For years, I’ve been hearing about LandPKS (Land Potential Knowledge System), a mobile app that has been under development by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) since 2013. I was excited to hear that a full version was released earlier this year, and a couple weeks ago I finally got around to installing the app on my phone and running it through some tests.
By Mike Morris, Director of NCAT’s Southwest Regional Office

Overgrazing and the Maturing of an Adaptive Grazing Thought Process

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Close to 20 years ago, we noticed a discouraging event slowly unfolding on our pivot-irrigated pasture of 12 acres: The first 120 feet of the pasture starting from the pivot point was producing less and less grass in comparison to the remaining perimeter of the pivot.
By Dave Scott, NCAT Livestock Specialist

Healthy Animals, Happy Farm: Strategies for Sheep and Goat Care

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What is not so much fun is when you have an animal that does not feel well. An animal that is lethargic, disinterested in grazing or in being with the flock, is depressed and slow-moving or having trouble standing is worrisome. Watching one of those animals makes me feel anxious to fix the problem.
By Linda Coffey, NCAT Livestock Specialist

Episode 173. SIFT Farm’s Unusual Year. Part 2

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In this episode of Voices from the Field, Andrew Coggins, director of the National Center for Appropriate Technology’s Rocky Mountain West regional office, continues his conversation with farm manager John […]