The Dirt E-Newsletter
See past issues of our newsletter, The Dirt. It showcases the Southwest Regional Office’s efforts, programs and services. Browse them to see the important sustainable agriculture and energy work we are doing in San Antonio Texas.
Opened in 2010, NCAT’s Southwest Regional Office is located in downtown San Antonio, Texas. We are constantly seeking to meet, learn about, and collaborate with other groups in our region with similar missions. We take a special interest in the states of Texas and New Mexico.
Current projects
- The ATTRA Program: Providing regionally appropriate technical assistance on organic certification, cover crops, soil health, pastured poultry, water conservation, farm business planning, and many other topics.
- Subtropical Soil Health Initiative: Improving soil health in subtropical South Texas, through the use of cover crops, reduced tillage, and other methods.
- Soil for Water: Researching and promoting ways of storing more rainwater in soil.
- Texas Hispanic Farmer Rancher Conference: Practical workshops and a celebration of Hispanic farmers and ranchers in Texas. Register or sponsor the conference.
- Beyond Fresh: Expanding markets for value-added food products in Texas. Read the final report, view the workbook, and download free cost calculating tools.
- Is Organic Farming Risky?: Research and education on better crop insurance options for diversified and organic farms.
- Local food initiatives, including our Feasibility Study for a Texas Organic Food Hub.
- Preparing military veterans for careers in sustainable farming, through field days, e-learning opportunities, business planning help, and our intensive Armed to Farm trainings. Visit NCAT’s Armed to Farm page.
We are seeking collaborators and funding for
- Regional conservation partnerships: Improving soil health and water quality through the use of cover crops, environmentally friendly grazing, and other methods.
- More water conservation projects: Irrigation efficiency, riparian protection, and farming and ranching methods that increase the water-holding capacity of soils.
- More support for organic agriculture; there is great potential in our region. See our report on organic farming in Texas.
- More outreach programs to make appropriate technologies available to the region’s most economically vulnerable people.
- International partnerships.
Contact NCAT’s Southwest Regional Office
118 Broadway, Suite 524
San Antonio, TX 78205
(866) 319-1669
Mike Morris (mikem@ncat.org) is director of NCAT’s Southwest Regional Office.
