Who We Are

What is ATTRA?
ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service. It provides information and other technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, Extension agents, educators, and others involved in sustainable agriculture in the United States. (ATTRA was formerly known as the "Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas" project.)

The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is a private nonprofit organization, founded in 1976, which operates a series of publicly-funded projects to promote self-reliance (especially for low-income people) through wise use of appropriate technology. Its programs deal with energy conservation, resource-efficient housing, sustainable community development, and sustainable agriculture.

USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service (USDA-RBS) helps implement the rural development mission of USDA. Its mission is to enhance the quality of life for all rural Americans by providing leadership in building competitive businesses including cooperatives that can build sustainable economic communities. RBS objectives are to invest its financial resources and technical assistance in businesses and communities, and to build partnerships that leverage public and private resources to stimulate rural economic activity.

ATTRA has often been cited as an example of a successful partnership between a private nonprofit (NCAT) and a public agency (USDA-RBS).

Who does ATTRA serve?
ATTRA services are available to farmers, ranchers, market gardeners, Extension agents, researchers, educators, farm organizations, and others involved in commercial agriculture, especially those who are economically disadvantaged or belong to traditionally underserved communities. Anyone may read or download publications from our Web site, but we do not have the staff resources to respond to queries to our office from hobbyists and students.

How is ATTRA funded?
ATTRA is funded through a cooperative agreement between the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service (USDA-RBS).

How long has ATTRA been operating?
The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) launched the ATTRA project in 1987.

Where is ATTRA located?
The National Center for Appropriate Technology has offices in:

Work for the ATTRA project takes place at all six locations. The ATTRA project is staffed by more than 20 NCAT agricultural specialists with diverse backgrounds in livestock, horticulture, soils, organic farming, integrated pest management, farm energy, and other sustainable agriculture specialties.

How can I contact ATTRA?
The best way to contact ATTRA for information is by calling our toll-free numbers, 800-346-9140 or 800-411-3222 (our Spanish-language helpline) so that we can talk to you about your particular question.
800-346-9140 (English) 7am to 7pm Central Time
800-411-3222 (Spanish) 8 am to 5 pm Pacific Time

What happens when I contact ATTRA?
When you contact us by telephone, one of our program specialists will take the call, talk to you about your farming operation, and discuss the kind of information you may need to address your problem or concern. We'll answer your question as promptly as we can. Whenever possible, we'll give you an answer immediately, over the phone. If we have existing publications that cover what you're asking, we'll send those to you. More complicated or difficult questions will be assigned to one of our agriculture specialists, who will research the topic and prepare a report on it for you.

If you're a first-time caller, you will also receive a copy of our publication "Sustainable Agriculture: An Introduction," a brochure about our project, a complete list of our publications, and a free two-year subscription to our newsletter, ATTRAnews.

How will you prepare a report for me?
Our agriculture specialists have access to a wide range of research materials and other resources that they use to compile summaries of sustainable agriculture techniques and technologies that farmers want to know about. Our resources include the NCAT Resource Center (a specialized library of sustainable agriculture materials), university library systems, the Internet, and bibliographic databases, including our own archive of previous research reports. In addition, our agriculture specialists stay in contact with educators and researchers working with sustainable agriculture and are regularly in touch with farmers and ranchers who share their hands-on experience with us.

Using these and similar resources, our agricultural specialists can provide you with the most recent information regarding sustainable agriculture practices, as well as resource lists to help you find equipment, materials, supplies, and other sources of assistance.

What information will I receive?
NCAT provides technical assistance through ATTRA publications and customized research reports.

Our publications (we have more than 250 titles) address current topics in sustainable agriculture. A typical publication will be a 5- to 20-page summary of a topic, usually accompanied by references and a resource list of additional contacts, key literature, and sources of products. Some publications also include reprints from books and magazines that directly address your question.

Our sustainable agriculture information is organized under 10 topic areas:

Some of the queries we receive can be answered over the phone or addressed by one of our publications. Many others, however, require additional research.

In response to a research query, one of our specialists will compile a summary of pertinent information, usually with a resource list that will direct the caller to specific resources. As with the publications, the research queries will often have additional reprints of other literature attached, as well.

It usually takes 7 to 10 days for a caller to receive publications, and 2 to 4 weeks for a research report.

What are typical questions that callers ask?
More than 40 percent of the calls we receive concern the reduction of agricultural chemicals used on field, fruit, and vegetable crops. Twenty-five percent are questions about raising animals, including animal health and feeds, and pasture management. We are receiving an increasing number of questions about energy conservation and farm-based renewable energy. Sustainable production techniques, crop diversification, and marketing are other major areas of interest, along with soil conservation, water quality, and the availability of equipment designed for sustainable agricultural practices.

Does ATTRA have a newsletter?
Yes. We publish two sustainable agriculture e-newsletters, ATTRAnews and Weekly Harvest. To subscribe, enter your e-mail address in the form located in the left-hand column and then click "Go."

What is sustainable agriculture?
Sustainable agriculture is environmentally sound. It conserves and enriches the soil, protects the quality of the water, uses fossil fuel and other non-renewable inputs sparingly and efficiently, and encourages a diversity of plant and animal species. Sustainable agriculture is not a prescribed set of farming practices but only those practices that are right for a given farm or region or crop. Sustainable agriculture maintains agricultural productivity and economic viability. Sustainable agriculture practices may include reducing or eliminating the use of agricultural chemicals. Low-input agriculture, organic farming, biodynamic farming, regenerative agriculture, and permaculture are examples of farming systems that fall within the scope of sustainable agriculture.

Who are your sustainable agriculture specialists?
NCAT's agriculture specialists are dedicated to the sustainability of American agriculture. Most of them hold advanced degrees in the agricultural sciences. Many were raised on farms, some have been farm managers, and several continue to maintain farms and ranches. They have worked on both foreign and domestic agriculture projects. Some came to NCAT from other nonprofit organizations; others have worked for Cooperative Extension or been university faculty. ATTRA specialists often draw on the expertise of NCAT's energy engineers, who have extensive experience with energy conservation and with the full range of renewable energy technologies. All of our specialists are involved in research and writing about sustainable agriculture, and they are frequently invited to make presentations at conferences and workshops. Profiles of NCAT's agricultural staff are available online.

What's ahead for sustainable agriculture?
The future of sustainable agriculture has never looked more promising or more challenging. On the one hand, the number of acres in organic production continues to rise, and sales of organic foods are growing at 20 to 25 percent a year. The USDA has enlarged its commitment to sustainability, the 2008 Farm Bill contains provisions that clearly benefit and encourage sustainable practices, the National Organic Standards now provide a common benchmark for certifying organic production and USDA programs encourage and support renewable energy more strongly than ever. On the other hand, crop subsidies to factory farms continue to grow. Large seed and chemical companies are lobbying hard for genetically modified plants and other organisms that are resistant to (and, therefore, require) agricultural chemicals. Water-quality issues still dog many of America's most productive agricultural regions.

NCAT has seen requests for ATTRA publications and other sustainable agriculture information grow from 2,900 requests in 1987 to more than 35,000 in 2006. More crop producers are shifting toward more sustainable practices each year, more beef and dairy producers moving toward pasture-based production, and more farms are looking seriously at energy alternatives. We expect these and similar trends to continue, attended by ever-increasing demands for information and technical assistance—the services we provide.

Last Updated November 4, 2008

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ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Visit the NCAT Web site for more information on our sustainable agriculture projects.

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