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May-June 2008 Newsletter of ATTRA - National Sustainable Agricultural Information Service: A project of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). This issue of ATTRAnews is available online.
In this issue:
================ ATTRA Celebrates 21 Years of Work for Sustainable Agriculture!Things have changed a great deal since 1987 when NCAT first started answering farmers' questions about sustainable agriculture. At that time it was difficult for farmers to learn about alternative production techniques. Extension agents offered help with conventional methods, but farmers and ranchers who wanted to try a different direction were pretty much on their own. Environmental concerns were beginning to be felt at that point, but "organic" was still a foreign word to most farmers and extension agents. They generally scoffed at those who wanted to eliminate pesticides and herbicides. Most people thought it was impossible to farm without agricultural chemicals. NCAT took a new approach, highlighting the successes of innovative farmers. We counted on the fact that when agricultural producers hear about a good new system from a fellow farmer, they are inspired to try it out.
Specialists Recall ATTRA’s Early DaysJanet Bachmann, NCAT Agriculture Specialist, Fayetteville, Arkansas
NCAT started ATTRA in 1987 with a few technical specialists who came to Memphis, Tennessee from all parts of the U.S—California, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa. I think we were successful in gaining respect from farmers across the country because they respected the information we got from other farmers. We took the “gray” literature, the anecdotes, and the research-based information from around the U.S. and the world, and put it together in ways that we thought could help people create more sustainable farms. Our publications grew from questions posed by callers. After a dozen or so calls asking for organic strawberry production information, for instance, a program specialist would create a “standard response.” These were later edited and formatted to become a publication.
Lance Gegner, Animal Welfare Institute, Minnesota
I began work the first day that NCAT’s ATTRA project started, on June 1, 1987, at the Agricenter International in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially the staff had no library, only their own books and files. But since the specialists all had experience in different fields, there was always someone with the expertise to answer callers’ questions. I always loved to work directly with farmers. I enjoyed working for NCAT and I hope I helped some farmers over the years. Gegner now travels extensively and reports with pride that 90 percent of the farmers he meets at conferences know about the ATTRA project.
ATTRA Helps You Sort Out the Farm Energy PuzzleThe energy crisis of the 1970s was a driving force behind the formation of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). Now high energy prices are big news again and the ATTRA project is helping farmers and ranchers save valuable energy resources. Our website features a Farm Energy section with a large number of publications and links, www.attra.ncat.org/energy.php. You will also find an online "Farm Energy Search Tool" for locating energy-related equipment, funding, and technical assistance in your state. NCAT is helping farmers learn about alternative fuels and energy conservation through workshops across the United States. In February NCAT Specialist Mike Morris co-chaired the Forum on Energy Efficiency in Agriculture, held this year in Iowa. The conference emphasized that increased farm energy production must be accompanied by improved efficiency in our food system and throughout our economy.
New Publications on Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy
Here are the latest publications on energy conservation and renewable energy. For a complete list of our farm energy publications, see www.attra.ncat.org/farm_energy/farm_pubs.html.
New from ATTRA about Livestock
NCAT’s Fayetteville, Arkansas office leads the way for ATTRA’s small livestock publications. NCAT program specialists Margo Hale, Linda Coffey, and program manager Teresa Maurer all work with sheep and goats. Hale raises Boer-cross meat goats. Coffey keeps Alpine dairy goats as well as Suffolk and Gulf Coast Native wool sheep. Maurer and her husband, Jim Morgan, breed Katahdin hair sheep—which do not require shearing and are raised for meat—and are active in Katahdin Hair Sheep International. Coffey and Hale are currently producing an Illustrated Guide to Sheep and Goat Production. This new-style ATTRA publication will feature clear line drawings. Over the past year, the two specialists worked with the Southern Consortium for Small Ruminant Parasite Control to produce two publications, listed above. Specialist Anne Fanatico is a poultry expert who often works with alternative and pastured systems. She manages ATTRA’s Sustainable Poultry web page which offers publications, video clips, and other resources for all aspects of poultry production. A new feature on the website is a poster about mobile poultry processing. Not all ATTRA’s livestock publications come from the Arkansas staff, however. NCAT Program Specialist Lee Rinehart, field director for NCAT’s new Northeast office in Pennsylvania, recently developed a publication on grazing animal nutrition.
New from ATTRA in SpanishOver the past year we produced several more titles in Spanish.
