Finding Good Farmland

Finding Good Farmland

Author: Ann Larkin Hansen

Publisher: Storey Publishing

Published: 2013-01-01

Total Pages: 129

ISBN-13: 1612120865

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Buying your first farm can be a challenge. This practical guide contains all of the information you need to have before purchasing farmland, covering everything from the characteristics of the land (soil type, slope, water sources, drainage) and the surrounding area to permits, codes, taxes, roads, loans, mortgages, government assistance programs, and more. Checklists and questionnaires are included to help you decide exactly what you need and how to find it.


Country Road Abc

Country Road Abc

Author: Arthur Geisert

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2010-05-24

Total Pages: 73

ISBN-13: 0547488149

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

On today's farm, B is for barn cat...E is for erosion...G is for grinding feed, and I is for...inoculate? In 26 beautifully detailed spreads, acclaimed illustrator Arthur Geisert takes readers on a literal journey following a real road in Iowa (County Road Y31) through the ins and outs of America's farmland. This isn't your grandfather's farm book. It still features pigs, hay, and other familiar farm residents, but you'll see a very different kind of quicksand and traffic jam here...Along the bottom of each page is a continuous panorama that totals nearly forty feet of art. Country Road ABC is a unique and funny look at America's present-day farmland.


Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes

Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes

Author: H. Scott Butterfield

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2021-04-08

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1642831263

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

As the world population grows, so does the demand for food, putting unprecedented pressure on agricultural lands. In many desert dryland regions, however, intensive cultivation is causing their productivity to decline precipitously. "Rewilding" the least productive of these landscapes offers a sensible way to reverse the damage, recover natural diversity, and ensure long-term sustainability of remaining farms and the communities they support. This accessibly written, groundbreaking contributed volume is the first to examine in detail what it would take to retire eligible farmland and restore functioning natural ecosystems. The lessons in Rewilding Agricultural Landscapes will be useful to conservation leaders, policymakers, groundwater agencies, and water managers looking for inspiration and practical advice for solving the complicated issues of agricultural sustainability and water management.


Investors' Guide to Farmland

Investors' Guide to Farmland

Author: Greyson S. Colvin

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781475258455

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Everyone has to eat to survive. The production of almost all food can be traced back to farmland in some way. Demand is growing for farmland as the world's population and global needs for food are rising. The supply of farmland is not changing, thus creating a severe imbalance in the supply of farmable land and demand for food. The world's population is expected to grow from 7 billion to over 9 billion by 2050. Over the same time period, food production must double. Global grain supplies are already at record low levels. If the US stopped producing corn, it would run out in less than 30 days and set off a domino effect that would bring the world to its knees. How can one capitalize on the increased global protein consumption and demand for food? An investment in farmland will provide a steady stream of income and capital gains due to the increasing global demand for agricultural commodities and limited supply of global arable land. The Investors' Guide to Farmland will guide you through the rational for investment in farmland, understanding the characteristic of farmland, and why it should become part of your portfolio.


Fields of Gold

Fields of Gold

Author: Madeleine Fairbairn

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2020-07-15

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 1501750097

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Fields of Gold critically examines the history, ideas, and political struggles surrounding the financialization of farmland. In particular, Madeleine Fairbairn focuses on developments in two of the most popular investment locations, the US and Brazil, looking at the implications of financiers' acquisition of land and control over resources for rural livelihoods and economic justice. At the heart of Fields of Gold is a tension between efforts to transform farmland into a new financial asset class, and land's physical and social properties, which frequently obstruct that transformation. But what makes the book unique among the growing body of work on the global land grab is Fairbairn's interest in those acquiring land, rather than those affected by land acquisitions. Fairbairn's work sheds ethnographic light on the actors and relationships—from Iowa to Manhattan to São Paulo—that have helped to turn land into an attractive financial asset class. Thanks to generous funding from UC Santa Cruz, the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.


Old Fields

Old Fields

Author: Richard J. Hobbs

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2012-06-22

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 1610910982

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Land abandonment is increasing as human influence on the globe intensifies and various ecological, social, and economic factors conspire to force the cessation of agriculture and other forms of land management. The “old fields” that result from abandonment have been the subject of much study, yet few attempts have been made to examine the larger questions raised by old field dynamics. Old Fields brings together leading experts from around the world to synthesize past and current work on old fields, providing an up-to-date perspective on the ecological dynamics of abandoned land. The book gives readers a broad understanding of why agricultural land is abandoned, the factors that determine the ecological recovery of old fields, and how this understanding contributes to theoretical and applied ecology. Twelve case studies from diverse geographical and climatic areas—including Australian rainforest, Brazilian Amazonia, New Jersey piedmont, and South African renosterveld—offer a global perspective on the causes and results of land abandonment. Concluding chapters consider the similarities and differences among the case studies, examine them in the context of ecological concepts, and discuss their relevance to the growing field of restoration ecology. Old Fields is the first book to draw together studies on old fields from both a theoretical and practical perspective. It represents an important contribution to the development of theory on old field dynamics and the practice of ecological restoration on abandoned farmland, and the broader implications of old field dynamics to ecology and restoration.


The Law of the Land

The Law of the Land

Author: John Opie

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 1994-01-01

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780803286078

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"This book provides fascinating insights into how present-day American land legislation has evolved. In doing so the author identifies the many problems that the family farmer has had to face over the past two centuries at the hands of the weather, unstable product prices, and corrupt and venal politicians."--Journal of Agricultural Economics. "A provocative, learned, polemical contribution to the debate on the nature of the farm problem and the means to solve it. Throughout our history, Opie, a historian, convincingly argues, contradictory goals have produced contradictory policies that are the sources of our current problems."--Science. "This important volume offers a reinterpretation of public lands history as it relates to contemporary farm policy. . . . [Opie's] signal contribution is to examine and evaluate the many policy strands of a twentieth-century safety net designed by Congress to sustain the family farm."--Journal of American History "Bright, passionate, and entirely convincing."--Journal of Rural Studies "The Law of the Land has made a significant contribution to agricultural and public policy history by pointing out that American ideals have shaped policies and assigned roles that have often left farmers and farmland vulnerable."--Public Historian "The five years that have passed since this book was first published have been enough to conclude that John Opie can reconstruct the past and predict the future. . . . Many of the problems he foresaw have come to pass and some of the solutions he discussed have been adopted. . . . Anyone interested in the basic environment will find that this volume gives a clear picture of how we got to where we are today in the use and misuse of natural resources. . ."--Environmental History Review. A professor of history at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, John Opie is also director of the Center for Technology Studies and founding editor of Environmental History Review. His other publications include Ogallala: Water for a Dry Land (Nebraska 1993).


Farming While Black

Farming While Black

Author: Leah Penniman

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 1603587616

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Farming While Black is the first comprehensive "how to" guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture. At Soul Fire Farm, author Leah Penniman co-created the Black and Latino Farmers Immersion (BLFI) program as a container for new farmers to share growing skills in a culturally relevant and supportive environment led by people of color. Farming While Black organizes and expands upon the curriculum of the BLFI to provide readers with a concise guide to all aspects of small-scale farming, from business planning to preserving the harvest. Throughout the chapters Penniman uplifts the wisdom of the African diasporic farmers and activists whose work informs the techniques described--from whole farm planning, soil fertility, seed selection, and agroecology, to using whole foods in culturally appropriate recipes, sharing stories of ancestors, and tools for healing from the trauma associated with slavery and economic exploitation on the land. Woven throughout the book is the story of Soul Fire Farm, a national leader in the food justice movement.--AMAZON.