Organic matter in soil is the primary determinant of the quality and health of the soil. Soil organic matter management, therefore, has worldwide implications and is an increasingly important focus of research. Soil Organic Matter in Sustainable Agriculture offers a comprehensive overview of the central role that organic matter plays in the health of soils. It also provides the scientific foundation for key practices in agroecology and soil organic matter management, including improving and conserving soil quality and enhancing crop production. With overviews from a number of authors on related topics, this book presents a holistic approach to soil organic matter management.

Provides detailed information about the use of nanotechnology in remediating waste and pollution in agriculture Nano-Technological Intervention in Agricultural Productivity explores sustainable, eco-friendly technologies for remediating wastes and contaminated areas in both water and land ecosystems. Focusing on nano-technological innovations that use microbes and microbial agents to improve the quality and pollutant discharge of contaminated sites, this comprehensive volume also discusses molecular approaches for the characterization of nanoparticles, the biosynthetic pathways of microbes, gene and protein expression studies for bio-deterioration techniques, and more. Organized into nine chapters, the book opens with a thorough overview of the functions, classification, properties, synthesis, and applications of nanoparticles. Following a discussion of the environmental and agricultural implications of nanotechnology, the authors examine the current role and future prospects of nanotechnology in managing plant diseases, improving agri-food production, and increasing agricultural productivity. Subsequent chapters cover lignin nanoparticles, various applications of nanotechnology in agriculture, and nano-based advances in plant and microbial science. Offering an up-to-date account of the role of nanotechnologies in agricultural bioremediation, this book: Explores biotechnological advances in the development of sophisticated green technologies for waste minimization and waste control Emphasizes the use of microbes for degradation and removal of various xenobiotic substances Discusses bioremediation approaches in relation to the impact of increased urbanization and industrialization on the environment Covers a variety of applications of nanotechnology in agriculture, including nano-fertilizers, nano-biosensors, nano-pesticides, and nanoparticle protection in plants Nano-Technological Intervention in Agricultural Productivity is a valuable resource for students in plant biotechnology and agricultural science and engineering, as well as an important reference for researchers in plant biotechnology and agricultural sciences, particularly those with interest in the use of nanomaterials for pollution remediation and sustainable development.

As ancient as agriculture itself, plant breeding is one of civilization's oldest activities. Today, world food production is more dependent than ever on the successful cultivation of only a handful of major crops, while continuing advances in agriculture rely on successfully breeding new varieties that are well-adapted to their human-influenced ecological circumstances. Plant breeding involves elements of both natural and cultural selection-a process which operates on individual plants and on plant populations. This book offers the most recent detailed knowledge of plant reproduction and their environmental interaction, which can help guide new breeding programs and help insure continuing progress in providing more food for growing populations produced with better care of the environment.

A heartwarming love letter to the places, people and creatures of Yorkshire by the county's beloved vet, Channel 5's Peter Wright. The Yorkshire Vet takes us on an enchanting journey through the hidden gems of the most beautiful county in the world, sharing charming tales of his life in Thirsk as well as fascinating nuggets of local history. Packed with engaging tales of the animals, people and places around him, Peter Wright looks back on the bygone ways of his childhood, while also exploring the fusion of tradition and modernity that characterises the Yorkshire countryside today. Peter's passion for nature shines through on every page, as he explains why our environment is so important - and what we can do to protect it for future generations.

How do rural Chinese households deal with the conflicting pressures of migrating into cities to work as well as staying at home to preserve their fields? This is particularly challenging for rice farmers, because paddy fields have to be cultivated continuously to retain their soil quality and value. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and written sources, Rural-Urban Migration and Agro-Technological Change in Post-Reform China describes farming households' strategic solutions to this predicament. It shows how, in light of rural-urban migration and agro-technological change, they manage to sustain both migration and farming. It innovatively conceives rural households as part of a larger farming community of practice that spans both staying and migrating household members and their material world. Focusing on one exemplary resource - paddy fields - it argues that socio-technical resources are key factors in understanding migration flows and migrant-home relations. Overall, this book provides rare insights into the rural side of migration and farmers' knowledge and agency.

Originally published in 1963 this volume surveys various aspects of the complex relations between rights in land, social organization and economic interests in tropical Africa. The papers - in English and French but with summaries in the other language - analyse case studies illustrating the various basic factors and problems connected with land in Tropical Africa. Indigenous systems of tenure and their adaptation to commercial agriculture, the balance between rights and obligations of groups and individuals, and the authority and duties of chiefs and headmen are discussed in detail for many different areas. Against this background important contributions are made towards the better understanding of problems raised by economic and political development, population increase, migration and scarcity of land.