New from ATTRA about Organic Production
Montana Food Corps Brings Local Food to State StudentsOver the past year Montana schools and colleges got a welcome boost from a group of young, energetic Americorps volunteers. The VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America) are working with the Grow Montana coalition to bring fresh, locally produced food to the state’s students. Known as the Food Corps, the program enhances the strength of Montana’s farm economy as well the health of its young people. By the end of the 2008 school year, the volunteers will have helped return over $1 million to Montana’s farmers and ranchers through farm-to-cafeteria projects at Montana State University, Salish Kootenai College, two University of Montana campuses, and the Missoula County public schools. Food Corps is the result of a partnership between the Grow Montana coalition and these educational institutions. Grow Montana promotes Montana-owned food production and distribution as a sustainable economic development strategy. NCAT is a founding member of the coalition and administers the Food Corps program. Keeping Montana Food Dollars in Montana Montana’s public institutions spend nearly $33 million annually on food. The Food Corps volunteers’ job is to help steer more of these food dollars to Montana farmers and ranchers and local communities. Food Corps volunteers reach out to community groups, officials, restaurateurs, and food producers to create support for farm-to-cafeteria programs and the local food movement.
Food Corps volunteer Erin Foster West has been working since August with Missoula County public schools. She has helped them spend more than $12,000 on local food and nearly $150,000 on dairy. Erin works closely with teachers from 10 schools to provide nutrition and local food education through taste tests, cooking projects, and field trips. Erin has also worked with nearby Alberton school district, helping coordinate a Farm-to-School Day featuring local potatoes, beef, onions, apples, and pumpkins. Erin has so many ideas for growing the program that she is considering a second year as a Food Corps volunteer.
University of Montana Dining Services
The farm-to-cafeteria initiatives at the University of Montana–Missoula started in 2003. Now Food Corps volunteer Sarah Kester is helping the university dining services reach their goal of spending 20 percent of their budget on farm-to-cafeteria items. Sarah launched a staff newsletter to promote local products and seasonal produce. She is experimenting with social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook to increase student awareness and commitment to local foods. The farm-to-cafeteria initiatives at the University of Montana– Missoula started in 2003. Now Food Corps volunteer Sarah Kester is helping the university dining services reach their goal of spending 20 percent of their budget on farm-to-cafeteria items. Sarah launched a staff newsletter to promote local products and seasonal produce. She is experimenting with social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook to increase student awareness and commitment to local foods. Cheri McCarthy, who heads UM–Western’s food service, points out that “Dillon is cattle country. Even some of my kitchen staff are ranchers. It just makes sense for us to serve Montana beef.” Chancellor Dick Storey said, “The farm-to-college program is crucial to the university and our state and local economies.” Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer awarded an EcoStar to NCAT's Grow Montana Food Corps in 2007 for good environmental performance. To learn more about the Food Corps, contact NCAT Program Specialist Nancy Matheson at 406-227-0389 or visit http://www.growmontana.ncat.org.
New Ways to Present Agricultural InformationBecause we want our materials to be accessible to everyone who needs them, NCAT is creating a series of pictorial narratives. The newest of these brief, illustration-rich publications explains why farmers might want to convert to organic production. Organic Chronicles No. 1: Mysteries of Organic Farming Revealed is available in English and Spanish on the website and by request on the ATTRA toll-free line: 1-800-346-9140. With funding from the USDA Risk Management Agency, we are currently working on an illustrated story about land tenure arrangements. Created in collaboration with California Farm Link, the publication shows the pros and cons of various ways to structure leases. The next in this illustrated series will focus on sheep and goat husbandry. We are also planning issues on pest management and crop production. The entire series will be available in English and Spanish, with some translated into Hmong. Last year ATTRA published Nuevos Mercados para Su Cosecha (New Markets for Your Crops). This new-style illustrated publication looks at marketing farm products to local institutions like schools and hospitals. We will translate it into English this year. For more information about the illustrated series, contact NCAT Program Specialist Rex Dufour, 530-792-7338, rexd@ncat.org.
Unique Online Search Tools on NCAT’s ATTRA Website
ATTRA’s Ecological
Pest Management
Database ATTRA’s Farm Energy Pages
ATTRA’s Organic Livestock
Feed Suppliers List ATTRA’s Organic Seed
Suppliers Search ATTRA’s Sustainable
Agriculture Organizations
and Publications List ATTRA’s Sustainable Farming
Internships and Apprenticeships
Directory ATTRA's Sustainable Poultry
Website
=============================================== ATTRAnews is the bi-monthly newsletter of ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. The newsletter is distributed free throughout the United States to farmers, ranchers, Cooperative Extension agents, educators, and others interested in sustainable agriculture. ATTRA is funded through the USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service and is a project of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), a private, non-profit organization that since 1976 has helped people by championing small-scale, local and sustainable solutions to reduce poverty, promote healthy communities, and protect natural resources. Teresa Maurer, Project Manager Comments? Questions? Email the Weekly Harvest Newsletter editor Karen Van Epen at karenv@ncat.org. ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
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Food Corps Volunteers from left to right: Patrick Murphy, Kevin Moore, Sarah Kester,
Tessa Roberts, Erin Foster West. Photo courtesy of Sarah Kester
A truckload of cantaloupes heads for the Farm-to-
Cafeteria program.Photo courtesy of UM
Dining Services.
©
Copyright 2008 NCAT