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ATTRA Blog

Whether you’re a seasoned or beginning producer, a curious consumer, or simply someone who appreciates the bounty of the earth, you’ll find valuable insights and engaging stories here.

Written by ATTRA specialists on topics they are passionate and knowledgeable about, the ATTRA blog highlights techniques, how-tos, insight, success stories, and much more in support of sustainable agriculture.

Safety Nets and the Polar Vortex

By Mike Morris, NCAT Southwest Regional Director I’m still…

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 Specialist

Connecting with the Customer

By Daniel Prial, NCAT Community Food Specialist Being Authentic…

Reclaiming Wood

So many of our projects on the farm require building structures out of wood. I’m always building a new raised bed or chicken coop or fences to keep the chickens from messing with my vegetables, but a recent trip to the local hardware store was a rude awakening. Wood prices were double what I paid six months ago. Why? They said it had something to do with the fires out west. After taking a moment to reflect on the inter-connectedness of everything, I paid for the wood I needed and went on my merry way. My trip home was merry indeed because I passed by an opportunity, literally: pallets. Stacks and stacks of pallets.
By Justin Duncan, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist

So, You Want to a Start a Farm?

This blog will cover a short set of key questions you should ask yourself when considering starting a farm. Your answers will help you think about whether farming is right for you and help get you started in your planning process.
By Rockiell Woods, NCAT Gulf States Regional Director

Juneberry: the Delicious Native American Fruit with a Thousand Names

Of the many names for this plant, "chuckleberry" is certainly my favorite, but I've only seen it in writing, never heard it spoken. Around the Ozarks where I live "sarvis" or "sarvisberry" seems to be the most commonly spoken, at least among the old-timers.
By Guy K. Ames, NCAT Horticulture Specialist
Bianca Moebius-Clune

Moebius-Clune and Soil “Livestock”

Dr. Bianca Moebius-Clune sees soil as a living ecosystem whose critters need attention, just like the animals in any agriculture operation. 'Every one of you who's a farmer or even a gardener has livestock, because your livestock are in the soil, and you wouldn't think to not feed them,' Dr. Bianca Moebius-Clune said recently to producers in Kansas.
By Rich Myers, NCAT Outreach Specialist

Buz Kloot: Seven Words that Sparked a Change

In 2013, Montana Highland Lamb had finally come to the conclusion that we were spending way too much on fertilizer for our irrigated pastures. Sure, they were producing more than six tons of grass dry matter per acre, but for what? We were not realizing any profit—the fertilizer manufacturer was. Somehow, we had to escape the immense gravitational bondage of more and more inputs. But how?
By Dave Scott, NCAT Livestock Specialist and Co-Owner of Montana Highland Lamb

Takeaways from the Real Organic Symposium

In 2014, my colleagues and I held an evening reception at our office in San Antonio for the members of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). We wanted to show our appreciation to these volunteers and organic champions who do the often-thankless job of interpreting and defending the USDA organic standards.
By Mike Morris, Director of NCAT’s Southwest Regional Office

Provenza has a Recipe for Plant, Animal, and Human Health

Dr. Provenza will be among the featured speakers at NCAT’s first Soil Health Innovations Conference in March. He will be discussing 'How Palates Link the Health of Soil and Plants with Livestock and Humans.'
By Rich Myers, Outreach Specialist