This book is intended for farmers, advisers, students and everyone else who, frequently or infrequently, find themselves hunting for data relating to farm management.
The Organic Grain Grower is an invaluable resource for both home-scale and commercial producers interested in expanding their resiliency and drop diversity through growing their own grains. Longtime farmer and organic pioneer Jack Lazor covers how to grow and store wheat, barley, oats, corn, dry beans, soybeans, oilseeds, grasses, nutrient-dense forages, and lesser-known cereals. In addition, Lazor argues the importance of integrating grains on the organic farm (not to mention within the local food system) for reasons of biodiversity and whole-farm management. The Organic Grain Grower provides information on wide-ranging topics, from nutrient density and building soil fertility to machinery and grinding grains for livestock rations.--COVER.
"To support his theory, Cunfer looks at the entire Great Plains (450 counties in ten states), tapping historical agricultural census data paired with GIS mapping to illuminate land use on the Great Plains over 130 years. Coupled with several community and family case studies, this database allows Cunfer to reassess the interaction between farmers and nature in the Great Plains agricultural landscape."--BOOK JACKET.
First published in 1972, Farm Management in Peasant Agriculture remains the only detailed discussion of on-site research techniques for economists working on the development of small-holder agriculture in Africa. Part 1 describes the conditions of the agricultural sector within which the African peasant farmer must operate, and then outlines an approach to farm management tailored to those conditions. Part 2 sets out the research planning and investigation tasks implied by the approach. Survey techniques, as well as the value of a pre-survey for understanding general attributes of a farm system, are reviewed, and alternative data-collection methods are elaborated. Part 3 shows how research data can be used in planning content for extension programs. Dr. Collinson concludes with the details of a planning method that interpolates changes in farm practice into a model of the existing farm system and that projects a sequence of changes, representing a sequence of extension content, on the basis of farmer acceptability.
In the late 1970s, grain prices had tanked, farm auction notices filled newspapers, and people had forgotten that food didn't grow in grocery stores. So, on February 5, 1979, thousands of tractors from all parts of the US flooded Washington, DC, in protest. Author Lindsay H. Metcalf, a journalist who grew up on a family farm, shares this rarely told story of grassroots perseverance and economic justice. In 1979, US farmers traveled to Washington, DC to protest unfair prices for their products. Farmers wanted fair prices for their products and demanded action from Congress. After police corralled the tractors on the National Mall, the farmers and their tractors stayed through a snowstorm and dug out the city. Americans were now convinced they needed farmers, but the law took longer. Boldly told and highlighted with stunning archival images, this is the story of the struggle and triumph of the American farmer that still resonates today.
A totally modern, all-purpose handbook for today’s agricultural dreamers—covering the challenges and triumphs of launching any successful farm—from two leading lights in sustainable farming Do you dream of starting your own farm but wonder where to begin? Or do you already have a farm but wish to become more sustainable to compete in today's market? Start Your Farm, the first comprehensive business guide of its kind, covers these essential questions and more: Why be a farmer in the 21st century? Do you have what it takes? What does sustainable really mean, and how can a small (as little as one acre) to midsize farm survive alongside commodity-scale agriculture? How do you access education, land, and other needs with limited capital? How can you reap an actual profit, including a return on land investment? How do you build connections with employees, colleagues, and customers? At the end of the day, how do you measure success? (Hint: Cash your lifestyle paycheck.) More than a practical guide, Start Your Farm is a hopeful call to action for anyone who aspires to grow wholesome, environmentally sustainable food for a living. Take it from Forrest Pritchard and Ellen Polishuk: Making this dream a reality is not for the faint of heart, but it's well within reach—and there's no greater satisfaction under the sun!