Agro Commodities & Agricultural Produts

Sheepwagon: Home on the Range For so long, the sheepwagon was such a common sight on the western landscape that it has been overlooked as an important part of the region s culture. Other than a few articles about the quaint sheepwagon or the lonely life of the rapidly disappearing sheepherder, no definitive history of the western sheep business has been written since 1948.This photo-intensive book gives the history of the sheepwagon and the surrounding sheep business. Here are chapters on the early days of Western sheep-raising; the origins and manufacturing of sheepwagons; traditional sheepherders: their superstitions, customs and pastimes; women and families who lived in sheepwagons; the Basque influence; and modern-day herders, sheepwagons, and restorers.Author Weidel spent years interviewing sheepmen and women, sheepherders, wagon builders, and experts for this, the only book on the fascinating first mobile home. List Price: $ 19.95 Price: $…. Click here to Read More

Principles of Field Crop Production (4th Edition) Known for its comprehensive coverage, Principles of Field Crop Production introduces students to over fifty species of crops and the most current principles and practices used in crop production today. Learn the botanical characteristics, economic importance, history and adaptation of various species and how science and technology are impacting their production. This fourth edition maintains its historical perspective while discussing current topics such as: how plants grow and respond to their environment, biotechnology and crop improvement, and the latest developments in equipment and production techniques. List Price: $ 141.60 Price: $…. Click here to Read More

Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Fair Trade, Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mexico and Central America (Food, Health, and the Environment) Our morning cups of coffee connect us to a global industry and an export crisis in the tropics that is destroying livelihoods, undermining the cohesion of families and communities, and threatening ecosystems. Confronting the Coffee Crisis explores small-scale farming, the political economy of the global coffee industry, and initiatives that claim to promote more sustainable rural development in coffee-producing communities. Contributors review the historical, political, economic, and agroecological processes within today’s coffee industry and analyze the severely depressed export market that faces small-scale growers in Mexico and Central America. The book presents a series of interdisciplinary, empirically rich case studies showing how small-scale farmers manage ecosystems and organize collectively as they seek useful collaborations…. Click here to Read More

Soil Management: Building a Stable Base for Agriculture Degradation of soils continues at a pace that will eventually create a local, regional, or even global crisis when diminished soil resources collide with increasing climate variation. It’s not too late to restore our soils to a more productive state by rediscovering the value of soil management, building on our ever-expanding scientific understanding of soils. This book is unique because of its treatment of soil management based on principles-the physical, chemical, and biological processes and how together they form the foundation for soil management. Audience: Students, certified/practicing professionals, industry and academic researchers in soil science, land management, environmental science, food security, and ecosystem services. Whether new to soil science or needing a concise reference, readers will benefit from this book’s ability to integrate the science of soils with management issues and long-term…. Click here to Read More

Soil Management: Building a Stable Base for Agriculture Degradation of soils continues at a pace that will eventually create a local, regional, or even global crisis when diminished soil resources collide with increasing climate variation. It’s not too late to restore our soils to a more productive state by rediscovering the value of soil management, building on our ever-expanding scientific understanding of soils. This book is unique because of its treatment of soil management based on principles-the physical, chemical, and biological processes and how together they form the foundation for soil management. Audience: Students, certified/practicing professionals, industry and academic researchers in soil science, land management, environmental science, food security, and ecosystem services. Whether new to soil science or needing a concise reference, readers will benefit from this book’s ability to integrate the science of soils with management issues and long-term…. Click here to Read More

Rangeland Ecology And Management Over the last two decades the science of range management, like many other resource disciplines, has embraced and integrated environmental concerns in the field, the laboratory, and policy. Rangeland Ecology and Management now brings this integrated approach to the classroom in a thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and readable text. The authors discuss the basics of rangeland management—including grazing and practical management of animals and vegetation—and place those basics within the context of decision making for damaged land, riparian and water conservation, multiple use, and modeling. Concepts such as succession, stability, and range condition are examined and their effects discussed. Fire is considered as an environmental factor. Appendixes provide scientific and common names of range plants and animals. These and many other issues crucial to the understanding of successful range management combine to make the finest text for…. Click here to Read More

Handbook of Erosion Modelling The movement of sediment and associated pollutants over the landscape and into water bodies is of increasing concern with respect to pollution control, prevention of muddy floods and environmental protection. In addition, the loss of soil on site has implications for declining agriculturalproductivity, loss of biodiversity and decreased amenity and landscape value. The fate of sediment and the conservation of soil are important issues for land managers and decision-makers. In developing appropriate policies and solutions, managers and researchers are making greater use of erosion models to characterise the processes of erosion and their interaction with the landscape.A study of erosion requires one to think in terms of microseconds to understand the mechanics of impact of a single raindrop on a soil surface, while landscapes form over periods of thousands of years. These processes operate on scales of millimetres for single raindrops to mega-metres…. Click here to Read More

Plant Breeding and Biotechnology: Societal Context and the Future of Agriculture This comprehensive survey of modern plant breeding traces its history from the earliest experiments at the dawn of the scientific revolution in the seventeenth century to the present day and the existence of high tech agribusiness. Murphy tells the story from the perspective of a scientist working in this field, offering a rationale and evidence-based insight into its development. Crop improvement is examined from both a scientific and socio-economic perspective and the ways in which these factors interact and impact on agricultural development are discussed, including debates on genetically-modified food. Murphy highlights concerns over the future of plant breeding, as well as potential options to enable us to meet the challenges of feeding the world in the 21st century. This thoroughly interdisciplinary and balanced account serves as an essential resource for everyone involved with plant breeding…. Click here to Read More

Financing and Acquiring Park and Recreation Resources Today’s park and recreation agencies provide many more services, maintain substantially larger acreages of land, and experience more vandalism and crime problems than ever before. The declining availability of tax-supported revenue sources and escalating costs place park and recreation managers under intense pressure to obtain the financial resources necessary to sustain the level of service expected by clientele groups, a diverse and demanding public, and elected officials. Therefore, managers of park and recreation facilities, like their counterparts in business, must design and implement strategies to do more with less. One way to confront their fiscal challenges in the current economic climate is to take a proactive, entrepreneurial stance–transforming problems into opportunities. Crompton, an authority on the subject for over thirty years, describes in a clear, accessible manner, how today’s park managers can apply both…. Click here to Read More