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Books > Professional & Technical > Agriculture & farming > General
Fresh from receiving a doctorate from Cornell University in 1933,
but unable to find work, Charles M. Wiltse joined his parents on
the small farm they had recently purchased in southern Ohio. There,
the Wiltses scratched out a living selling eggs, corn, and other
farm goods at prices that were barely enough to keep the farm
intact.
In wry and often affecting prose, Wiltse recorded a year in the
life of this quintessentially American place during the Great
Depression. He describes the family's daily routine, occasional
light moments, and their ongoing frustrations, small and
large--from a neighbor's hog that continually broke into the
cornfields to the ongoing struggle with their finances. Franklin
Roosevelt's New Deal had little to offer small farmers, and despite
repeated requests, the family could not secure loans from local
banks to help them through the hard economic times. Wiltse spoke
the bitter truth when he told his diary, "We are not a lucky
family." In this he represented millions of others caught in the
maw of a national disaster.
The diary is introduced and edited by Michael J. Birkner, Wiltse's
former colleague at the Papers of Daniel Webster Project at
Dartmouth College, and coeditor, with Wiltse, of the final volume
of Webster's correspondence.
This book deals with agriculture as practiced in ancient Israel
from the settlement to the destruction of the First Temple. It
describes crops and trees cultivated by the Israelite farmer and
the methods and tools used in cultivation. The information is
gathered from both literary and archaeological sources, with the
Old Testament supplying most of the literary information. The
author attributes several innovations to the biblical peasant:
large-scale terracing, runoff farming (i.e. irrigation),
restoration of soil fertility, and the invention of the beam
oil-press. Out of print for some time, Eisenbrauns is pleased once
again to make this valuable resource available.
Novelist and nature writer Richard Horan embarked on an
adventure across America to reveal that farming is still the
vibrant beating heart of our nation. Horan went from coast to
coast, visiting organic family farms and working the harvests of
more than a dozen essential or unusual food crops--from Kansas
wheat and Michigan wild rice to Maine potatoes, California walnuts,
and Cape Cod cranberries--in search of connections with the
farmers, the soil, the seasons, and the lifeblood of America.
Sparkling with lively prose and a winning blend of profound
seriousness and delightful humor, Harvest carries the reader on an
eyeopening and transformational journey across the length and
breadth of this remarkable land, offering a powerful national
portrait of challenge and diligence, and an inspiring message of
hope.
Our food system is broken, and it's endangering what's most
precious to us: our environment, our health, our soil and water,
and our future. In recent years, a host of books and films have
compellingly documented the dangers. But advice on what to do about
them largely begins and ends with the admonition to eat local" or
eat organic." Longtime good food pioneer Oran Hesterman knows that
we can't fix the broken system simply by changing what's on our own
plates: the answer lies beyond the kitchen. In Fair Food he shares
an inspiring and practical vision for changing not only what we
eat, but how food is grown, packaged, delivered, marketed, and
sold. He introduces people and organizations across the country who
are already doing this work in a number of creative ways, and
provides a wealth of practical information for readers who want to
get more involved.
In recent years, the global economy has struggled to meet the
nutritional needs of a growing populace. In an effort to circumvent
a deepening food crisis, it is pertinent to develop new
sustainability strategies and practices to provide a stable supply
of food resources. Urban Agriculture and Food Systems:
Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is an authoritative resource
on the latest technological developments in urban agriculture and
its ability to supplement current food systems. The content within
this publication represents the work of topics such as sustainable
production in urban spaces, farming practices, and urban
distribution methods. This publication is an ideal reference source
for students, professionals, policymakers, researchers, and
practitioners interested in recent developments in the areas of
agriculture in urban spaces.
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