Agriculture - Further Reading

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Agriculture

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Agriculture

Yearbook of Agriculture. U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1936- . Nontechnical, practical discussion of a different topic each year: crops, insects, rural living, and more.

Harper, Douglas A. Changing Works: Visions of a Lost Agriculture. University of Chicago Press, 2001. A photo-journalist's study of the changing face of American agriculture.

Hurt, R. Douglas. American Agriculture: A Brief History. Iowa State University Press, 1994. Traces the major political, economic, social, scientific, and technological changes in U.S. farming.

Kimbrel, Andrew. Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture. Foundation for Deep Ecology, 2002. A collection of essays that advocate for sustainable agriculture and against what the authors see as the health and environmental consequences of large-scale, industrialized agriculture.

Nelson, Gerald C., ed. Genetically Modified Organisms in Agriculture. Academic, 2001. Provides a comprehensive and balanced study of the controversial issue of GMOs in agriculture.

Paladino, Catherine. One Good Apple: Growing Our Food for the Sake of the Earth. Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Illustrated treatment of the problems created by the use of pesticides and the benefits of organic farming. For middle-school readers.

Peter Collin Publishing Staff. Dictionary of Agriculture. Peter Collin, 1997. Covers everything from farm equipment to livestock breeds, crop varieties, pesticides, and farm construction.

Smil, Vaclav. Feeding the World: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century. MIT Press, 2000. Addresses the question of how to feed the 10 billion people who will likely inhabit the Earth by mid-century.

Smith, Bruce D. The Emergence of Agriculture. Scientific American, 1995. Account of prehistoric agriculture as pieced together by archaeologists.

Animal husbandry

Bixby, Donald E., and others, eds. Taking Stock: The North American Livestock Census. McDonald & Woodward, 1994. Emphasizes the need to protect the genetic diversity of domestic animals.

Board on Science and Technology for International Development, National Research Council. Microlivestock: Little-Known Small Animals with a Promising Economic Future. National Academy Press, 1991. Report on the potential of small livestock species.

Budiansky, Stephen. The Covenant of the Wild: Why Animals Chose Domestication. Morrow, 1992. Evolutionary view of the domestication of animals.

Johnson, Andrew. Factory Farming. Blackwell, 1991. Balanced view of factory rearing of farm animals.

Putnam, Paul A., ed. Handbook of Animal Science. Academic, 1991. Facts and figures on all aspects of domesticated animals.

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Cattle

Evans, Simon M., and others, eds. Cowboys, Ranchers and the Cattle Business: Cross-Border Perspectives on Ranching History. University Press of Colorado, 2000. A cattle-ranching history that will appeal to any student of the Western frontier .

Newham, Lucy. Beef Cattle: Breeding, Feeding and Showing. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001. Excellent guide to breeding and showing cattle.

Phillips, C.J. Principles of Cattle Production Oxford University Press, 2000. A text for the student, farmer and veterinarian that emphasizes health issues (such as mad cow disease) and the need for sustainable production systems.

Pukite, John. A Field Guide to Cows. Penguin, 1998. The breeds and lore of American cows.

Rath, Sara. The Complete Cow. 2nd ed. Voyageur, 2000. Breeds and lore of cows of the world, with 80 color photographs and 50 illustrations.

Thomas, Heather Smith. Guide to Raising Beef Cattle. Storey, 1998. Information on health, handling, and breeding.

Winn, Laurie. Cattle: An Informal Social History. Dee, 2001. A fascinating examination of our centuries-old relationship with cows.

Crop Farming

Foster, Nelson, and Linda S. Cordell, eds. Chilies to Chocolate: Food the Americas Gave the World. University of Arizona Press, 1992. Biological and cultural history of the crops native to the Americas.

Lockhart, J. A. R., and A. J. L. Wiseman. Introduction to Crop Husbandry. Pergamon, 1988. Basic undergraduate text.

Peacock, James; Trevor Williams; and John H. Holden. Genes, Crops and the Environment. Cambridge University Press, 1993. Crop genetics and the need to conserve genetic diversity.

Rissler, Jane, and Margaret Mellon. The Ecological Risks of Engineered Crops. MIT Press, 1996. Potential problems with large-scale use of transgenic crops.

Smith, C. Wayne. Crop Production: Evolution, History, and Technology. Wiley, 1995. Discusses eight major crops in the United States with production practices, marketing, and history of commercial production.

Vaughan, John G., and Catherine Geissler. The New Oxford Book of Food Plants: A Guide to the Fruit, Vegetables, Herbs & Spices of the World. Oxford University Press, 1998.

Zalon, Frank, and William Fry. Food Crop Pests and the Environment: The Need and Potential for Integrated Pest Management. American Phytopathological Society, 1992.

Irrigation

Clemings, Russell A. Mirage: The False Promise of Desert Agriculture. Sierra, 1996. Environmental problems caused by irrigation.

Mabry, Jonathan B., ed. Canals and Communities: Small-Scale Irrigation Systems. University of Arizona Press, 1996. Description of small-scale irrigation around the world.

National Research Council. A New Era for Irrigation. National Academy, 1998. Exploration of the viability of irrigation in the United States.

Smith, Stephen W. Landscape Irrigation: Design and Management. Wiley, 1996. Basic text emphasizing water conservation methods.

Stewart, B. A., and D. R. Nielsen. Irrigation of Agricultural Crops. American Society of Agronomy, 1990. Focus on conservation and effects on the environment.

Pest control

Bohmont, Bert L. Standard Pesticide User's Guide. Prentice Hall, 1996. Choosing, mixing, and applying pesticides, with information on regulations and safety.

Ware, George W. Complete Guide to Pest Control: With and Without Chemicals. Thomson, 1996. Identifies pests and presents choices of control.

Winston, Mark L. Nature Wars: People vs. Pests. Harvard University Press, 1997. Overview of the war on pests and the need to change from a philosophy of eradication to one of control.

Soil

Adams, John A. Dirt. Texas A&M, 1986. A treasury of information for nonexperts.

Campbell, Stu. Let It Rot: The Gardener's Guide to Composting. Storey, 1998. A highly readable account of how to compost for your garden.

Charman, Andrew. Earth (First Starts). Raintree/Steck Vaughn, 1994. An introduction for younger readers to surface processes, emphasizing soil environments; color photographs.

Cherrington, Mark. Degradation of the Land. Chelsea House, 1992. Explores the problem of land degradation, explaining how such processes occur and their resultant effects; for younger readers.

Hynes, Erin. Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening: Improving the Soil. Rodale, 1994. Presents advice on improving garden soil through the use of recycled compost and other organic materials.

Lavies, Bianca. Compost Critters. Dutton, 1993. For younger readers, a look at the many life forms nourished by a compost heap during the course of a year; stunning close-up photography.

Ogden, Scott. Gardening Success with Difficult Soils: Limestone, Alkaline Clay, and Caliche. Taylor, 1992. Provides everything needed to garden in difficult soils; valuable for novices and old hands alike.

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