Sustainable agriculture Books

Book Synopsis In The Tiny But Mighty Farm, author Jill Ragan of YouTube’s Whispering Willow Farm teaches you how to turn a typical suburban backyard into a productive mini farm.Backyard mini farming is about regular people who live in regular houses turning all or part of their property into a productive, high-yielding mini farm. Unlike gardening, mini farming takes a very deliberate approach, with the main goal being to grow as much food as you can with as little land and as few resources as possible. Everything is done with planning and purpose, rather than as a hobby. Whether your property is one-tenth of an acre, one full acre, or somewhere in between, there are so many opportunities to grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs in creative and high-yielding ways.If concerns about food security and the rising cost of food have you feeling uneasy, or if you just want to play a bigger role in feeding your family and your community, starting a backyardTrade Review“The Tiny but Mighty Farm is a wonderful roadmap for gardeners and farmers of all types. Whether you are a hobby farmer, homesteader, or aspiring market gardener, Jill’s book is sure to inspire you to dream big. It will also equip you with the essential information needed to achieve those dreams. Small scale, sustainable farms are the answer to our broken food system, and this book shows you just how impactful they can be!” * Kim Doughty-McCannon, Bell Urban Farm * "I wish I would have had this book as a reference when I started flower farming 22 years ago. The principles of planning and implementing your dreams found in The Tiny but Mighty Farm are applicable to anything you want to cultivate as a small farm enterprise. Jill's passion for educating others about sustainable growing really shows in a writing style that is easy to understand and truly heartfelt.” * Steve Kaufer, Sunflower Steve Seed Co. *"The Tiny but Mighty Farm is a must read for anyone wanting to garden and be more self-sufficient. It is packed full of helpful tips, garden knowledge, and ways to cultivate a life well lived. There are also so many beautiful images and helpful charts to inspire your gardening journey. This book will be used in my home for many years to come" * Annette Thurmon, host of the Azure Farm podcast *“The Tiny but Mighty Farm will inspire you to dig deep, reflect, and create a life you are proud of. This is not just a book about growing food. You will gain an immense amount of knowledge, whether you are a first-time gardener or a long-time grower. It is also a book that is going to show you how to connect with your land and your community. I read it from front to back and felt moved the entire time.” * Mandi Pickering, Wild Oak Farms *“The Tiny but Mighty Farm has a beautiful, empowering way of inspiring us to not only learn more about gardening but to also evaluate our own aspirations and values. Jill encourages us to dream bigger while also giving us all of the tools and details to actually achieve our goals through everything she has learned. I know that this book will also inspire others as it has me - as a wife, mom, daughter, and farmer. I’ll definitely be sharing this book!” * Lindsey Gilbert, owner of Willow Tree Flower Market *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Tiny Farm Journey CHAPTER 1 Small-Farm Values CHAPTER 2 What Kind of Farmer and Gardener Do You Want To Be? CHAPTER 3 Grow With Purpose CHAPTER 4 Soil: The Health & Longevity of Your Farm CHAPTER 5 In-Ground, Raised Beds & Indoor Growing: Which is Right for You? CHAPTER 6 Growing From Seed CHAPTER 7 Tools & Efficient Systems to Grow On CHAPTER 8 How Structures, High Tunnels & Greenhouses Help CHAPTER 9 Growing for Community: Turning Your Tiny Farm into a Business Conclusion: Keep Dreamin’ Acknowledgments About the Author Notes Index

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Book SynopsisPractical methods for coping with today's greatest concerns - including mites and Africanized bees.

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Book SynopsisThis new volume, Biofertilizers and Biopesticides in Sustainable Agriculture, presents strategies for the management of soil and crop diseases. Microbes have attracted worldwide attention due to their role in disease management and remediation of polluted soils. Taking a sustainable approach, this book explores the means of integrating various microbial management approaches to achieve the desired levels of crop yield under both conventional soils and neglected soils through the use of biopesticides and other botanicals as well as biomolecules. This book also presents a broad and updated view of molecular nitrogen fixation and phosphate-solubilizing and sulfur-transforming microbes for nutrition of crops in relation to the role of metal tolerant microbes in providing protection to plants grown in metal-contaminated soils. The preparation and application of biofertilizers, utilization of household waste materials, and use of genetically modified microorganisms (GMOs) in plant growth and development are also well discussed in the volume. Table of Contents1. General Introduction of Bio-Inputs vs. Chemical Inputs in Agriculture and Ill Effects 2. Bacterial Biopesticides and Their Use in Agricultural Production 3. Fungal Biopesticides and Their Uses for Control of Insect Pest and Diseases 4. Viral Biopesticides: An Effective and Environment-Friendly Approach to Control Insects 5. Control of Insect Pest Through Biomolecules and Traps 6. PGPRs for the Control of Soil-Borne Diseases 7. Botanicals and Their Application in Control of Insect Pests 8. Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation and Pulses Yield 9. Free Living Nitrogen Fixation and Their Response to Agriculture Crops 10. Associative Nitrogen Fixation 11. Cyanobacteria and Azolla in Rice Cultivation: Improving Biological N2 Fixation System in Rice 12. Phosphorus Availability to Crops through Phosphate Solubilizing Microorganisms 13. Availability of Potash, Iron, Zinc, and Sulfur to Crop through Microbial Resources 14. Sulfur Cycle in Agricultural Soil: Microbiological Aspects 15. Utilization of Mycorrhizal Fungi in the Mobilization of Macro and Micro Nutrients to Important Pulses and Oil-Seed Crops 16. Integrated Use of Bioferilizers and Biopesticides in Crop Production 17. Fungal Bio-Pesticides: A Novel Tool for Management of Plant Parasitic Nematodes 18. Soil-Heavy Metal Toxicity Reduction by Bioagents/Living Organisms 19. Metagenomics for Soil Health 20. Use of Household Waste Materials for Biofertilizer Development 21. Genetically Modified Micro-Organisms for Sustainable Soil Health Management: A Biotechnological Approach

