Plant-parasitic nematodes are major constraints to the productivity of tropical farming operations. Intensive land use and climatic conditions favorable to nematode development contribute to increased crop losses due to these pests. Many farmers in developing tropical countries have limited resources and management options. Cropping systems research is a relatively low-cost, low-input method of...

Dates for early cultivation in Finland obtained from pollen analysis and from remains from archaeological sites are compared to changes in population size derived from the summed calendar year probability distributions. The results from these two independent proxies correlate strongly with one another indicating that population size and the advance of farming were closely linked with each other...

Though the vegetarian movement sparked by Peter Singer’s book Animal Liberation has achieved some success, there is more animal suffering caused today due to factory farming than there was when the book was originally written. In this paper, I argue that there may be a technological solution to the problem of animal suffering in intensive factory farming operations. In particular, I suggest tha...

This paper innovates as it tests two different hypotheses regarding climate impacts on agricultural markets in Brazil: farmers only observe the average climate conditions of their region when deciding the type and amount of crop/animal to grow/raise; and weather diversions from normal climate conditions deviate farmers from their optimal profits. Both hypotheses are not rejected by the data. Th...

To live like a pig in an intensive environment Page 4 To live like a pig in a natural environment Page 6 Laying hens Page 8 Meat chickens Page 10 Selective breeding Page 12 Alternatives to factory farming Page 14 Legislation on farm animal welfare Page 16 Feeding the world – environment and resource implications Page 18 Factory farming and rural employment Page 20 Why should we care about farm ...

Organic farming systems still depend on intensive, mechanical soil tillage. Frequent passes by machinery traffic cause substantial soil compaction that threatens soil health. Adopting practices as reduced tillage and organic matter retention on the soil surface are considered effective ways to control soil compaction. In tropical regions, however, the acceleration of soil organic matter decompo...