A Conversation with Atina Diffley

In this episode, NCAT community foods outreach specialist Daniel Prial, and Andy Pressman, director of NCAT's Northeast Region office in Keene, New Hampshire, talk to Atina Diffley, author of Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works, a 2013 Minnesota Book Award winner.Both Andy and Daniel work with NCAT's ATTRA sustainable agriculture program.Atina is a Minnesota organic farmer and public speaker. Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works is a memoir based on Atina's life running the Gardens of Eagan organic vegetable farm. Her advocacy has addressed the pressures of suburban development, and she successfully led a legal and citizen campaign opposing Koch Industries to create an organic mitigation plan for organic farms in Minnesota.Andy and Daniel have a wide-ranging discussion on organic production with Atina, touching on intermediary markets, the links between risk management and crop diversity, strategies for scaling up production, pricing, labor, the history of the organic movement, and more.Related ATTRA ResourcesOrganic Farming Scaling Up Your Vegetable Farm for Regional MarketsScaling Up for Regional MarketsOn Farm Food Safety and FSMASustainable Farming Internships and ApprenticeshipsBeginning Farmer TutorialsPositive Practices in Farm Labor ManagementTips for Selling to: Wholesale Buyers at Terminal MarketsScheduling Vegetable Plantings for Continuous HarvestOther ResourcesAtina Diffley website (including information on purchasing Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works)Family FarmedYou can get in touch with NCAT/ATTRA specialists and find our other extensive, and free, sustainable-agriculture publications, webinars, videos, and other resources at NCAT/ATTRA's website.You also can stay in touch with NCAT at its Facebook page.Keep up with NCAT/ATTRA's SIFT farm at its website.Also check out NCAT's Regional Offices' websites and Facebook Pages!Southwest Regional Office: Website / FacebookWestern Regional Office: Website / FacebookRocky Mountain West Regional Office: FacebookGulf States Regional Office: Website / FacebookSoutheast Regional Office: Website / FacebookNortheast Regional Office: Website / Facebook