Nick Panicola is the newest member of the Produce Safety Technician team working at the Grand Traverse Conservation District. He spent +5 years working in viticulture and dabbling in diverse vegetable farming and livestock rearing. Along with his experience in the field, he brings a passion for community and connection-making in the pursuit of developing more resilient rural food systems. My introduction to the concepts of regenerative agriculture slowly trickled into my li

NRCS is providing funding through the Regenerative Pilot Program for farms across the country wanting to improve their soil health through a variety of practices. If you’re in the farming industry, you have probably heard the buzzword Regenerative Agriculture being used more often over the last few years. There are plenty of definitions of what it is, with each definition being slightly different, but at the core of those definitions is an increased focus on soil health. A

What It Is and Why It Matters (and do you have to do it?) Agricultural Water Assessment What It Is and Why It Matters (and do you have to do it?) The FSMA Agricultural Water Assessment can feel intimidating at first. It is a detailed evaluation of pre-harvest agricultural water, and that alone can be enough to make growers feel overwhelmed or start looking for an exemption. Instead, think of the Ag Water Assessment as a research project focused on your farm’s water system.