Fertilizer, Harvest and Rural Development

Policy Perspectives: Patrick Wade Discusses NASDA’s Rural Development Policies and NASS Data

NASDA

MARCH 4, 2025

Q&A In a recent interview, NASDA Director of Public Policy Patrick Wade talks about NASDAs work on agricultural labor, pesticide rules, and rural development. For Rural Development & Financial Security, this means we support policies that work to strengthen rural economies of all backgrounds.

Rural Development

Rural Development Ruralism Pesticide Grain

Winter Farming in Florida: Profit Ripe for the Picking

ATTRA

DECEMBER 23, 2024

After Floridas farmers harvest a wide array of summer crops, the fields do not lie dormant for long. These crops have many benefits for small-scale growers in Florida due to high demand in winter months, extended harvest, local market opportunities, and versatility of the use for these commodities.

Farming

Farming Farming Harvesting Harvest

In Hawai‘i, Restoring Kava Helps Sustain Native Food Culture

Civil Eats

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

Sampling Kava Safely The Hawaii Department of Health recommends these guidelines when trying kava: Choose Noble Strains: Always look for kava harvested from noble cultivarsHawaiian kava is inherently nobleas these are the only strains designated as GRAS. Harvesting awa requires leaving the corm and lateral roots intact.

Food

Food Plantation Acre Production

Living Mulch Cover Cropping for Gardens and Small Farms: Managing an “organic matter” system

ATTRA

DECEMBER 26, 2023

He found that undersowing the clover was an amazing way to get the field covered by harvest. When he needed added biomass, he experimented with undersowing Dutch white clover into early harvested crops, mowing the post-harvest crop, and then drilling rye into the clover. ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.

Crop

Crop Plowing Manure Farming

Improving Livelihoods with Regenerative Agriculture

Sustainable Harvest International

OCTOBER 17, 2024

At Sustainable Harvest International (SHI), we support low-income farmers during their transition to sustainable practices. SHI-Panama partner farmer Melania Pérez harvests chili peppers and beans from her family garden. Family farmers are the backbone of rural communities.

Agriculture

Agriculture Agriculture Harvesting Harvest

High Tunnel Soil Management for Season Extension

ATTRA

JANUARY 2, 2024

By Chris Lent, NCAT Agriculture Specialist When I began to see how unique the growing conditions in my high tunnel are compared to open-field growing, I started to think differently about how to maintain soil health and manage soil fertility for high tunnel growing and season extension. High tunnel kale crop for harvest through the fall.

Compost

Compost Fertilizer Crop Cash Crop

Identifying Waste: Becoming a Lean Farming Machine

ATTRA

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

Planting, harvesting, breeding, raising livestock all require a period of waiting, but there are forms of waiting that can be minimized in farming operations, such as equipment repair, delayed harvest times due to unavailable labor, and delays of shipments of agricultural inputs. ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.

Farming

Farming Farming Processing Livestock

How to Start Community Agroforestry Projects: Advice from 11 Forest Gardens

ATTRA

OCTOBER 3, 2023

Urban soils are often nutrient-poor and depleted, but with proper soil management, they can become fertile ground for planting relatively quickly. Test for heavy-metal toxicity and if results come back highly contaminated, contact the EPA and see if they can do a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. Remediate your soils.

Food

Food Distribution Rural Development Forestry

A Brief History of Discrimination against Black Farmers—Including by the USDA

The Equation

AUGUST 27, 2024

High interest rates, erratic harvests, and deceptive landlords kept Black farmers trapped in cycles of debt and poverty, as they were forced to carry debt over to the following year. Sharecropping was a system in which the landowner permitted tenants to use their property for farming in exchange for housing and a share of farmers’ profits.

Sharecropping

Sharecropping Farming Farming Acre

The Unsung Heroes of the Plants We Drink: Tea

ATTRA

MAY 7, 2024

The journey of tea from seed to cup involves harvesting, withering, rolling, oxidizing, and drying. Once you have your plants in the field, you’ll need to give them regular pruning and fertilization to ensure they grow well and produce optimal yields. Harvesting and Processing Your Tea Congratulations on growing your own tea!

Harvesting

Harvesting Harvest Harvester Cultivation

A Brief History of Discrimination against Black Farmers—Including by the USDA

The Equation

AUGUST 27, 2024

High interest rates, erratic harvests, and deceptive landlords kept Black farmers trapped in cycles of debt and poverty, as they were forced to carry debt over to the following year. Sharecropping was a system in which the landowner permitted tenants to use their property for farming in exchange for housing and a share of farmers profits.

Sharecropping

Sharecropping Farming Farming Acre

All Chopped Up with Somewhere to Grow

ATTRA

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Both “cut and carry” and “chop and drop” allow for nutrient cycling, especially if the goat manure can be collected and used to fertilize the trees they are eating, closing that loop. Of course, additional nutrients must be added into the system to replace minerals lost through harvest/animal losses. ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.

Rural Development

Rural Development Manure Compost Pasture

Practicing Resurrection: Using Green Manures on a Small Semi-Urban Homestead

ATTRA

AUGUST 15, 2023

To “every day do something that won’t compute… say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold.” I rely on these crops, idealistically to bolster hope, and practically to provide most if not all the fertility my garden crops need to live fully and produce quality fruits. But the whole situation gave me some ideas.

Manure

Manure Fertilizer Crop Carryover

Agriculture Informer

Policy Perspectives: Patrick Wade Discusses NASDA’s Rural Development Policies and NASS Data

Winter Farming in Florida: Profit Ripe for the Picking

Trending Sources

In Hawai‘i, Restoring Kava Helps Sustain Native Food Culture

Living Mulch Cover Cropping for Gardens and Small Farms: Managing an “organic matter” system

Improving Livelihoods with Regenerative Agriculture

High Tunnel Soil Management for Season Extension

Identifying Waste: Becoming a Lean Farming Machine

How to Start Community Agroforestry Projects: Advice from 11 Forest Gardens

A Brief History of Discrimination against Black Farmers—Including by the USDA

The Unsung Heroes of the Plants We Drink: Tea

A Brief History of Discrimination against Black Farmers—Including by the USDA

All Chopped Up with Somewhere to Grow

Practicing Resurrection: Using Green Manures on a Small Semi-Urban Homestead

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