The Anatomy Of Life Energy In Agriculture

The energies in fertilizers and in the cosmos do not often move needles, but they preside over crop production. As this manual makes clear, by learning to tap and use life-force energy it is possible to develop food production practices that are both high quality and nondestructive.

The author gives background information on soil nutrients and advises how to treat the soil without slowly killing it, and with a higher food quality as result

"Join longtime ecological farming author/researcher Harold Willis as he explains the foundation concepts of natural farming and issues the call for cleaner forms of food and fiber production. In this single volume, the author details the interconnections between soil chemistry, microbial life, plants and livestock. He discusses the current problems in agriculture and suggests how lessons from nature provide the roadmap to efficiency, effectiveness and profitability. This book does not stop at providing recipes of what farmers need to do to farm better, but also passes along an understanding of the why of ecological agriculture. This book is certain to become a classic of clean farming and one of the most heavily bookmarked volumes on a farmer’s shelf."--Publisher description.

Adequate food supplies and a reasonable quality of life require energy - both in commercial and non-commercial forms. This handbook is intended as a reference for individuals who want a comprehensive overview of energy for agriculture, many of whom are located in remote areas with limited library resources. The purpose is to put energy for agriculture in perspective by presenting numerous national and regional examples of energy usage.Since the early 1970s, world petroleum prices have fluctuated from US$3/barrel to more than US$40/barrel in 1981, and then back to one-third of the peak price today. Consequently, the rural sector depends heavily on non-commercial energy sources. Availability of such energy is highly site-specific. This handbook deals extensively with non-commercial energy - its sources, the technologies for converting energy to more useful gaseous and liquid forms, and its ultimate end-uses.Photographs, tables, line drawings and graphs are used extensively. Over 600 references are listed along with agency names and addresses for obtaining further information.

Contains more than 500 entries on various informational products -- reports, newsletters,videos, World Wide Web sites, & conference proceedings -- & how to obtain them. Each entry in designed for ease of use, displaying all the information needed to research a topic. A set of ten icons tells at a glance the subject of each entry: agroforestry, animal production, cover crops, horticulture, grain production, marketing & farm profitability, nutrient management, soil quality & conservation, education & networking, & water quality & conservation. Indexed by subject, author, video, & organization. Comprehensive!