Horticultural Reviews presents state-of-the-art reviews on topics in horticultural science and technology covering both basic and applied research. Topics covered include the horticulture of fruits, vegetables, nut crops, and ornamentals. These review articles, written by world authorities, bridge the gap between the specialized researcher and the broader community of horticultural scientists and teachers.

All farming in prehistoric Europe ultimately came from elsewhere in one way or another, unlike the growing numbers of primary centers of domestication and agricultural origins worldwide. This fact affects every aspect of our understanding of the start of farming on the continent because it means that ultimately, domesticated plants and animals came from somewhere else, and from someone else. In an area as vast as Europe, the process by which food production becomes the predominant subsistence strategy is of course highly variable, but in a sense the outcome is the same, and has the potential for addressing more large-scale questions regarding agricultural origins. Therefore, a detailed understanding of all aspects of farming in its absolute earliest form in various regions of Europe can potentially provide a new perspective on the mechanisms by which this monumental change comes to human societies and regions. In this volume, we aim to collect various perspectives regarding the earliest farming from across Europe. Methodological approaches, archaeological cultures, and geographic locations in Europe are variable, but all papers engage with the simple question: What was the earliest farming like? This volume opens a conversation about agriculture just after the transition in order to address the role incoming people, technologies, and adaptations have in secondary adoptions. The book starts with an introduction by the editors which will serve to contextualize the theme of the volume. The broad arguments concerning the process of neolithisation are addressed, and the rationale for the volume discussed. Contributions are ordered geographically and chronologically, given the progression of the Neolithic across Europe. The editors conclude the volume with a short commentary paper regarding the theme of the volume.

Traditional agriculture and emerging biofuels technology produce a number of wastes and by-products, ranging from corn fiber and glycerin to animal manure, that have the potential to serve as the basis for additional sources of bioenergy that includes both liquid biofuels and biogas.

"Biofuels from Agricultural Wastes and Byproducts" is the first book to focus solely on the production of biofuels primarily from agricultural waste and by-products. The book is divided roughly into two sections. The first section looks at liquid biofuel production from agricultural byproducts, densification of agricultural residues, and the delivery from farm to processing plant of waste and byproducts for use in biofuel production. The second section focuses on anaerobic digestion of food and animal wastes, microbial diversity, molecular and biochemical aspects of methanogensis.

Together these sections solidify "Biofuels from Agricultural Wastes and Byproducts" as a definitive source of information on the use of agricultural waste and by-products in biofuel production.

Written by one of America's preeminent labor historians, this book is the definitive account of one of the most spectacular, captivating, complex and strangely neglected stories in Western history--the emergence of migratory farmworkers and the development of California agriculture.
Street has systematically worked his way through a mountain of archival materials--more than 500 manuscript collections, scattered in 22 states, including Spain and Mexico--to follow the farmworker story from its beginnings on Spanish missions into the second decade of the twentieth century. The result is a comprehensive tour de force. Scene by scene, the epic narrative clarifies and breathes new life into a controversial and instructive saga long surrounded by myth, conjecture, and scholarly neglect.
With its panoramic view spanning 144 years and moving from the US-Mexico border to Oregon, "Beasts of the Field" reveals diverse patterns of life and labor in the fields that varied among different crops, regions, time periods, and racial and ethic groups.
Enormous in scope, packed with surprising twists and turns, and devastating in impact, this compelling, revelatory work of American social history will inform generations to come of the history of California and the nation.

For students and practitioners alike, Fundamentals of Agribusiness Finance is a concise, handy guide, complete with a glossary of terms and an index. The text presents clear, direct explanations of basic concepts and procedures that the successful agribusiness operator must know.
Starting with an overview of domestic and international trends, the text moves through the basics of loans such as mortgages and deeds of trust, the time value of money, interest, discounting, calculations and amortization, refinancing, cash budgeting, and graphing loans. Capital budgeting, leases, taxes, financial statements, and statement analysis are included. Formulas are provided for figuring liquidity, solvency, profitability, and repayment capacity. Risk is characteristic of agribusiness, but the risk management outlined here provides some security in an unpredictable environment. The lending industry is the focus of the final chapters.
While useful as a guide, the text was designed for teaching. Outlines begin each chapter, and study questions and problems complete each chapter. Key terms are highlighted in the text and defined in the glossary.

