Novel Nutrient Management Method: Applying Poultry Litter in Subsurface Bands

Getting nutrients right in farming is a balancing act. When planning to apply fertilizers and soil amendments, farmers must consider their soil type, climate, the time of year, the crops they are raising, water availability, soil health, water quality concerns, and the nuances of the many different macro- and micronutrients that plants require. The way nutrients are applied is also an important consideration.
By Nina Prater, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist
You can assess soil health with your senses and simple tools

Soil Health and Composting with Nina Prater and Matt Casteel

In this webinar, Nina Prater, and NCAT Sustainable Agriculture…
Matt Casteel of Wurmworks

The Power of Worms: Helpful Tips for Composting Success

I love talking with people who are passionate about what they do. That energy and excitement is always so inspiring, and that was definitely the case recently when I talked with Matt Casteel, owner of Wurmworks, a composting business in Jackson, Mississippi. He works in partnership with local organizations to transform food waste into a resource for local farmers. Matt makes worm compost, thermophilic compost, compost extract, and compost tea. 
By Nina Prater, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist

Episode 210. Harnessing the Power of Worms in Composting

Not all superheroes wear capes, and that includes worms. In this…
Linda Poole

Episode 209. Meet NCAT: Linda Poole Explains There’s No Cookbook for Regenerative Grazing but Networks are a Key Ingredient

In this episode, you can make the acquaintance of NCAT's new…

Episode 205. Inoculating Legume Cover Crops

In this episode of Voices from the Field, Sustainable Agriculture…

LC Compost Solutions – A Future Solution for Carcass and Bio-hazardous Waste Disposal in Montana

While NCAT was preparing our final report for the Blackfeet feasibility study for a processing plant on tribal land, one thing became apparent: certain by-products from meat processing, such as offal, bones, and hides are very much at the mercy of market prices. One minute, they could be a value-added product, and the next minute, they could become an additional disposal cost.
By Andrew Coggins, NCAT Rocky Mountain West Office Director

Episode 202. Ag Strategies for Ogallala Aquifer. Part 2

This episode of Voices from the Field is the second of a two-part…

Episode 201. Ag Strategies for Ogallala Aquifer. Part 1

This episode of Voices from the Field is the first of a two-part…

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