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2. Cover crops and specialty crop agriculture: exploring cover crop use among vegetable and fruit growers in Michigan and Ohio
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Schoolman, E.D. (author) and Arbuckle, J.G. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2022-07
- Published:
- USA: Soil and Water Conservation Society
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12643
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
- Journal Title Details:
- V. 77, N.4
- Notes:
- 15 pages, Cover crops—crops grown primarily to protect and improve soil—are widely considered to be an important component of sustainable agricultural systems because their use can provide multiple ecosystem services without compromising yields over time. Specialty crops—fruits, vegetables, and horticultural crops—are increasingly important to US agriculture and food security and uniquely vulnerable to climate-related problems that cover crops can help to address. Yet far less research has been conducted on cover crop use by farmers who grow mainly specialty crops, compared to the much larger body of research on farmers who principally grow row crops like corn (Zea mays) and soybeans (Glycine max). In this study, we draw on survey data from a stratified, random sample of 881 specialty crop growers in Michigan and Ohio to accomplish two main goals. First, we seek to characterize cover crop use among this important group of farmers, focusing on types of cover crop used and use of multiple types. Second, we examine the relationship between cover crop use on vegetable and fruit farms and key social and economic factors, with particular attention to farmers’ environmental values, adherence to organic principles, and sources of information. According to survey results, cover cropping is more likely when farmers (1) manage certified organic (p < 0.01) or organic-in-practice (p < 0.05) farms; (2) report being influenced by private crop consultants (p < 0.01); (3) attach high importance to agri-environmental goals (p < 0.01); and (4) grow vegetable crops instead of or in addition to fruit crops (p < 0.001). No relationship was found to exist between cover cropping and farmers’ concerns about climate-related risks, education level, or perceived self-efficacy. We conclude by suggesting that the importance of structural factors to farmers’ decisions about cover crops should not be underestimated. Promoting and strengthening the market for organic food may be the most direct pathway toward increasing the number of farmers who use cover crops. Historically important entities in agricultural networks, including cooperative extension and conservation nongovernmental organizations, might enhance their impact on cover crop use by forming new partnerships with private crop consultants.
3. Factors influencing smallholder farmers to participate in farmer-led research of agro-ecological practices in selected areas, Tanzania
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Kihoma, Luambano (author), Churi, Ayubu J. (author), Sanga, Camilius A. (author), and Tisselli, Eugenio (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-10-22
- Published:
- International: Academic Journals
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12336
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol.13(4)
- Notes:
- 11 pages., Declining crop productivity is a great challenge facing smallholder farmers in Tanzania. Agro-ecological practices can improve crop productivity in a sustainable way and produce healthy food among smallholder farmers. Initiation of “Farmer-Led Research of Agro-Ecological Practices” (FLRAG) may enhance farmers’ capacities for innovation and co-develop suitable agro-ecological practices. This study aimed at identifying factors influencing smallholder farmers to participate in FLRAG. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data from 90 smallholder farmers in Mvomero, Bagamoyo and Masasi districts in Tanzania. Data were also collected from key informants who were extension officers. The study identified that experience in farming, easiness in accessing agro-ecological inputs, interest in doing experiments and farm size ownership are the factors that substantially influence smallholder farmers to participate in FLRAG. Therefore, researchers are advised to select participants of FLRAG by considering the mentioned factors. Furthermore, farmers selected to participate in FLRAG are advised to the use of ugunduzi app” that was developed purposefully to enhance agro-ecological research in order to test and understand its potential on smoothing agro-ecological research activities.
4. Food flows and food systems in desert landscapes:edible landscapes in Qatar and the Arabian gulf
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Grichting, Anna (author), Awwaad, Reem (author), Ball, Luzita (author), and Tantillo, Paige (author)
- Format:
- Proceedings
- Publication Date:
- 2016
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08816
- Notes:
- Pages 85-109 in Rob Roggema (ed.), Agriculture in an urbanizing society volume one: proceedings of the sixth AESOP conference on sustainable food planning. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 549 pages.
5. March for Science: agony and ecstasy of a Malaysian agricultural biotechnology science communicator
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Arujanan, Mahaletchumy (author)
- Format:
- News article
- Publication Date:
- 2017-04-21
- Published:
- Malaysia: Genetic Literacy Project
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 165 Document Number: D08330
- Notes:
- 4 pages
6. Microbial magic could help slash your dinner's carbon footprint
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Thomasy, Hannah (author)
- Format:
- Online article
- Publication Date:
- 2018-06-29
- Published:
- USA
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 198 Document Number: D09752
- Notes:
- NPR: The Salt. 6 pages.
