Grants can serve an important role in funding farmer training programs, agricultural research and the development of local food systems. We’re at the time when many agricultural federal grant agencies are either accepting proposals or reviewing proposals they have received to make funding decisions.

This is also the time of year when I see misinformation about grant programs popping up as well as questions about what are the various programs and how to apply to them. In this five part series, we’ll discuss federal agricultural grant programs, what they are and how to develop a winning strategy for accessing this funding stream.

Grants can serve an important role in funding farmer training programs, agricultural research and the development of local food systems. We’re at the time when many agricultural federal grant agencies are either accepting proposals or reviewing proposals they have received to make funding decisions.

This is also the time of year when I see misinformation about grant programs popping up as well as questions about what are the various programs and how to apply to them. In this five part series, we’ll discuss federal agricultural grant programs, what they are and how to develop a winning strategy for accessing this funding stream.

Around the country, we are heading into the season when we can head down to a farmers market, a roadside stand or pick up a CSA share and enjoy the results of some farmers labor. And many of those farmers grow the vegetables, fruits and herbs that we will enjoy, hopefully, with friends and family this summer.

Market gardens are small farms which generally grow a variety of crops for sale directly to the consumer or to restaurants. Existing on every continent including Africa, Europe and South America, market gardens have served as an important source of food for many people for quite some time.

In this episode of the Sustainable AG Rider Podcast, I speak with Felicia Bell about market garden basics. Felicia runs RD&S Farm in Brandon, Mississippi and is a technical assistant for the National Center for Appropriate Technology. Felicia and I will chat about market gardens and what a new farmer should be doing if they want to establish one. We’ll talk soils, farm layout and planning among other things.

The Sustainable AG Rider podcast is available on all major streaming services including Apple, Stitcher,Google Play and Spotify.  If you like the show, please hop on to Apple and give us a rating. And please subscribe so you can always know when the latest shows are out.

The Sustainable AG Rider podcast is released every Wednesday

SHOW NOTES

The National Center for Appropriate Technology https://www.ncat.org/

ATTRA- https://attra.ncat.org/

Please subscribe to our podcast and give us a rating on your streaming service of choice

Soil is the foundation upon which agriculture rests.  It has been said the true role of a farmer is to build healthy soils which in turn will provide him with healthy and bountiful crops.  While our soils in the United States has been a great benefactor to the country, our lack of stewardship of this vital resource presents us with some unique challenges

In this episode of the Sustainable AG Rider Podcast, I speak with Justin Duncan of the National Center for Appropriate Technology about soil and its many components.  He’ll speak about soil basics new farmers should know and how they approach soil fertility on their farms.  We also chat about salt, minerals and pigeon peas.

The Sustainable AG Rider podcast is available on all major streaming services including Apple, Stitcher,Google Play and Spotify.  If you like the show, please hop on to Apple and give us a rating. And please subscribe so you can always know when the latest shows are out.

The Sustainable AG Rider podcast is released every Wednesday http://sustainableagrider.com/

Show Notes

Cover Crops for Hot & Humid Areas by Justin Duncan https://attra.ncat.org/product/cover-crop-options-for-hot-and-humid-areas/

Azomite Dealers Seven Springs Farm Supply https://www.7springsfarm.com/ Earthwise Organics https://earthwiseagriculture.net/

As we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic combined with the encroaching effects of climate change, people are waking to the realization that our greatest strength in times of trouble is to work together in a cooperative manner. Governments, even well meaning ones, cannot be depended on to support communities in times of need or to uplift and support communities to help them grow and prosper.

With the renewed interest in local foods and in building stronger local economies, cooperatives have regained some traction as viable, socially just methods of conducting business. Many people know about agricultural cooperatives where farmers come together to purchase supplies, help each other out on the farms and cooperatively sell their crops. But enthusiasm for creating other cooperatives such as financial services cooperatives like credit unions has also been growing as a response to abuses by large corporate entities.

In this episode of the Sustainable AG Rider, we speak with Eric Simpson of the West Georgia Farmers Market and Matthew Epperson, Executive Director of the Georgia Cooperative Development Center about cooperatives in the age of COVID