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Book SynopsisThe remarkable story of Sekem, a sustainable community which thrives in the Egyptian desert. Explores their pioneering vision for the future in ecology, economics, culture and social change. Important and inspiring.

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Book SynopsisFood production, particularly animal protein production, is changing. While productivity, efficiency and food quality continue to be of vital importance, there is increasing pressure on producers to prioritize sustainability and animal health and welfare as well minimize food waste. Optimizing vitamin nutrition can help make animal production more sustainable by optimizing animal health and welfare and animal performance and food quality, while reducing food waste. Optimum Vitamin Nutrition for More Sustainable Poultry Farming contains concise, up-to-date information on vitamin nutrition for poultry. This book, which follows the authoritative Optimum Vitamin Nutrition in the Production of Quality Animal Foods (5m Books, 2013), is a reference for research and extension specialists who need the most current, research-based information on vitamins in poultry. This book is first in a series of books covering Optimum Vitamin Nutrition in swine, ruminants and aquaculture.Table of ContentsChapter 1 Contribution of vitamin nutrition to a more sustainable farming Chapter 2 A brief history of vitamins Chapter 3 Introduction to vitamins Chapter 4 Vitamin description Chapter 5 Optimum vitamin nutrition in poultry breeders Chapter 6 Optimum vitamin nutrition in broilers and turkeys Chapter 7 Optimum vitamin nutrition in laying hens

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Book SynopsisFood is fundamental to life. The way we produce it is the most pressing issue of our times. In recent years, several family-run farms in the downlands of West Dorset have decided to radically change their approach to working the land. When the artist Chris Drury and poet-novelist Kay Syrad began collaborating with this group of farmers in the villages of Godmanstone and Sydling St Nicholas, they began to discover why these changes were being made and what they might mean for the local communities - and all of us - who depend on the farmed landscape for food. Chris Drury's artwork and Kay Syrad's prose-poetry combine here to form a sensitive and authentic portrait of a group of men and women whose lives are shaped by the land. It is a rich exploration of work, soil and the sustainability of their farming practice. With its focus on a very particular landscape, the book reveals to us the creativity and resilience of organic farming, and shows just how much we all need to value the complexities of food production and our future relationship with the land.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A]n important study that contributes to the recentring of climate-change narratives, from those of international policymakers, post-colonial states and lowland populations to those of upland groups most vulnerable to human-induced climate change that is not of their own making." * South East Asia Research *"Clearly and sensitively thought-out exposition. The book should be recognized as a rare work of oral history and ethnography that throws down a legitimate challenge to listen to the struggling folk who live in and with “mountains of blame."" * Pacific Affairs *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Exile from the Grasslands is a monumental work for understanding the socio-economic and cultural transformation that has taken place in recent decades among Tibetan nomads in western China." * Inner Asia *"[A] well-balanced account of Tibetan pastoralists’ responses to, and experiences of, Chinese development projects." * Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice *"In a refreshingly clear fashion, the author untangles and traces the often-overlapping paths of policies from the top levels of the central government to the local levels ofimplementation. In this regard, Exile from the Grasslands will be a welcome addition for introducing undergraduate and graduate students to development policy in Tibetan areas of China." * China Quarterly *"Ptáčková examines the competing explanations of why the grasslands have deteri-orated since the incorporation of Tibet into the Chinese state. What emerges from her analysis is a clear statement that while recent land-use activities by some pastoralists have contributed to the situation, the often unintended but nevertheless real conse-quences of Chinese state policies themselves and their inconsistent implementation and often contradictory goals are primarily to blame." * Journal of Anthropological Research *"Ptáčková’s work is a valuable source of information about current state-led development and transformation in Zêkog, Amdo Tibet. This book will undoubtedly be of interest and value for scholars, students and practitioners working in the fields of rural development studies." * Nomadic Peoples *"Ptáčková’s brief work takes a complicated web of history, culture, dreams of modernity (by both the state and its people) and deftly crafts a discussion that informs readers of any level of the issues facing Tibetan herding communities as China faces the expanding impacts of climate change, global economic chaos, and more." * H-Net Reviews *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Exile from the Grasslands is a monumental work for understanding the socio-economic and cultural transformation that has taken place in recent decades among Tibetan nomads in western China." * Inner Asia *"[A] well-balanced account of Tibetan pastoralists’ responses to, and experiences of, Chinese development projects." * Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice *"In a refreshingly clear fashion, the author untangles and traces the often-overlapping paths of policies from the top levels of the central government to the local levels ofimplementation. In this regard, Exile from the Grasslands will be a welcome addition for introducing undergraduate and graduate students to development policy in Tibetan areas of China." * China Quarterly *"Ptáčková examines the competing explanations of why the grasslands have deteri-orated since the incorporation of Tibet into the Chinese state. What emerges from her analysis is a clear statement that while recent land-use activities by some pastoralists have contributed to the situation, the often unintended but nevertheless real conse-quences of Chinese state policies themselves and their inconsistent implementation and often contradictory goals are primarily to blame." * Journal of Anthropological Research *"Ptáčková’s work is a valuable source of information about current state-led development and transformation in Zêkog, Amdo Tibet. This book will undoubtedly be of interest and value for scholars, students and practitioners working in the fields of rural development studies." * Nomadic Peoples *"Ptáčková’s brief work takes a complicated web of history, culture, dreams of modernity (by both the state and its people) and deftly crafts a discussion that informs readers of any level of the issues facing Tibetan herding communities as China faces the expanding impacts of climate change, global economic chaos, and more." * H-Net Reviews *