An unsettling journey into the United States' disaster-bound food system, and an exploration of possible solutions, from leading food politics commentator and farmer-turned-journalist Tom Philpott.

More than a decade after Michael Pollan's game-changing The Omnivore's Dilemma transformed the conversation about what we eat, a combination of global diet trends and corporate interests have put American agriculture into a state of "quiet emergency," from dangerous drought in California--which grows more than fifty percent of the fruits and vegetables we eat--to catastrophic topsoil loss in the "breadbasket" heartland of the United States. Whether or not we take heed, these urgent crises of industrial agriculture will define our future.

In Perilous Bounty, veteran journalist and former farmer Tom Philpott explores and exposes the small handful of seed and pesticide corporations, investment funds, and magnates who benefit from the trends that imperil us, with on-the-ground dispatches featuring the scientists documenting the damage and the farmers and activists who are valiantly and inventively pushing back.

Resource scarcity looms on the horizon, but rather than pointing us toward an inevitable doomsday, Philpott shows how the entire wayward ship of American agriculture could be routed away from its path to disaster. He profiles the farmers and communities in the nation's two key growing regions developing resilient, soil-building, water-smart farming practices, and readying for the climate shocks that are already upon us; and he explains how we can help move these methods from the margins to the mainstream.

Countryside Stewardship is the first cross-country, empirical study to examine the market effects of stewardship policies across Europe, as well as their possible impact on the supply of agricultural commodities.
This timely and insightful book examines the economic nature of the agri-environmental measures that were intended to reduce the negative effects of agricultural production on countryside amenities and stimulate the positive contributions of farmers to countryside management. An international team of authors offers a comparative analysis of stewardship policies across eight different European countries, drawing upon a classification of 330 different agri-environmental measures introduced since 1985. The objective of their analysis is to provide policy makers and all those involved - farmers, extension officers, researchers - with more insight into the organisation and effects of these policies and to present some options for a more effective implementation of policies in this new field.

China's agriculture and rural society has undergone rapid changes in recent years. Many poorer farmers and younger people have moved to cities, and yet China has an immense challenge to feed a growing and more affluent population. This book provides a 'bottom-up view' of China's agriculture, showing how the many millions of Chinese peasants make a living. It presents a vivid description of the mechanisms used by rural households to defend and sustain their livelihoods, increase their agricultural production and improve the quality of their lives. The authors examine the newly emerging trajectories of entrepreneurial and capitalist farming and assess whether such alternatives will be able to meet the enormous social, economic and environmental challenges that China faces. The book also explores the paradigm that has underpinned the organisation and development of China's agriculture from ancient times to the present day. This shows the importance of balancing in the Chinese model as compared to the one-sided imposition of continual modernization in the western model. It is argued that such balancing is at the core of the current Sannong policy, referring to the three ruralities of food sovereignty, wellbeing for peasant households and an attractive countryside.

Fermentation and the use of micro-organisms is one of the most important aspects of food processing - an industry that is worth billions of US dollars world-wide. Integral to the making of goods ranging from beer and wine to yogurt and bread, it is the common denominator between many of our favorite things to eat and drink. In this updated and expanded second edition of Food, Fermentation, and Micro-organisms, all known food applications of fermentation are examined. Beginning with the science underpinning food fermentations, the author looks at the relevant aspects of microbiology and microbial physiology before covering individual foodstuffs and the role of fermentation in their production, as well as the possibilities that exist for fermentation's future development and application. Many chapters, particularly those on cheese, meat, fish, bread, and yoghurt, now feature expanded content and additional illustrations. Furthermore, a newly included chapter looks at indigenous alcoholic beverages. Food, Fermentation, and Micro-organisms, Second Edition is a comprehensive guide for all food scientists, technologists, and microbiologists working in the food industry and academia today. The book will be an important addition to libraries in food companies, research establishments, and universities where food studies, food science, food technology and microbiology are studied and taught.

