ATTRA Invites Sustainable-Agriculture Conversations

'Farmer Knows Best' Forum Offers More Than A Dozen Topics

ATTRA, the nation’s premiere source of sustainable-agriculture information, is asking its users to weigh in with ideas and questions of their own.

A new user forum on the ATTRA website, “Farmer Knows Best,” is a way for farmers, researchers, educators, and anyone else interested in sustainable agriculture to start or contribute to a conversation on more than a dozen topics:

•    Beginning Farmer
•    Water Management
•    Soils & Compost
•    Pest Management
•    Organic Farming
•    Marketing, Business & Risk
•    Local Food Systems
•    Livestock & Pasture
•    Horticultural Crops
•    Field Crops
•    Energy Alternatives
•    What Is Sustainable Ag?
•    Education
•    General

“What better way to support research and sustainable-agriculture education than offering the people who are dedicated and passionate about the subject to share their ideas and insights,” said Carl Little, director of the National Center for Appropriate Technology’s (NCAT) sustainable agriculture programs.

To get to Farmers Know Best, click on www.attra.ncat.org

ATTRA sustainable-agriculture specialists also will keep an eye on the site for conversations to join, adding another venue for their expertise.

ATTRA-National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service has been the nation’s leading resource for information on sustainable agriculture since 1987, covering a wide range of topics, including reducing pesticide use on cropland, promoting food safety in sustainable production systems, reducing farm energy use and costs, enriching soils with the use of cover crops, and providing technical assistance in the growing areas of local farmers markets and urban gardening.

ATTRA was developed and is maintained through a cooperative agreement with the USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service by the National Center for Appropriate Technology, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Butte, Montana.

In addition to hundreds of sustainable-agriculture publications, ATTRA’s other popular offerings include a free sustainable-agriculture telephone helpline and the “Ask an Ag Expert” feature on the home page.  It has an archive of webinars and videos generated by NCAT and partnering organizations.

ATTRA also maintains numerous popular databases, including sustainable-agriculture internships and apprenticeships, and is a source for the day’s agriculture news, among other features.

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Since 1976, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) has been helping people by championing small-scale, local and sustainable solutions to reduce poverty, promote healthy communities and protect natural resources. In partnership with businesses, organizations, individuals and agricultural producers, NCAT is working to advance solutions that will ensure the next generation inherits a world that has clean air and water, energy production that is efficient and renewable, and healthy foods grown with sustainable practices. More information about its programs and services is available at www.ncat.org or by calling 1-800-ASK-NCAT.