Agriculture and farming Books

Book SynopsisThis book looks at hired farmworkers who make up a third of the total agricultural labor force and are critical to U.S. agricultural production, particularly in labor-intensive sectors such as fruits and vegetables. The hired farmworker labor market is unique because it includes a large population of relatively disadvantaged and often unauthorized workers, a portion of whom migrate to, and within, the United States. Recent economic and demographic trends are discussed in this book, such as changing agricultural production methods that permit year-round employment, expanding immigrant populations in nonmetropolitan counties, and growing concerns over U.S. immigration policies. This 2008 profile serves as an update to the 2000 Economic Research Service analysis using current data with expanded sections on legal status, poverty, housing and use of social services. Consequently, as examined in this book, hired farmworkers remain among the most economically disadvantaged working groups in the U.S., despite their critical importance to many agricultural sectors.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores America''s family farms today. Farmers face many challenges like making daily decisions on when to plow, till, plant, fertilise, and harvest, or management decisions involving their sizeable assets, numerous employees, a multitude of rules and regulations and a market place that changes every day. In addition to these challenges, competition from foreign markets, environmental concerns, low prices and many global factors also make the future uncertain. We are at a critical stage in planning for the future of agriculture; recruiting and training the next generation of farmers and ensuring farms will continue to be viable, healthy operations. Every family owned business has to deal with transitions, but it seems to be reaching crisis proportions in agriculture.

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Book SynopsisBy 2006, million dollar farms, accounting for 2 percent of all U.S. farms, dominated U.S. production of high-value crops, milk, hogs, poultry, and beef. The shift to million-dollar farms is likely to continue because they tend to be more profitable than smaller farms, giving them a competitive advantage. Most million dollar farms (84 percent) are family farms, that is, the farm operator and relatives of the operator own the business. This book examines the growth of production from million-dollar farms since the 1980''s and explores the current role of these farms in U.S. commercial agriculture, including their share of farms, their production of specific commodities, and their receipt of Government payments.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents the latest research from around the world in the field of agriculture. Agricultural fungicides, for example, are considered with particular reference to mode of action and selectivity. The aspects of biological control are also illustrated, especially the bioherbicide strategy along with the commercial prospects, potentials, considerations, formulations, advances, disadvantages and research priorities with regard to bioherbicide development and/or usage for eco-friendly weed management. The present stage of knowledge of the nutritional and safety assessment of feed/food from genetically modified plants (GMP) are summarised as well. Additionally, the use of transgenic plants as hosts for producing recombinant therapeutic proteins and technical enzymes has been established over the past decade. Thus the transitivity observed in transgenic plants is also examined. Other chapters in this book present an analysis of the specific functions that are involved in land application systems for organic fertilisers and a review of available and emerging technologies in light of this analysis. The uses of green fluorescent protein (GFP) throughout the development of transgenic crops are also outlined, including its possible application in the selection of elite individuals, as well as its ecological studies aimed at GM crop safety.

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Book SynopsisThe heightened commodity price volatility of 2008 and the subsequent acceleration in U.S. food price inflation raised concerns and generated many questions about farm and food price movements by members of Congress and their constituents. This book responds to those concerns by addressing the nature and measurement of retail food price inflation. It measures how aggregate food price inflation is measured and compares recent price inflation for both at-home (i.e., retail) purchases and away-from-home consumption, as well as by major food groups. In addition, the major economic concepts underlying consumer food behaviour are reviewed. The nature of the statistical indicators used to measure consumer food prices and expenditures are also described. Moreover, this book provides information on recent history and projections for U.S. food expenditure shares relative to total household budget, with comparisons across income quintiles, as well internationally. This book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.

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Book SynopsisSugarcane is a C4, perennial, sucrose-storing grass belonging to the genus Saccharum (Arceneaux, 1965) that originated in Asia, and it is a cultivated crop in tropical and subtropical countries throughout the world. Among the countries cultivating sugarcane, Brazil is the largest producer. Sugarcane has been harvested for human and animal consumption for centuries, and in recent decades, it has been used for fuel production by juice fermentation (first-generation ethanol). The primary sugarcane by-products are molasses, used as ruminant feed and as a sugar substitute, and bagasse, a source of fibres for animal diets and bioelectricity. This book discusses the production, consumption and agricultural management systems of sugarcane.

