Episode 165. SIFT Farm’s Unusual Year

In this episode, Andrew Coggins, director of the National Center for Appropriate Technology’s Rocky Mountain West office, has a conversation with farm manager John Wallace about the unusual growing season so far at NCAT’s SIFT Farm.

Both Andrew and John work out of Butte, Montana.

SIFT — or Small-Scale Intensive Farm Training program — aims to help communities increase their food security by producing their own healthy food. SIFT, with NCAT, has a working, sustainably managed, demonstration farm on five acres at our Butte office.

This farm is the center of a program that teaches farmers and future farmers, urban food producers, community leaders, and citizens how to produce high-value, nutrient-rich food on small parcels of land. And in Butte’s case, in a challenging climate.

This year, the Butte farm site has endured a heavy spring snow and subsequent high winds, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. John talks about how the farm has reacted, both in production and in its community associations.

Please take a few minutes to complete a survey when the podcast is done. We really value your feedback to help us make our podcasts better. The link is in the notes below. For more information on this topic, contact John Wallace directly at johnw@ncat.org.

Please complete a brief survey to let us know your thoughts about the content of this podcast.

Related ATTRA Resources:

Urban and Community Agriculture

ATTRA COVID-19 Response

SIFT 2018: Lessons from a Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm

SIFT 2019: Continuing Lessons from a Small-Scale Urban Intensive Farm

Production to Address Community Needs

Please call ATTRA with any and all of your sustainable agriculture questions at 800-346-9140 or e-mail us at askanag@ncat.org. Our two dozen specialists can help you with a vast array of topics, everything from farm planning to pest management, from produce to livestock, and soils to aquaculture.

You can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA’s website.

You can also stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.