Entries by Emilie Ritter Saunders

Applications Open for Armed to Farm New Mexico

The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is partnering with Holistic Management International (HMI) to bring its Armed to Farm training to the Southwest. Armed to Farm will take place March 28-April 1, 2022, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Participants will attend classroom sessions and travel to local farms for hands-on learning experiences. Armed to Farm trainings […]

January 14, 2022 by

SAVE THE DATES: Soil Health Innovations Conference

Mark your calendars for NCAT’s second Soil Health Innovations Conference: Soil for Water, set for Tuesday and Wednesday, March 15 and 16, 2022. This will be a virtual conference offering plenty of networking opportunities with presenters and fellow attendees. Join us to hear from presenters such as David Montgomery of the University of Washington and […]

January 7, 2022 by

Sustainable Agriculture Specialist

The National Center for Appropriate Technology or NCAT has been helping people build resilient communities through local and sustainable solutions that reduce poverty, strengthen self-reliance, and protect natural resources since 1976. NCAT is a trusted, practical connector for individuals and businesses who are working to leave our world better than we found it. NCAT works […]

December 17, 2021 by

Development Director

The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is a private nonprofit organization whose mission is to help people build resilient communities through local and sustainable solutions that reduce poverty, strengthen self-reliance, and protect natural resources. NCAT works to foster and promote sustainable technologies and systems, especially for the benefit of economically disadvantaged individuals and communities. […]

November 23, 2021 by

Help Shape Montana’s Soil Health Future

There’s nothing like a summer of vicious heat, drought, and grasshoppers to focus minds on the vital importance of healthy soil. Soil scientist Wallace Fuller said in 1975, “A cloak of loose, soft material, held to the Earth’s hard surface by gravity, is all that lies between life and lifelessness.” Across Montana, the summer of […]

October 18, 2021 by
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New Digital Home for NCAT’s Armed to Farm

By Robyn Metzger, Armed to Farm Coordinator The National Center for Appropriate Technology has launched a new website for its farmer veteran training program, Armed to Farm. The site, ARMEDTOFARM.ORG, features program news, promotes upcoming training opportunities, and connects alumni with sustainable agriculture resources and other farmer veterans.   NCAT developed the first Armed to Farm training in 2013 through a Beginning Farmer […]

September 13, 2021 by

Biochar Policy Project Aims to Scale Up Rural Climate Solution

By Steve Thompson, NCAT Executive Director Dave Atkins, a forest landowner in Montana’s Blackfoot Valley, peers through the smoke-filled gloom of another hot and dry August, and he sees hope on the horizon. He’s part of a collaborative project with other small landowners, federal land agencies, conservation and watershed groups that thinks that an important […]

August 23, 2021 by

Novel Nutrient Management Method: Applying Poultry Litter in Subsurface Bands

By Nina Prater, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist Getting nutrients right in farming is a balancing act. When planning to apply fertilizers and soil amendments, farmers must consider their soil type, climate, the time of year, the crops they are raising, water availability, soil health, water quality concerns, and the nuances of the many different macro- and micronutrients that plants require. The way nutrients are applied is also an important consideration. […]

August 10, 2021 by
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Adaptive Grazing – You Can Do It

Adaptive high stock-density grazing. Photo: Pasture Project By Lee Rinehart, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist, NCAT Northeast Back in the late 1990s, I was a new county Extension agent in Texas. I met a Brangus rancher who became a friend and demonstration cooperator, and I pitched him a topic that he became immediately interested in. We laid […]

July 26, 2021 /0 Comments/by

Soil Health and Adaptive Grazing with Dr. Allen Williams

Adaptive grazing is a regenerative livestock production system that uses multiple paddocks, frequent moving of livestock with short grazing intervals, and long rest periods to provide full pasture plant recovery. It is a proven method of increasing the resiliency of pastures by building soil organic matter, increasing soil water infiltration, promoting water conservation, adding diversity, […]

July 26, 2021 by