Farm dams, creeklines, vegetation and rocky outcrops are natural assets that are essential for healthy, sustainable farms. Protecting and enhancing these elements of natural capital on farms not only supports biodiversity, but also contributes to farm productivity and to the well-being of farmers and farming communities. Natural Asset Farming: Creating Productive and Biodiverse Farms reveals seven key natural assets and why they are so valuable for biodiversity and productivity on farms. Drawing on two decades of long-term ecological monitoring and knowledge exchange with farmers, Landcare groups and natural resource management experts, this book is a tool for building and enhancing natural assets in agricultural landscapes. In bringing together ecological science and the experience of farmers in the wheat-sheep belt of south-eastern Australia, Natural Asset Farming will help foster ideas, boost resilience and improve the sustainability of agricultural production. Features: Shows why protecting and enhancing natural assets can be a fantastic investment for a farm, delivering biodiversity, productivity and well-being benefits. Includes insights and experience from farmers who have undertaken natural asset management actions. Explores the science of managing natural assets on farms. Provides principles on how to manage natural assets on farms. Includes images that show the key features of an enhanced natural asset.

The book gives an overview of the organic sector, both in Italy and in the US, and to show how agricultural economists are performing analyses dealing with organic produce on different points in the supply chain. The book covers economic issues raised by organic farming, taking into account the consumer's needs but also the managerial and budget constraints experienced by the farmers. Farm management methodologies, as well as marketing analyses have been applied to specific research topics involving several industries in the agri-food sector. The papers strive to answer questions that have a managerial relevance: e.g. Are the producers ready to adopt organic farming techniques, and are the consumers willing to pay a premium price for a certified organic produce? Most of the contributions were presented during the 8th Padova-Minnesota Conference on Food, Agriculture, and the Environment, held in Stout's Lodge, Red Cedar Lake, Wisconsin, on August 26-28, 2002. The editors have added authors to round out the subject.

This collection reviews key research addressing key challenges faced by organic animal farming in improving yields, animal nutrition and health. Part 1 assesses current research on environmental impact, promoting animal health, enhancing naturalness and welfare. It also reviews how organic systems fit in with agroforestry, pastoralist and other smallholder farming systems. The second part of the book includes case studies from leading experts on current research in improving the farming of particular species. Chapters review challenges and opportunities in organic dairy and beef farming, sheep and goats, pigs and poultry. There are also chapters on organic aquaculture as well as organic and natural beekeeping. With its distinguished editors and international team of expert authors, this will be a standard reference for all those researching organic animal farming as well as the organic livestock farmers, organic certification and regulatory bodies.

Soybeans are one of the most widely-grown crops in the world. As the world's main source of vegetable protein, they have a wide range of food and non-food uses. Current yields need to increase significantly to meet growing demand but in a way that reduces input use, does not damage the environment and is resilient to climate change. This collection reviews the wealth of research addressing this challenge. Volume 1 focuses on breeding and cultivation techniques. Part 1 starts by reviewing our understanding of soybean physiology and genetic diversity. It then discusses advances in conventional and marker-assisted breeding, as well as transgenic techniques, and their use to produce more stress-resistant varieties. Part 2 reviews key advances in cultivation techniques to make the most of these new varieties. With its distinguished editor and international team of authors, this will be a standard reference for soybean scientists, growers, government and non-government agencies supporting soybean cultivation. It is accompanied by a companion volume that looks at diseases and pests as well as the crop's range of uses.