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Book SynopsisAn urgent demand for a People's Green New Deal, foregrounding global agricultural transformation and climate justice for the Global SouthTrade Review'Hands-down the best book yet on the Green New Deal. Courageous, bold, refreshing - Ajl pushes the horizons of progressive thought and envisions an ecosocialist transition that is rooted in principles of global justice' -- Jason Hickel, author of 'Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World''An amazing text, truly inspirational. There are few books in which nearly every sentence is urgent and quotable, but this is one. Lucid and profound, it assembles the elements that are necessary for an actual political program of survival and renewal' -- Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of 'An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States' (Beacon Press, 2014)'You cannot purchase your way out of climate change the same way you cannot pick a 'Green New Deal' brand that suits your personal preferences. Anti-imperialism and anti-capitalism are not by-gone projects, they're very much alive in the Global South. Left climate movements in the North would be better served by following their example as well as reading this critical work' -- Nick Estes, author of 'Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance' (Verso, 2019)‘Ajl guides us with an authority steeped in scholarship but also with panache. If you really want to learn what'll be necessary for our species to survive climate apocalypse, read this book. You'll then know the ways by which humanity's very fate can be won’ -- Rob Wallace, author of 'Dead Epidemiologists: On the Origins of COVID-19' (Monthly Review Press, 2020)'Anyone wanting to understand the limitations of the Green New Deal, and how it is being employed as a tool to rationalize Green Capitalism, and sanitize its advance within the capitalist system must read this critical work' -- Kali Akuno, Executive Director of Cooperation Jackson"In this urgent book, Max Ajl poses the question “What would visions for sustainability in Global North look like if they were anti-imperial, reparative, socialist and agroecological?” The answer, he argues, looks radically different from – and more liberating than - the Green New Deals on the table today" -- Raj Patel, co-author of 'A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet' (Verso, 2020)'An exceedingly important and powerful book, a uniquely comprehensive report about climate change, its politics and injustices' -- Judith Deutsch, ‘Counterpunch’‘A bracing and thought-provoking call for those of us in the Global North to reconsider how we fight for social and climate justice’ -- ‘ROAR’‘A refreshing and rich scholarly alternative to how an ideal green new deal should be imagined … an exquisite sketch of ideal avenues towards eco-socialism’ -- ‘Developing Economics’‘Provides a comprehensive survey of the nuanced issues a red-green alliance must confront and resolve’ -- ‘System Change not Climate Change’'An exceedingly important and powerful book, a uniquely comprehensive report about climate change, its politics and injustices'. -- ‘Socialist Project’‘A magnificent work that should be at the top of reading lists for anyone remotely concerned about the climate crisis' -- ‘Canadian Dimension’Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part I: Capitalist Green Transitions 1. Green Transition - or Fortress Eco-Nationalism? 2. Change Without Change: Eco-Modernism 3. Energy Use, Degrowth, and the Green New Deal 4. Green Social Democracy or Eco-Socialism? Part II: A People's Green New Deal 5. The World We Wish to See 6. A Planet of Fields 7. Green Anti-Imperialism and the National Question Conclusion Notes Index

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