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ATTRA Podcasts

ATTRA’s Voices from the Field is your weekly go-to podcast on all things sustainable agriculture, from cover crops to regenerative grazing and organic production to marketing, farm energy, and more.

Join our specialists each week as they take a deep dive into a wealth of topics and resources to support sustainable agriculture and accessible energy solutions.

 

 

Episode 252. Meet NCAT. Darron Gaus Has a Passion for Teaching Sustainable Ag

Darron Gaus grew up in Yoakum, Texas, a small agricultural town. After some other career moves, he made his way back to agriculture, including a stint as the farm manager at the San Antonio Food Bank.
Darron Gaus and Justin Duncan

Episode 251. She’s Raising Sheep: California Shepherd Lani Estill

Lani Estill has built a good life and strong business around fine-wool sheep on the California-Nevada border. Far from a one-woman enterprise, running 3,000 Rambouillet sheep across a half-million acres of public and private lands involves Lani’s family and contract herders.
Lani Estill and Linda Poole

Episode 250. Practical Steps for Reducing Synthetic Fertilizer Use

For more than 35 years, the National Center for Appropriate Technology’s ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program has been helping farmers and ranchers grow nutritious food and operate successful businesses without synthetic fertilizer. Now, NCAT has released a new toolkit with trusted and practical resources for farmers who want to transition away from the use of synthetic fertilizers.
Emilie Ritter Saunders, Nina Prater and Lee Rinehart

Episode 248. Winter Farmers Markets Can Bring Year-Round Customers

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Dietetics Intern Melissa Wyatt sits down with beginning farmer Rick Williams and his wife Kyra, to talk about strategies for selling their farm products through the winter.
Melissa Wyatt, Rick Williams, and Kyra Williams

Episode 247. She’s Raising Sheep: Montana Shepherd Becky Weed

This episode of Voices from the Field continues ATTRA’s podcast series on women shepherds, “She’s Raising Sheep.” Becky Weed talks with NCAT Regenerative Grazing Specialist Linda Poole about the role of sheep in “farming as if nature matters.” Becky and her husband Dave Tyler run 80 crossbred long-wool ewes in Montana’s Gallatin Valley, at 13 Mile Lamb and Wool Company.
Linda Poole and Becky Weed

Episode 246. She’s Raising Sheep: New Zealand Shepherd Bev Trowbridge

This episode of Voices from the Field introduces us to New Zealand shepherd Bev Trowbridge. It’s the latest in ATTRA’s five-part series “She’s Raising Sheep.” Trained as an agroecologist in the United Kingdom, Bev has raised heritage sheep and small-frame cattle on New Zealand’s North Island for two decades. Bev tells NCAT Regenerative Grazing Specialist Linda Poole that “sheep are the best biostimulants you could have” to improve soil health, water quality, and biodiversity.
Bev Trowbridg and Linda Poole

Episode 245. Starting a Farm: Review and Planning

This episode of Voices from the Field is part of “Starting a Farm,” an occasional series from Rockiell Woods, who directs NCAT’s Gulf States Regional Office in Jackson, Mississippi, and Bill Evans, director of horticulture at Up in Farms food hub in Jackson.
Rockiell Woods and Bill Evans

Episode 244. She’s Raising Sheep: Indiana’s Denice Rackley

This episode of Voices from the Field is the first in a five-part  series about women raising sheep. The She’s Raising Sheep series features practical tips for starting and growing a profitable sheep business, plus we’ll have some laughs along the way.
Denice Rackley and Linda Poole

Episode 243. Cover Crops and Their Impact on Soil Health, Crop Productivity

In this episode of Voices from the Field, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Mike Lewis is joined by Shawn Lucas, an assistant professor of organic agriculture at Kentucky State University, in a conversation about cover crops.
Mike Lewis and Shawn Lucas

Episode 242. Understanding the Organic Certification Process

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Martin Guerena, a sustainable agriculture specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology’s western regional office in Davis, California, speaks with Sean Feder, director of inspection operations for California Certified Organic Farmers.
Martin Guerena and Sean Feder