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  • From: Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] ATTRA and their information resources.
  • Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2017 19:46:47 -0400

On Sun, Jun 18, 2017 at 8:41 PM, Steve Diver <steved@ipa.net> wrote:

> I'm still getting and reading this Permaculture List, although my time is
> limited and shy away from email lists.
>

Hello Steve! It has been a long time. I wondered if you would get swallowed
up by TPSL but I knew Frank would not know what to do with you or for that
matter Elaine Ingham, so I figured you would move on. Last I heard you were
doing bio-eco-ag consulting. BTW are TPSL's soil rtests Ok for purist
natural farmers and gardeners? I have learned a lot from Frank about how
they do their tests and I have been impressed. I think he serves a huge
conventional ag client base but does offer microbial amendments more often
than not.

I am glad you are doing hands-on work and can put your knowledge and
experience to work in the soil. I hear Kentucky is beautiful and has great
soil. There is a lot going on in NC and in my county of Orange a huge local
food production stimulus from the County in the form of a big food hub,
electronic, direct marketing and warehouse facility plus a value added
processing facility and a teaching farm with farm plot leasing and
educational resources.


> I saw your post below and thought I should give an update.
>
> ATTRA, now called ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture, is the flagship
> sustainable agriculture program of the National Center for Appropriate
> Technology or NCAT, funded through a cooperative agreement from the USDA.
>
> NCAT -- https://www.ncat.org -- is a national non-profit organization
> that has provided technology outreach on appropriate technology, solar
> greenhouse, renewable energy, low-income community development, and
> sustainable agriculture topics since the 1970s.
>
> So be sure to check out publications and resources from both the ATTRA and
> NCAT websites for the full picture, including as you noticed a series of
> webinars on YouTube.
>
> After 18 years with NCAT, I left in 2007 to work as a soil consultant in
> Austin, Texas and then for the last four years as the Farm Superintendent
> at the University of Kentucky Horticulture Research Farm, which is very
> hands-on and interesting since we have both organic and conventional
> production on the same research farm.
>
> After working in the agri-horticultural trenches for 30 years one gains a
> little perspective.
>
> The growth of sustainable agriculture, organic farming, permaculture,
> nature farming, eco-agriculture, soil testing, soil health, nutrient dense
> food production, holistic management, regenerative agriculture,
> multi-species cover crops, and many related alternative agricultural
> technologies and themes have grown into fully developed options for farmers
> whether big or small. A good indicator is that many of these practices are
> catching on being adapted by broad-scale farmers.
>

You produced the best work that came out of ATTRA. If you had been given
your own staff and continued funding for ATTRA you would have produced a
massive, timeless body of work that would serve the US natural ag community
for many years, well into the future.
Has ATTRA made all your work available and completed work that you started.?

If you look at all my posts over th years to this list you can keep track
of some of the more interesting developments in the soil foodweb as it
applies to natural farming. The article I posted today is a good example of
the outstanding work being done these days.

Nutrient dense, minimal till raised bed gardening utilizing rock dusts,
biochar and compost tea are what interests me the most these days.

Kepp up your outstanding work and glad to see you are still in this
permaculture list. The permaculture movement seems to be holding its own
and maintaining high standards for teaching and practice.

Cheers,

Lawrence
--
Lawrence F. London, Jr.
lfljvenaura@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/site/avantgeared




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