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Book SynopsisCassava, also known as tapioca or manioc, is one of the major root crops in more than 100 countries of the humid tropics and sub-tropics. This book presents topical research in the study of the farming, uses and economic impact of cassava. Topics discussed include potential uses of cassava wastewater in biotechnological processes; cassava starch and flour in the production of bio-ethanol, bio-plastics, acetone-butanol, dextrin, sugar syrups and organic acids and cassava starch as a biodegradable polymer material.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents topical research in the study of the production, cultivation and applications of barley. Topics discussed include barley in vitro culture and genetic transformation; barley biotechnology in tissue culture and molecular markers; the photooxidative processes induced in barley by xanthene sensitisers; the hydrodynamic comparison between soil under barley and grassland; barley grain for rumen and ruminants and barley as a method of algal control.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the increases in marketing costs of U.S.-produced food commodities which have outpaced increases in the payments farmers have received for these commodities over the past 40 years. Economic theory provides several market structures that could explain this trend. A persistent increase in the U.S. food marketing bill over an extended period suggests that something more fundamental may also be behind the trend for food marketing costs to rise faster than farmers'' proceeds, such as changes in both the structure of the food marketing system and in the socio-economic characteristics of food consumers.

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Book SynopsisThe European Union (EU) is one of the United States'' chief agricultural trading partners but also a major competitor in world markets. Both the United States and the EU provide significant government support for their agricultural sectors. In 2009, the EU and the U.S. together accounted for 60% of all government support to agriculture among the major developed economies. In the U.S., federal farm policy has traditionally focused on price and/or income support programs concentrated on row crops including grains, oilseeds and cotton, as well as sugar and dairy. In contrast, the EU provides more extensive support to a broader range of farm and food products, in addition to traditional row crops, sugar, and dairy. EU support also is extended to fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, and livestock products. This book examines the comparisons and linkages of U.S. and EU agricultural policy.

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Book SynopsisThis book attempts to undertake critical, social scientific scrutiny of contradictions between the evolving forms of agricultural production and ecosystem health within Ontario''s southern agricultural watersheds in the light of prevailing environmental management systems and policies. It''s purpose takes a critical look at the environmental and social implications of Ontario''s increasingly intensive and industrialised agriculture.

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Book SynopsisMycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by specific filamentous fungi that infest agricultural commodities. They are known to contaminant crops and consequently animal feeds and animal products, causing significant economic losses associated with their impact on animal health and productivity in agribusiness. In animal production, dramatic acute mycotoxin poisoning with severe or fatal disease is of relatively low prevalence. However, uncertainty and controversy continue to plague livestock producers and health professionals based on real or potential damage to feed efficiency, immune system function, inefficient animal reproduction and possible residues in the human food supply. This book describes conditions that favour mycotoxin formation and consumption, suggesting preventive approaches.

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Book SynopsisThis book shows that within the framework of EU, there has always been an ongoing struggle between two powers, food safety through feed hygiene and functioning of the market in financial terms. The direction of the outcome of this struggle depends on the balance of powers at a given time. For the question of "dilution principle" in the area of undesirable substances of feeds, this did work in favour of safety and the protection of the consumer. On the other hand, for the outstanding issues of "positive list" and "open declaration" in feed marketing, it is apparent that the outcome of the discussions so far supports the functioning of a "healthy" market rather, and the whole question is still pending.

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Book SynopsisIndia''s high agricultural tariffs are a significant impediment to U.S. agricultural exports and certain Indian non-tariff measures (NTMs), including sanitary and phytosanitary measures, substantially limit or effectively prohibit certain U.S. agricultural products. Agriculture is vital to India''s economy, accounting for a substantial share of employment (60%) and GDP (17%). Broad intervention by the Indian government in the agricultural sector, including restrictive and variable trade policies, are designed to protect domestic producers and consumers. This book provides an overview of Indian agricultural production, imports, and consumption during 2003-08, as well as Indian tariffs and NTMs, the Indian food marketing and distribution system, and Indian government regulations relating to the agricultural market, including foreign direct investment and intellectual property rights policies.