For more than four decades, the self-described "contrary farmer" and writer Gene Logsdon has commented on the state of American agriculture. In Letter to a Young Farmer, his final book of essays, Logsdon addresses the next generation-young people who are moving back to the land to enjoy a better way of life as small-scale "garden farmers." It's a lifestyle that isn't defined by accumulating wealth or by the "get big or get out" agribusiness mindset. Instead, it's one that recognizes the beauty of nature, cherishes the land, respects our fellow creatures, and values rural traditions. It's one that also looks forward and embraces "right technologies," including new and innovative ways of working smarter, not harder, and avoiding premature burnout. Completed only a few weeks before the author's death, Letter to a Young Farmer is a remarkable testament to the life and wisdom of one of the greatest rural philosophers and writers of our time. Gene's earthy wit and sometimes irreverent humor combines with his valuable perspectives on many wide-ranging subjects-everything from how to show a ram who's boss to enjoying the almost churchlike calmness of a well-built livestock barn. Reading this book is like sitting down on the porch with a neighbor who has learned the ways of farming through years of long observation and practice. Someone, in short, who has "seen it all" and has much to say, and much to teach us, if we only take the time to listen and learn. And Gene Logsdon was the best kind of teacher: equal parts storyteller, idealist, and rabble-rouser. His vision of a nation filled with garden farmers, based in cities, towns, and countrysides, will resonate with many people, both young and old, who long to create a more sustainable, meaningful life for themselves and a better world for all of us.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are essential to ensure a sustainable society and healthy ecosystem over the coming decades. However, the systems to be managed are both broad and complex, requiring an integrated understanding of both bio-physical systems, such as soils and water, and economic and social systems, such as urban development and human behaviour. This edited book joins these domains of knowledge together from an applied perspective and considers how computer science can help. It takes a strategic look at the benefits and barriers to using modelling within environmental management and planning practice. It delves further by providing an in-depth comparative review of a wide range of models from a variety of scientific disciplines of interest with examples of their use for NBS. As such, this illustrated guide is designed to help students, researchers and practitioners navigate the huge range of modelling options available and develop the common understanding to work inter-disciplinarily.

This wide-ranging study uses historical and archaeological evidence to consider humanity's interactions with the environment, fashioning agricultural, gardening and horticultural regimes over a millennium and a half. The discussions of archaeological finds of seeds from discarded rubbish including animal fodder and bedding show the wide range of wild species present, as well as cultivated and gathered plants in the diet of inhabitants and livestock. Pollen analyses, and studies of wood, mosses, and beetles, alongside a look at the local natural environment, and comparison with medieval written records give us a tantalizing picture of early Winchester. The earliest record is by AElfric of Eynsham in his 11th-century Nomina Herbarum. From medieval records come hints of gardens within the city walls, and considerable detail about agriculture and horticulture, and produce brought into the city. Wild fruit and nuts were also being gathered from the countryside for the town's markets and mills. At St Giles' Fair exotic imported spices and fruits were also sold. All these sources of evidence are brought together to reveal more fully the roles of agriculture and the environment in the development of Winchester.

Biotechnology for Sustainable Agriculture: Emerging Approaches and Strategies is an outstanding collection of current research that integrates basic and advanced concepts of agricultural biotechnology with future development prospects. Using biotechnology with sustainable agriculture effectively contributes to gains in agricultural productivity, enhanced food security, reduced poverty and malnutrition, and more ecologically sustainable means of food production. Written by a panel of experts, this book is unique in its coverage of the broad area of biotechnology for sustainable agriculture. It includes intriguing topics and discussions of areas such as recombinant DNA technology and genetic engineering.

By setting industrialization against the background of wider processes of economic growth, recent trends in economic history have once again placed agriculture at the center of debate on the formation of modern economies. The nine essays in this volume examine the broader terms and implications of this new emphasis, and reassess the contribution of agriculture to economic growth in contexts that range from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries and from Europe to Russia and Asia.
The essays are tightly focused around a set of central themes. Emphasizing how contexts of time and place have determined the relationship between agricultural change and economic growth, they explore comparatively such issues as the problems of interpretation and methodology posed by the close inter-dependence between agriculture and social organization, the critical role of political intervention in agricultural change, as well as the technical difficulties involved in measuring changes in productivity and their wider impact on economic growth. As a result the volume offers a uniquely broad but coherent and critical assessment of current trends in the interpretation of agriculture's major but complex historical role in modern economic growth.

Contrasting the prevailing theories of the evolution of agriculture, the author argues that the practice of smallholding is more efficient and less environmentally degrading than that of industrial agriculture which depends heavily on fossil fuel, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.
He presents a convincing case for his argument with examples taken from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, and demonstrates that there are fundamental commonalities among smallholder cultures.
"Smallholders, Householders" is a detailed and innovative analysis of the agricultural efficiency and conservation of resources practiced around the world by smallholders.