Systems Research for Agriculture


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Agricultural Statistics


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Farming for Our Future


Book Description

Farming for Our Future examines the policies and legal reforms necessary to accelerate the adoption of practices that can make agriculture in the United States climate-neutral or better. These proven practices will also make our food system more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Agriculture's contribution to climate change is substantial--much more so than official figures suggest--and we will not be able to achieve our overall mitigation goals unless agricultural emissions sharply decline. Fortunately, farms and ranches can be a major part of the climate solution, while protecting biodiversity, strengthening rural communities, and improving the lives of the workers who cultivate our crops and rear our animals. The importance of agricultural climate solutions can not be underestimated; it is a critical element both in ensuring our food security and limiting climate change. This book provides essential solutions to address the greatest crises of our time.




Precision Agriculture Basics


Book Description

With the growing popularity and availability of precision equipment, farmers and producers have access to more data than ever before. With proper implementation, precision agriculture management can improve profitability and sustainability of production. Precision Agriculture Basics is geared at students, crop consultants, farmers, extension workers, and practitioners that are interested in practical applications of site-specific agricultural management. Using a multidisciplinary approach, readers are taught to make data-driven on-farm decisions using the most current knowledge and tools in crop science, agricultural engineering, and geostatistics. Precision Agriculture Basics also features a stunning video glossary including interviews with agronomists on the job and in the field.




Food Policy in the United States


Book Description

This book offers a broad introduction to food policies in the United States. Real-world controversies and debates motivate the book's attention to economic principles, policy analysis, nutrition science and contemporary data sources. It assumes that the reader's concern is not just the economic interests of farmers, but also includes nutrition, sustainable agriculture, the environment and food security. The book's goal is to make US food policy more comprehensible to those inside and outside the agri-food sector whose interests and aspirations have been ignored. The chapters cover US agriculture, food production and the environment, international agricultural trade, food and beverage manufacturing, food retail and restaurants, food safety, dietary guidance, food labeling, advertising and federal food assistance programs for the poor. The author is an agricultural economist with many years of experience in the non-profit advocacy sector, the US Department of Agriculture and as a professor at Tufts University. The author's well-known blog on US food policy provides a forum for discussion and debate of the issues set out in the book.




Farming for Us All


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Farming for Us All gives us the opportunity to explore the possibilities for social, environmental, and economic change that practical, dialogic agriculture presents.







Sustainable Agriculture


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Change in Agriculture


Book Description

American agriculture changed radically between 1820 and 1870. In turning slowly from subsistence to commercial farming, farmers on the average doubled the portion of their production places on the market, and thereby laid the foundations for today's highly productive agricultural industry. But the modern system was by no means inevitable. It evolved slowly through an intricate process in which innovative and imitative entrepreneurs were the key instruments.




Environmentally Sensitive Road Maintenance Practices for Dirt and Gravel Roads


Book Description

Over 1.6 million miles of dirt and gravel roads exist within the United States providing a vital part of the nation's transportation system. An environmentally sensitive road maintenance practice is a practice that when implemented reduces the adverse effect of a road on the environment by treating the cuase of the problem and is in keeping wtih the natural landscape. This illustrated field guide provides examples of environmentally sensitive maintenance practices, which if implemented reduce erosion and sediment, maintain subsurface hydrologic connectivity, restore drainage density to more natural conditions, and eliminate diversion potential. It is organized to identify visual signs and problems associated with CAUSES and SOLUTIONS for the most commonly encountered road problens (road surface, ditch, cutbank, etc.) Highway inspectors, public works construction inspectors, to include some construction and building inspectors and engineers that must meet compliance with specifications, building codes, and other regulations, Additionally, City engineers, concrete masonry contractors, road maintenance specialists and workers, and technicians, as well as County Road Supervisors may ber interested in this volume. Students pursuing degree programs for Civil Engineering or certificates of study for Industrial Maintenance Technology or Public Works training in clases such as Roadway Asset Management Essentials, or Inspecting Pavement Markings or certified Public Infrastructure Inspector courses may be interested in this print field guide as a handy reference. Related products: Sign Up for the Public Roads print subscription to begin receiving valuable guidance bimonthly from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/750-005-00000-4?ctid= Drainage Manual can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/024-003-00177-5 Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils, Version 3.0 is available for purchase here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/001-000-04758-2 Converging Waters: Integrating Collaborative Modeling With Participatory Processes to Make Water Resources Decisions can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/008-022-00349-5 Gravel Roads Construction and Maintenance Guide is available for purchase here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/050-001-00348-1 Designing Sustainable Off-Highway Vehicle Trails: An Alaska Train Manager's Perspective is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/001-001-00701-3 Other resources that may be of interest produced by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/199 Other publications produced by the U.S. Forest Service within the United States Department of Agriculture can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/819 , .