Sustainable Agriculture: Library Resources

Long embraced by corporations who are driven only by the desire for profit, industrial agriculture wastes precious resources and spews millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year, exacerbating climate change and threatening the very earth and water on which we depend. However, this dominant system-- from which Americans obtain most of their food--is being slowly supplanted by a new paradigm: The Emergent Agriculture is a collection of fourteen thematic essays on sustainability viewed through the lens of farming. Arguing that industrial food production is incompatible with the realities of nature, science, and ethics, this lyrical narrative makes the case for a locally based food system which is stable in the face of economic uncertainty, resilient in the face of environmental variability, grounded in stewardship of the land, on attaching value to food and the craft, involved in producing it, and on respecting the dignity of farmers, consumes, and livestock. Written from the vantage point of an ecologist who is also a farmer, The Emergent Agriculture is essential reading for anyone interested in food security and the potential for growing local economies.

Nearly a century ago, the idea of "local food" would have seemed perplexing, since virtually all food was local. Food for daily consumption--fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, and dairy products--was grown at home or sourced from local farms. Today, most of the food consumed in the United States--and increasingly around the globe-- is sourced from industrial farms and concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which power a food system rife with environmental, economic, and health-related problems. The tide, however, is slowly but steadily turning back in what has been broadly termed the "farm-to-table" movement. In Farm to Table, Darryl Benjamin and Chef Lyndon Virkler explore how the farm-to-table philosophy is pushing back modern, industrialized food production and moving beyond isolated "locavore" movements into a broad and far-reaching coalition of farmers, chefs, consumers, policy advocates, teachers, institutional buyers, and many more all working to restore healthful, sustainable, and affordable food for everyone. Divided into two distinct but complementary halves, "Farm" and "Table," Farm to Table first examines the roots of our contemporary industrial food system, from the technological advances that presaged the "Green Revolution" to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz's infamous dictum to farmers to "Get big or get out" in the 1970s. Readers will explore the many threats to ecology and human health that our corporatized food system poses, but also the many alternatives--from permaculture to rotation-intensive grazing--that small farmers are now adopting to meet growing consumer demand. The second half of the book is dedicated to illuminating best practices and strategies for schools, restaurants, healthcare facilities, and other business and institutions to partner with local farmers and food producers, from purchasing to marketing. No longer restricted to the elite segments of society, the farm-to-table movement now reaches a wide spectrum of Americans from all economic strata and in a number of settings, from hospital and office cafeterias, to elementary schools and fast-casual restaurants. Farm to Table is a one-of-a-kind resource on how to integrate sustainable principles into each of these settings and facilitate intelligent, healthful food choices at every juncture as our food system evolves.

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 in exploring the "strange changes" in weather recorded over the last decade, the associated shifts in crop and livestock behavior, and the actions producers have taken to maintain productivity in a changing climate.
**Also available as an EBOOK.

Dr. Paul Dettloff’s Complete Guide to Raising Animals Organically is a hands-on reference for anyone at any level of experience who is interested in helping ruminants achieve optimal health naturally. During the course of the author’s half-century career he has watched as the natural care of ruminants was lost to the high-tech methods of the modern industrial farm. Hormones, chemicals and manufactured feed replaced the mineral-rich pastures and natural animal care of the past. Building on his modern-day classic Alternative Treatments for Ruminant Animals, Dr. Paul Dettloff performs a rescue operation for today’s farmers. He hands over a literal lifetime of learning and observation on how to raise livestock in healthier, more productive, and more humane ways. He teaches how to move from the current conventional veterinary practice of chasing symptoms toward a holistic, sustainable practice that seeks the cause behind the symptoms and values the lives of animals as well as the humans who consume their products. This book describes the various biological systems in ruminants and how to address issues of health and illness on the farm. Specific natural treatments for numerous chronic illnesses, diseases and injuries are covered in language a layman can understand. Dr. Dettloff provides farmers and veterinarians alike with methods of care that are practical for any farm yet acceptable for certified organic operations and, most important, have been proven to work over time.

A profound shift is occurring among women working in agriculture--they are increasingly seeing themselves as farmers, not only as the wives or daughters of farmers. The authors draw on more than a decade of research to document and analyze the reasons for the transformation. As their sense of identity changes, many female farmers are challenging the sexism they face in their chosen profession. In this book, farm women in the northeastern United States describe how they got into farming and became successful entrepreneurs despite the barriers they encountered in agricultural institutions, farming communities, and even their own families. Their strategies for obtaining land and labor and developing successful businesses offer models for other aspiring farmers. Pulling down the barriers that women face requires organizations and institutions to become informed by what the authors call a feminist agrifood systems theory (FAST). This framework values women's ways of knowing and working in agriculture: emphasizing personal, economic, and environmental sustainability, creating connections through the food system, and developing networks that emphasize collaboration and peer-to-peer education. The creation and growth of a specific organization, the Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network, offers a blueprint for others seeking to incorporate a feminist agrifood systems approach into agricultural programming. The theory has the potential to shift how farmers, agricultural professionals, and anyone else interested in farming think about gender and sustainability, as well as to change how feminist scholars and theorists think about agriculture.
**Available as an EBOOK