Toward a More Sustainable Agriculture

Herausgegeben:Poincelot, Raymond P.

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Our nation's grandest enterprise is our agricultural industry. It is second to none in terms of assets, workers, and exports. Agricultural success has be come an accepted fact and is taken for granted by the majority of the American public. Few believe or are even willing to consider that the con tinued future success of this industry is threatened. Yet threatened it is. The resource base of agriculture is becoming dimin ished through overuse and environmental misuse. A further complication is the competition for agricultural resources by other users. The energy, soil, and water resources cannot sustain agriculture into the far future at their present rate of use. Something must be done to bring about public awareness and support for the changes needed to move our nation toward a sustainable agriculture. More research and funding must be directed toward this end. Our agriculture educators and other information disseminators must make sure that the farmers, politicians, and the public receive the message. Farmers must be willing to make the necessary changes. Something is being done. Our agricultural system is in a transitional stage. Traditional agriculturists are changing some practices and their attitudes.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Springer / Springer US / Springer, Berlin
• Artikelnr. des Verlages: 978-1-4684-1508-7
• Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1986
• Seitenzahl: 260
• Erscheinungstermin: 18. Februar 2012
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 15mm
• Gewicht: 382g
• ISBN-13: 9781468415087
• ISBN-10: 1468415085
• Artikelnr.: 39498496

Inhaltsangabe

1 Our Threatened Agricultural Resources.- Agricultural Problems.- Transitional Agriculture.- Meeting the Challenge.- References.- 2 Organic Farming.- Prevalence, Size, Common Practices.- Energy Usage.- Crop Productivity.- Economics.- Labor.- Conservation and Environmental Quality.- Future Prospects.- Research Needs.- References.- 3 Crop Energy Conservation.- Energetics of Crop Production.- Fertilization.- Field Operations: Farm Machinery.- Field Operations: Tillage.- Irrigation.- Pesticides.- Crop Drying.- Frost and Cold Protection.- Transportation.- Future Directions.- References.- 4 Greenhouse Energy Conservation.- Fuel and Furnaces.- Microclimate Heating.- Temperature Control.- Insulation.- Roofing Materials.- Cost Payback Period.- Experimental Greenhouses.- References.- 5 Animal Husbandry Energy Conservation.- Environmental Maintenance.- Feed.- Transportation.- Waste Disposal.- References.- 6 Postproduction Energy Conservation.- Food Processing.- In- and Out-of-Home Food Preparation.- Marketing and Distribution.- Transportation.- Fiber.- References.- 7 Sustaining Resources: Soil.- Organic Matter.- Organic Amendments.- Soil Erosion.- Soil Compaction.- Cropping Systems to Sustain Productivity.- Maintenance of Range Productivity.- References.- 8 Sustaining Resources: Water.- Usage and Availability.- Additional Problems.- Conservation of Water.- 9 Sustaining the Environment.- Agriculture's Impact on the Environment.- Reducing Agricultural Pollutants.- Integrated Pest Management.- Genetic Resources.- References.- 10 Future Technology.- Solar Technology.- Windpower.- Hydroelectric and Geothermal Power.- Biotechnology.- Embryo Transfer.- Biomass.- Assessment of Alternate Energy.- Mechanization.- Management.- References.