NCAT Southeast staff members. Back row, left to right: Linda Coffey, Livestock Specialist; Luke Freeman, Horticulture Specialist; Margo Hale, Southeast Regional Office Director. Front row, left to right: Nina Prater, Sustainable Agriculture Specialist/Outreach Coordinator; Robyn Metzger, Program Assistant; Guy Ames, Horticulture Specialist. The NCAT Southeast Regional Office NCAT opened an office in Fayetteville, Arkansas,… Continue Reading
Register Now: NCAT Beginning Livestock Workshop
Join NCAT for a one-day beginning livestock workshop at beautiful Wholly Cow Farms in Judsonia, Arkansas. NCAT Southeast Regional Director Margo Hale and NCAT Livestock Specialist Linda Coffey will teach sessions on business planning, marketing, and sustainable livestock production. Farmer Ryan Pace will lead a tour of the farm and share his experiences raising organic… Continue Reading
Sour Rot on Grapes
By Luke Freeman, NCAT Horticulture Specialist The grape harvest has begun here in Arkansas and we have all been enjoying delicious locally-grown table grapes. If you are growing grapes yourself you may be noticing some diseases that have caused your grapes to rot before you can harvest them. One disease you may see, which is… Continue Reading
Heirloom Apple Varieties: “Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used to Be”
By Guy K. Ames, NCAT Horticulture Specialist For me it started about forty years ago. Every few months someone will send me or I will by chance find in my reading an earnest, beautiful, mouth-watering homage to an apple variety lost in the fog of history. Or, just as likely, an apple variety rediscovered and… Continue Reading
Milestones and a Reunion at Armed to Farm Indiana
We completed our twentieth Armed to Farm training, and our first in the Midwest U.S., back in May! We were excited to partner with Farmer Veteran Coalition of Indiana and AgrAbility to host a group of 18 veterans in Crawfordsville, Indiana, May 13-17. It was great to reconnect with Sara Creech, alumnus of our very… Continue Reading
Alternative Poultry Feeds
By Margo Hale, NCAT Livestock Specialist and Southeast Regional Office Director Finding sources of feed often presents a challenge for sustainable or organic poultry producers. Many producers would like to source local and organic feeds, and many would prefer diets that do not rely heavily on corn and soybeans. In order to do this, farmers… Continue Reading
Japanese Beetles: Exotic Pests and Domestic Defenses
By Guy K. Ames, NCAT Horticulture Specialist Ever since Columbus sailed the ocean blue, travel and trade between the eastern and western hemispheres have been responsible for releasing stowaway pests and diseases into ecosystems unprepared for their devastations. Some of these are quite famous, like Dutch elm disease and chestnut blight, both brought from the… Continue Reading
The Disease Triangle and the Rotten Rainbow
Excessive Rain Causes Challenges for Fruit Growers By Guy K. Ames, NCAT Horticulture Specialist The so-called Disease Triangle is a Venn diagram that illustrates the interplay among the factors that cause disease. The factors that must be present for disease to occur are: a susceptible host, the presence of the pathogen, and a conducive environment.… Continue Reading
Disease Resistance Among Apple Varieties
It’s Relative, Not Absolute! By Guy K. Ames, NCAT Horticulture Specialist The concept of disease resistance among apple varieties seems to be often misunderstood. Rarely is resistance so strong that it is absolute or immune. There are some bona fide scab-immune apple varieties (e.g., Williams Pride, Liberty, Pristine, and Enterprise). And there are some cedar… Continue Reading
The Farmer’s Footsteps or “Can I see some I.D.?”
By Guy K. Ames, NCAT Horticulture Specialist Sure, that’s a strange title for my blog, but I can explain: I have two, somewhat distinct, important points to make here. Ambushed Elderberries This morning before heading for the office, I took one of my usual walks to enjoy the cool morning temperatures and to see whatever… Continue Reading