Systems Research for Agriculture PDF Download

Author: Laurie E. Drinkwater
Publisher: Department of Agriculture
ISBN: 9781888626162
Category : Agricultural systems
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author: J. E. Sumberg
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Pub
ISBN: 9781555876746
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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The growing interest in greater farmer participation in formal agricultural research has had major implications both for investment priorities and for models of organisation, implementation and management of agricutural research and development.

Author: Bob Quinn
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1610919955
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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"A compelling agricultural story skillfully told; environmentalists will eat it up." - Kirkus Reviews When Bob Quinn was a kid, a stranger at a county fair gave him a few kernels of an unusual grain. Little did he know, that grain would change his life. Years later, after finishing a PhD in plant biochemistry and returning to his family’s farm in Montana, Bob started experimenting with organic wheat. In the beginning, his concern wasn’t health or the environment; he just wanted to make a decent living and some chance encounters led him to organics. But as demand for organics grew, so too did Bob’s experiments. He discovered that through time-tested practices like cover cropping and crop rotation, he could produce successful yields—without pesticides. Regenerative organic farming allowed him to grow fruits and vegetables in cold, dry Montana, providing a source of local produce to families in his hometown. He even started producing his own renewable energy. And he learned that the grain he first tasted at the fair was actually a type of ancient wheat, one that was proven to lower inflammation rather than worsening it, as modern wheat does. Ultimately, Bob’s forays with organics turned into a multimillion dollar heirloom grain company, Kamut International. In Grain by Grain, Quinn and cowriter Liz Carlisle, author of Lentil Underground, show how his story can become the story of American agriculture. We don’t have to accept stagnating rural communities, degraded soil, or poor health. By following Bob’s example, we can grow a healthy future, grain by grain.

Author: Ben Hartman
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
ISBN: 1603585923
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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A practical, systems-based approach for a more sustainable farming operation To many people today, using the words "factory" and "farm" in the same sentence is nothing short of sacrilege. In many cases, though, the same sound business practices apply whether you are producing cars or carrots. Author Ben Hartman and other young farmers are increasingly finding that incorporating the best new ideas from business into their farming can drastically cut their wastes and increase their profits, making their farms more environmentally and economically sustainable. By explaining the lean system for identifying and eliminating waste and introducing efficiency in every aspect of the farm operation, The Lean Farm makes the case that small-scale farming can be an attractive career option for young people who are interested in growing food for their community. Working smarter, not harder, also prevents the kind of burnout that start-up farmers often encounter in the face of long, hard, backbreaking labor. Lean principles grew out of the Japanese automotive industry, but they are now being followed on progressive farms around the world. Using examples from his own family's one-acre community-supported farm in Indiana, Hartman clearly instructs other small farmers in how to incorporate lean practices in each step of their production chain, from starting a farm and harvesting crops to training employees and selling goods. While the intended audience for this book is small-scale farmers who are part of the growing local food movement, Hartman's prescriptions for high-value, low-cost production apply to farms and businesses of almost any size or scale that hope to harness the power of lean in their production processes.

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251315698
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 72

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The Farmer Field School (FFS) has been one of the most successful approaches developed and promoted by FAO over the past three decades, empowering farmers to become better decision makers in their own farming systems. Initiated by FAO in 1989, and subsequently adopted by many other organizations and institutions, the FFS programs constitute one of the most important “results of the collective action of millions of small-scale farmers” that FAO has supported. FFS is an interactive and participatory learning by doing approach that offers farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolks, foresters and their communities a place where they can learn from each other,share experiences, co-create knowledge and try new ways of doing. Participants enhance their understanding of agro-ecosystems, resulting in production systems that are more resilient and optimize the use of available resources. FFS aims to improve farmers’ livelihoods and recognize their role as innovators and guardians of natural environments. FFS has attained plenty of outstanding achievements in all aspects of agriculture and rural development.

Author: Charles L. Mohler
Publisher: Natural Resource Agriculture and Engineering Service (Nraes)
ISBN: 9781933395210
Category : Crop rotation
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Author: Pam Dawling
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1550925121
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 459

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Growing for 100 - the complete year-round guide for the small-scale market grower. Across North America, an agricultural renaissance is unfolding. A growing number of market gardeners are emerging to feed our appetite for organic, regional produce. But most of the available resources on food production are aimed at the backyard or hobby gardener who wants to supplement their family's diet with a few homegrown fruits and vegetables. Targeted at serious growers in every climate zone, Sustainable Market Farming is a comprehensive manual for small-scale farmers raising organic crops sustainably on a few acres. Informed by the author's extensive experience growing a wide variety of fresh, organic vegetables and fruit to feed the approximately one hundred members of Twin Oaks Community in central Virginia, this practical guide provides: Detailed profiles of a full range of crops, addressing sowing, cultivation, rotation, succession, common pests and diseases, and harvest and storage Information about new, efficient techniques, season extension, and disease resistant varieties Farm-specific business skills to help ensure a successful, profitable enterprise Whether you are a beginning market grower or an established enterprise seeking to improve your skills, Sustainable Market Farming is an invaluable resource and a timely book for the maturing local agriculture movement.

Author: Steven Charles Franzel
Publisher: CABI
ISBN: 9780851998848
Category : Agroforestry
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Most published books on agroforestry have focused on biophysical aspects. There has been a lack of scientifically rigorous information about the socioeconomic features of agroforestry, and the adoption of agroforestry practices by farmers.This book fills that gap by assessing the adoption of selected agroforestry practices developed with African farmers, describing methods, and drawing out the implications for research, development, and policy. The volume includes five case studies of research conducted in Kenya and Zambia to evaluate the adoption potential of agroforestry. The cases illustrate methods of farm and village technology design, testing, and analysis that are applicable to a wide range of natural resource management practices.Along with the case studies, the contents also include chapters on: methods for assessing agroforestry adoption potential, promoting new agroforestry technologies: policy lessons from on-farm research, and assessing adoption potential: lessons learned and future directions.

Author: Cheryl L. Baisden
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738544977
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 518

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By 1876, the year Abraham Browning christened New Jersey the Garden State, South Jersey was already renowned as a leader in the farming industry, supplying the region with everything from apples to zucchini. It was here that Dr. T. B. Welch produced the grape juice that remains a favorite today, Elizabeth White first cultivated the blueberry, Seabrook Farms became the birthplace of frozen vegetables, Campbell Soup and others canned vegetable-fueled foods, and a colonel transformed the tomato's reputation from deadly to delectable. South Jersey Farming pays tribute to this rich agricultural past.

Author: Rob A. Cramb
Publisher: CIAT
ISBN:
Category : Participant observation
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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