Agricultural Engineering

Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food

By the year 2050, Earth's population will double. If we continue with current farming practices, vast amounts of wilderness will be lost, millions of birds and billions of insects will die, and the public will lose billions of dollars as a consequence of environmental degradation. Clearly, there must be a better way to meet the need for increased food production.
Written as part memoir, part instruction, and part contemplation, Tomorrow's Table argues that a judicious blend of two important strands of agriculture--genetic engineering and organic farming--is key to helping feed the world's growing population in an ecologically balanced manner. Pamela Ronald, a geneticist, and her husband, Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer, take the reader inside their lives for roughly a year, allowing us to look over their shoulders so that we can see what geneticists and organic farmers actually do. The reader sees the problems that farmers face, trying to provide larger yields without resorting to expensive or environmentally hazardous chemicals, a problem that will loom larger and larger as the century progresses. They learn how organic farmers and geneticists address these problems.
This book is for consumers, farmers, and policy decision makers who want to make food choices and policy that will support ecologically responsible farming practices. It is also for anyone who wants accurate information about organic farming, genetic engineering, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment.

Soil and Water Conservation Engineering

This book provides a professional text for undergraduate and graduate agricultural and biological engineering students interested in soil and water conservation in rural and urban areas. Subject matter includes all the engineering phases of soil and urban areas. Subject matter includes all the engineering phases of soil and water conservation for a one or two semester course. The authors assume that the student has a basic knowledge of calculus, surveying, mechanics, hydraulics, soils, and computers. The analytical approach is emphasized and is supplemented by sufficient field data to illustrate practical applications. The text emphasizes engineering principles in the areas of erosion, drainage, irrigation, and water resources. Tables, charts, and diagrams have been included to provide practicing engineers with readily usable information as well. Many examples and problems are included to emphasize the design principles and to facilitate an understanding of the subject matter. Computer models and software program sources have been described where applicable in the text as well as access to some computer programs and models. In many instances, students will find using a spreadsheet advantageous for reviewing example problems and solving homework problems.

How To Restore Classic Farmall Tractors: The Ultimate Do-it-Yourself Guide to Rebuilding and Restoring

Small-Scale Haymaking (Country Workshop)

This book provides step-by-step instructions for the new or casual farmer undertaking haymaking for the first time. From plowing and planting the field to cutting, baling, and storing, author Spencer Yost clearly and concisely explains what to do, citing examples and describing instructive situations from his own experience as a hay farmer. He also includes ample information of the different types of haying equipment and basic machinery maintenance.

How To Use Implements on Your Small-Scale Farm (Motorbooks Workshop)

Handy Farm Devices: And How to Make Them

Originally published in 1909, "Handy Farm Devices" is more than an engaging trip down memory lane. For any small farmer or homesteader, the techniques and devices described in detail are just as useful, durable, and fully functional today as they were 75 years ago. You will learn to build a portable chicken coop, a stone boat (for moving stone), a lightweight orchard ladder, gates that don't sag, and a handy wood splitter, as well as rudimentary farm structures, well houses, bee hives, a baby's cradle, a cheese press and much more. The charming, turn-of-the-century language and useful and inspirational quotes from Shakespeare, the Bible, Bacon, Longfellow and many others make this book a delight to read. --Mark A. Hetts

Agricultural Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications

Agricultural Mechanics: Fundamentals & Applications continues to be the most widely used textbook for high school Agricultural Mechanics programs nationwide because of its student friendly layout and its comprehensive coverage. Topics covered range from welding to tool identification, from diesel engine maintenance to masonry. The units are presented in a logical, easy to follow format allowing students to comprehend concepts and apply them in hands on applications. Objectives and competencies to be developed are included in each section, along with a list of new terms, a materials list, student activities, and self-evaluations. The new fifth edition has been updated throughout to address the changing technologies that help shape the world of agriculture.

The Compact Tractor Bible (Country Workshop)

Biorenewable Resources: Engineering New Products from Agriculture

Immense potential for sustainable development lies in the production of fuels, chemicals, and materials from bioresources. This timely book provides comprehensive coverage of the engineering systems that convert agricultural crops and residues into bioenergy and biobased products.

Leading the way as the first textbook for coursework on biobased products, Biorenewable Resources: Engineering New Products from Agriculture covers not only pertinent technologies but offers a primer on necessary foundation subjects the student or other reader may lack: organic chemistry, thermodynamics, plant science, crop production, environmental science, and process economics. Of special value to those working or planning to work in the field are compilations of bioresource properties, such as

• production yields,
  
• bulk densities and moisture content,
  
• summative analysis of plant materials, and
  
• chemical conversion yields.

By defining this multi-disciplinary field—at the interface between agricultural sciences and process engineering—Robert C. Brown has produced an introductory textbook that also serves as a handbook for agronomists, engineers, chemists, and environmentalists.

This textbook is designed for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in science and engineering. A chapter on the theory and history of the field of biorenewable sources is followed by sections on those aspects of engineering thermodynamics, organic chemistry, and plant chemistry that will apply to the processing of biorenewable resources. Subsequent chapter topics include production of herbaceous crops and woody crops, storage, the various products that can be produced and their means of production, and environmental and economic issues. Brown teaches chemical and mechanical engineering at Iowa State U. in Ames. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Farmall Letter Series Tractors (Original Series)