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Book SynopsisAbout 717,000 farms in the U.S. went out of business, or exited, between 1992 and 1997, but the total number of farms declined by just 13,400 because the number of entries (703,700 farms) nearly equalled exits. In fact, the farm count has remained relatively stable since the 1974 Census, reflecting exits and entries essentially in balance. This book explores and studies U.S. farm exits, farm survival and the role of commodity payments.

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Book SynopsisThis book discusses the settlement history of the Colorado potato beetle (CPB) in the European part of the former USSR territory. Information collected about the appearance of hotbeds of CPB on the territory of South Urals is also presented. The data regarding voltinis, phenological timing of CPB generations developing, kinds of species diapause in the South Urals are discussed. Comparison of the number of particular ontogenetic stages of the Colorado potato beetle on potato plantations is carried out according to the data obtained over an 80 year period, as well as in 2007-2009.

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Book SynopsisGovernments of every sugar-producing nation intervene to protect their domestic industries from fluctuating world market prices. Such intervention is necessary, it is argued, because both sugar cane and sugar beets must be processed soon after harvest using costly processing machinery. When farmers significantly reduce production because of low prices, a cane or beet processing plant typically shuts down, usually never to reopen. This close link between production and capital-intensive processing makes price stability important to industry survival. This book examines the background, policies and issues of the sugar industry across the globe.

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Book SynopsisThis book is a comprehensive overview of local food systems and explores the definitions of local food; estimates market size and reach; describes the characteristics of local consumers and producers; and examines early indications of the economic and health impacts of local food systems. There is no consensus on a definition of "local" or "local food systems" in terms of the geographic distance between production and consumption. But defining "local" based on marketing arrangements, such as farmers selling directly to consumers at regional farmers'' markets or to schools, is well recognised. Statistics suggest that local food markets account for a small, but growing, share of U.S. agricultural production. Findings are mixed on the impact of local food systems on local economic development and better nutrition levels among consumers, and sparse literature is so far inconclusive about whether localisation reduces energy use or greenhouse gas emissions.

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Book SynopsisSmaller niche-market food producers have good reason to be optimistic in today''s marketplace. Increased demand for specialty food products, and consumers'' willingness to visit different retailers to get them, is creating new marketing opportunities for food producers and processors that can offer innovative merchandise designed to meet the specific needs and preferences of particular consumer segments. Several of today''s most highly profitable retail supermarket chains, typically, privately held firms that operate relatively small numbers of stores, have succeeded because of their ability to closely match their food product offerings to the specific needs of their customer base. Such firms offer promising marketing opportunities to small and medium sized food suppliers who can meet their basic product requirements. This book provides an overview of the changing retail landscape and identifies some of the characteristics associated with successful food retailing.

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Book SynopsisSoybean is one of the major world crops. In 2008, the world consumption of soybean was over 221 million metric tons of which approximately 50% came from the U.S.. Soybean seed is a major source of protein, oil, carbohydrates, isoflavones, and minerals for humans and animals. This book presents current research data from across the globe in the study of soybean cultivation, its uses and nutrition. Some topics discussed herein include soybean seed composition and quality; soybean peroxidase applications in wastewater treatment; soybean germination and cancer disease; soybean oil deodoriser distillate; soybean oil in health and disease; and the use of soybean peptone in bacterial cultivations for vaccine production.

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Book SynopsisAgriculture is one of the defining elements of a nation. This series consists of analyses on a variety of agricultural issues including (but not limited to) developments, policies, programs, trade, trends and economics. (Topics will be seen from a U.S. perspective, but not to the exclusion of other countries particularly when the discussion has an international scope).

