Farming for Our Future

Farming for Our Future

Author: PETER H.. ROSENBERG LEHNER (NATHAN A.)

Publisher:

Published: 2021-12-07

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9781585762378

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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.


Sustainable Intensification

Sustainable Intensification

Author: Jules N. Pretty

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-06-25

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 1136529276

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Continued population growth, rapidly changing consumption patterns and the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are driving limited resources of food, energy, water and materials towards critical thresholds worldwide. These pressures are likely to be substantial across Africa, where countries will have to find innovative ways to boost crop and livestock production to avoid becoming more reliant on imports and food aid. Sustainable agricultural intensification - producing more output from the same area of land while reducing the negative environmental impacts - represents a solution for millions of African farmers. This volume presents the lessons learned from 40 sustainable agricultural intensification programmes in 20 countries across Africa, commissioned as part of the UK Government's Foresight project. Through detailed case studies, the authors of each chapter examine how to develop productive and sustainable agricultural systems and how to scale up these systems to reach many more millions of people in the future. Themes covered include crop improvements, agroforestry and soil conservation, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, horticulture, livestock and fodder crops, aquaculture, and novel policies and partnerships.


OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2019-2028

OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2019-2028

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2019-07-08

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 9264312463

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The Agricultural Outlook 2019-2028 is a collaborative effort of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It brings together the commodity, policy and country expertise of both organisations as well ...


Challenges and Opportunities in U. S. Agriculture

Challenges and Opportunities in U. S. Agriculture

Author: Government Printing Government Printing Office

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2014-11-30

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13: 9781505285789

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U.S. agriculture fared better during the Great Recession than many other sectors and remains a bright spot in the U.S. economy. Despite an extensive and severe drought in 2012, net farm income is forecast to total $112.8 billion, only 4.3 percent below the previous year's record of $117.9 billion (USDA 2013a). Strong demand for agricultural products and below average crop yields pushed up crops prices, and along with significant crop insurance indemnity payments, helped to make the 2012 income figure the second-highest since 1974 after adjusting for inflation. The strength of the U.S. agricultural sector is due in part to the demand for American agricultural exports. The value of agricultural exports has steadily risen and now accounts for a projected 31 percent of gross farm cash income. Exports reached a near record level of $135.8 billion in 2012 and are projected to reach $142 billion in 2013 (USDA 2012a). Increasing demand from abroad created by rising incomes and a growing middle class will present opportunities for U.S. agriculture. The world population is expected to reach more than 9.2 billion by 2050, with growth coming primarily in developing countries, most of which are net importers of food products. The convergence of population growth and rapid urbanization, especially in developing regions of the world, will likely result in growing demand for food as well as changing dietary patterns.


Resilient Agriculture

Resilient Agriculture

Author: Laura Lengnick

Publisher: New Society Publishers

Published: 2015-05-11

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 1550925784

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Climate change presents an unprecedented challenge to the productivity and profitability of agriculture in North America. More variable weather, drought, and flooding create the most obvious damage, but hot summer nights, warmer winters, longer growing seasons, and other environmental changes have more subtle but far-reaching effects on plant and livestock growth and development. Resilient Agriculture recognizes the critical role that sustainable agriculture will play in the coming decades and beyond. The latest science on climate risk, resilience, and climate change adaptation is blended with the personal experience of farmers and ranchers to explore: The "strange changes" in weather recorded over the last decade The associated shifts in crop and livestock behavior The actions producers have taken to maintain productivity in a changing climate The climate change challenge is real and it is here now. To enjoy the sustained production of food, fiber, and fuel well into the twenty-first century, we must begin now to make changes that will enhance the adaptive capacity and resilience of North American agriculture. The rich knowledge base presented in Resilient Agriculture is poised to serve as the cornerstone of an evolving, climate-ready food system. Laura Lengnick is a researcher, policymaker, activist, educator, and farmer whose work explores the community-enhancing potential of agriculture and food systems. She directs the academic program in sustainable agriculture at Warren Wilson College and was a lead author of the report Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States: Effects and Adaptation.


Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States

Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States

Author: U. S. Department Agriculture

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2015-04-19

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 9781511791038

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Agriculture in the United States produces approximately $300 billion a year in commodities with livestock accounting for roughly half the value. Production of these commodities is vulnerable to climate change through the direct (i.e., abiotic) effects of changing climate conditions on crop and livestock development and yield (e.g., changes in temperature or precipitation), as well as through the indirect (i.e., biotic) effects arising from changes in the severity of pest pressures, availability of pollination services, and performance of other ecosystem services that affect agricultural productivity. Thus, U.S. agriculture exists as a complex web of interactions between agricultural productivity, ecosystem services, and climate change. Climate change poses unprecedented challenges to U.S. agriculture because of the sensitivity of agricultural productivity and costs to changing climate conditions. Adaptive action offers the potential to manage the effects of climate change by altering patterns of agricultural activity to capitalize on emerging opportunities while minimizing the costs associated with negative effects. The aggregate effects of climate change will ultimately depend on a complex web of adaptive responses to local climate stressors. These adaptive responses may range from farmers adjusting planting patterns and soil management practices in response to more variable weather patterns, to seed producers investing in the development of drought-tolerant varieties, to increased demand for Federal risk management programs, to adjustments in international trade as nations respond to food security concerns. Potential adaptive behavior can occur at multiple levels in a highly diverse international agricultural system including production, consumption, education, research, services, and governance. Understanding the complexity of such interactions is critical for developing effective adaptive strategies.


Food for Thought

Food for Thought

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13:

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