7. New solar panels allow farmers to see the light
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Nitta, Naoki (author)
- Format:
- Online Article
- Publication Date:
- 2023-01-16
- Published:
- United States: Modern Farmer Media
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12884
- Journal Title:
- Modern Farmer
- Journal Title Details:
- Online
- Notes:
- 11pgs, Researchers harness sunlight to harvest energy and food together, utilizing the full spectrum of light to improve outputs.
8. Next generation agricultural system data, models and knowledge products: Introduction
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Antle, John M. (author), Jones, James W. (author), and Rosenzweig, Cynthia E. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2016-09
- Published:
- International
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 159 Document Number: D07678
- Journal Title:
- Agricultural Systems
- Notes:
- In Press, Corrected Proof
9. Not all light spectra were created equal: can we harvest light for optimum food-energy co-generation?
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Camporese, Matteo (author) and Abou Najm, Majdi (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2022-12
- Published:
- United States: Wiley Periodicals LLC
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12886
- Journal Title:
- Earth's Future
- Journal Title Details:
- Volume 10, Issue 12
- Notes:
- 16pgs, Humanity's growing appetites for food and energy are placing unprecedented yield targets on our lands. Chasing those ever-expanding land intensification targets gave rise to monocultures and sharpened the divide between food and energy production groups. Here, we argue that this does not have to be a zero-sum game if food and energy can be co-generated in the same land. Co-generation can lead to sustainable intensification but requires a paradigm shift in the way we manage our resources, particularly light. Using an extended model of plant photosynthesis and transpiration, we demonstrate how plants react to different incident light spectra and show that manipulating light could be effective for boosting land and water efficiencies, thus potentially improving soil health. This knowledge can possibly unlock the real potential of promising modern agricultural technologies that target optimization of light allocations such as agrivoltaics. This study suggests that the blue part of the light spectrum is less efficient in terms of carbon assimilation and water use and could be more effectively used to produce solar energy, while the red part could efficiently produce biomass. A sensitivity analysis to the most important crop and environmental variables (irradiance, air temperature, humidity, and CO2 concentration) shows that plant response to different light treatments is sensitive to environmental boundary conditions and is species-specific. Therefore, further research is necessary to assess which crops and climates are more suitable to optimize the proposed food-water-energy nexus.
10. Opportunities and challenges for cover cropping in sustainable agriculture systems in southern australia
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Nordblom, Thomas (author), Gurusinghe, Saliya (author), Erbacher, Andrew (author), and Weston, Leslie A. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2023-03-15
- Published:
- Switzerland: MDPI
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 206 Document Number: D12865
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Agriculture
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 13, N.3
- Notes:
- 17 pages, Southern Australian farming systems operate predominantly under Mediterranean climatic conditions, which limit the choice of cover crops suitable for enhancement of ground cover and soil moisture retention, erosion control, atmospheric soil nitrogen (N) fixation, and weed suppression between cash crop rotations. Given that the successful establishment of cover crops is climate-driven and also influenced by edaphic factors such as soil pH and salinity, there has been increased interest by southern Australian producers in identifying potential cover crop species well adapted to specific Australian farming systems, which provide vital ecosystem services and sustainable economic benefits through the improvement of soil properties. This review summarises recent findings on cover crop inclusion in diverse farming systems in southern Australia, including continuous and mixed broadacre cropping as well as viticulture and horticulture systems, to identify opportunities and limitations related to their use. Cover crop inclusion in viticulture and pasture systems with lower moisture stress was observed to benefit the subsequent cash crop through enhanced production potential. Long-term, multi-site field experimentation incorporating summer cover crops in winter crop rotations showed that cover crops enhanced ground cover and soil water infiltration in some locations across southern Australia while sometimes increasing winter crop yield, suggesting that soil type and regional climatic conditions greatly influenced the delivery of multiple cover crop benefits. Collectively, these studies have suggested a need for longer-term field evaluations using multiple cover crop species and investigations of termination options under varying environmental and soil conditions to better quantify the legacy effects of cover crops.