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Book SynopsisSeveral epidemiological studies have revealed that people who consume nuts regularly are less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease. Clinical trials have found that consumption of various nuts such as almonds and walnuts can lower serum LDL cholesterol concentrations. Although nuts contain various substances thought to possess cardioprotective effects, scientists believe that their Omega 3 fatty acid profile is at least in part responsible for the hypolipidemic response observed in clinical trials. This book presents current research in the study of nut properties, consumption and nutrition.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a review of the current feed market dynamics including the major emerging issues and their implications for the U.S. livestock sector and Congress and background information on the market structure of the U.S. feed grain sector.

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Book SynopsisIn the last few years, with increasing frequency, modern medicine directs attention to natural products with biological and therapeutic properties and their use in clinical practice. The major arguments for implementing natural products, such as honey, are low cost and the absence of antimicrobial resistance risk. This book presents original current research and clinical results on the leading edge of honey research. Topics discussed include the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm properties of honey; possible anticancer and anti-diabetic properties of honey; immunomodulatory effects of honey on cutenous and immune cells during wound healing process; topical applications of honey and the use of honey in the treatment of burns, non-healing wounds and eye diseases.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides projections for the agricultural sector through 2020. Projections cover agricultural commodities, agricultural trade, and aggregate indicators of the sector, such as farm income and food prices. The projections are based on specific assumptions about macroeconomic conditions, policy, weather and international developments, with no domestic or external shocks to global agricultural markets. Provisions of current law are assumed to remain in effect through the projection period. The projections are one representative scenario for the agricultural sector for the next decade.

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Book SynopsisBeef cow-calf farms operate in an industry characterised by large numbers of small farms. Many of these farms specialise in beef cattle production, but farm households on these operations tend to generate more income from off-farm sources, such as wages and salaries or retirement income, than from the farm businesses themselves. This book discusses select research on global beef production and trade including beef production in the United States, Japan and Mexico.

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Book SynopsisWheat is a key staple food in Afghanistan, accounting for over half of the caloric intake of the population. It is also Afghanistan''s major crop, accounting for roughly 70 percent of the cultivated land area. However, the country''s domestic production of wheat is inadequate for meeting demand and, moreover, is subject to sizeable weather induced fluctuations. Imports from surrounding countries have been required in order for Afghanistan to meet its need for wheat. This book discusses the role of wheat in Afghanistan''s food security.

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Book SynopsisThis compilation examines agricultural research from across the globe and covers a broad spectrum of related topics. In this book, the authors discuss research including cotton growth, seed yield, seed viability, and seedling vigour as affected by plant nutrition and plant growth retardants; salmonella sp. in the pork production chain; health effects of kiwi fruit; developing biomarkers to improve, detect and monitor high pork quality; methods to study the seed production of semi-natural grasslands; and the use of live food for larval peneids.

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Book SynopsisGrazing management is one of the most important management activities world-wide, and it has been a traditional sustainable land use in many areas of the planet. This book demonstrates the poor extrapolation capacity that grazing studies have due to site-dependent effects and sensitivity to changes in weather conditions and soil characteristics. Therefore, researchers should be cautious when suggesting management recommendations, such as removing all grazing animals or reducing grazing activities. A highly variable ecological force such as grazing, with important environmental and social implications, should be analysed deeply before extrapolated results or suggesting management practices.

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Book SynopsisGrasslands provide both ecological and economic benefits. The importance of grasslands lies not only in the areas they cover, but also in the diversity of environmental benefits they produce. The lands provide forage for livestock, water for urban and rural uses, flood protection, wildlife habitat, purification of air, and carbon sequestration. The lands also provide aesthetic values and open space. This book discusses the Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP), which provides assistance to landowners and operators to protect grazing uses and related conservation values on eligible private range and pasture lands. The program emphasises support of grazing operations, maintaining and improving plant and animal biodiversity, and protecting grasslands and shrublands under threat of conversion to cropping, urban development, and other non-grazing uses.

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Book SynopsisThe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp Program) plays a vital role in the social safety net in the United States, providing almost $72 billion in benefits in 2011. An important measure of SNAP''s effectiveness is the extent to which the program reduces poverty. Evaluations of antipoverty effect of safety net programs often focus on the rate of poverty. However, the poverty rate reflects only one aspect of the antipoverty effect of a safety net program, whether or not adding program benefits to a family''s resources lifts them above the poverty threshold. This book examines SNAP''s role in poverty reduction with a focus on increased food security.

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Book SynopsisFarmers and ranchers have had to adjust to significant changes in the structure and business methods of the livestock and meat sectors in recent decades. At the farm level, animal production in general and hog production in particular have undergone significant consolidation since 1980. Beef and pork packing (slaughtering) and processing have consolidated rapidly since 1980 into fewer and larger plants. As an industry consolidates, it can become highly concentrated, with a relatively small number of firms accounting for most of the production or sales. This book examines the USDA''s "GIPSA Rule" on livestock and poultry marketing practices and competition issues.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the developments, issues and research outlook of global agriculture. Topics discussed include the trade and food security implications from the Indonesian agricultural experience; the remarkable growth in China''s apple juice concentrate exports since the 1990s; the U.S. and Mexican dry bean sectors; and Peru as an emerging exporter of fruits and vegetables.

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Book SynopsisThis compilation examines agricultural research from across the globe and covers a broad spectrum of related topics. In this book, the authors discuss research including breeding improved cassava cultivars in tropical/subtropical bio-systems; sluggish alcoholic fermentations during wine production; agricultural productivity and poverty in Vietnam; the role of eco-management for sustainable agricultural production; molecular marker assisted selection for disease resistance breeds of cattle; an improved in vitro method for isolated microspore culture of durum wheat; modelling crop water requirements in the Upper Indus Basin of Pakistan for enhancing food security; and agricultural practices for sustainable crop production and soil health.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the possible economic implications of large shifts in the supply of foreign-born, hired farm labour that could result from substantial changes in U.S. immigration laws or policies. Hired labour is an important input to U.S. agricultural production, accounting for about 17 percent of variable production expenses and about 40 percent of such expenses for fruit, vegetables, and nursery products. Over the past 15 years, roughly half of the hired labourers employed in U.S. crop agriculture have lacked the immigration status needed to work legally in the United States. Thus, changes in immigration laws or policies could lead to markedly different economic outcomes in the agricultural sector and the market for hired farm labour. The same is generally true for other economic sectors that rely on large numbers of unauthorised workers.

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Book SynopsisAgriculture is one of the defining elements of a nation. This series consists of analyses on a variety of agricultural issues including (but not limited to) the developments, policies, programs, trade, trends and economics of agriculture. Topics will be seen from a U.S. perspective, but not to the exclusion of other countries particularly when the discussion has an international scope.

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Book SynopsisThis book describes and analyses competitive factors in Brazil affecting U.S. and Brazilian sales of agricultural goods, including grains, soy-beans, and meats, in third-country markets. It provides an overview of Brazil''s agricultural imports, exports, consumption, and production during 200611; an overview of Brazilian government programs and regulations relating to agricultural production and exports; an analysis of the growth of Brazilian agribusiness firms and their impact on global supply chains; a description of competitive factors affecting Brazil''s agricultural sector; and special focus chapters surveying the soy-bean, grains, poultry, beef, and pork sectors, with an emphasis on important third-country markets where U.S. and Brazilian exports directly compete.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the developments, issues and research outlook of global agriculture. Topics discussed include the expansion of modern grocery retailing and trade in developing countries; Indonesia''s modern retail sector; the convergence in global food demand and delivery; and public agricultural research spending and future U.S. agricultural productivity growth.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the changes and trends in farming and farmland in the United States. Innovations in farm organisation, business arrangements, and production practices have allowed farmers to produce more with less. Fewer labour hours and less land are used today than 30 years ago, and practices such as the use of genetically engineered seeds and no-till have dampened increases in machinery, fuel, and pesticide use. Likely aided by the increased use of risk management tools such as contracts and crop insurance, U.S. agricultural productivity has increased by nearly 50 percent since 1982. Future innovations will be necessary to maintain, or boost, current productivity gains in order to meet the growing global demands that will be placed upon U.S. agriculture.

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