Increasing crop diversity has been proposed to increase the sustainability of cropping systems. If producers are to adopt these systems, they should also be economically viable. In this study conducted near Mandan, North Dakota, four no-till cropping systems with varying levels of crop diversity were evaluated over a 12-yr period to quantify system effect on crop productivity, input use, production costs, and economic risks and returns. Cropping system treatments included a small grain–fallow rotation (SG–Fallow) and a continuous spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation (Cont SW) as baseline low-diversity rotations, a small grain–winter wheat (T. aestivum L.)–sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) rotation (SG–WW–Sun), a 5-yr rotation (Five Year) and a dynamic rotation (Dynamic). The SG–Fallow rotation was significantly less productive and less profitable on average than the other rotations, as measured by gross returns and net returns, respectively. However, SG–Fallow also used significantly less inputs than the other rotations. Production costs for the Cont SW and SG–WW–Sun rotations showed a significant increasing trend over time, while production costs for the Five Year rotation showed a significantly lower and slight decreasing trend over the period, with cost trends for the SG–Fallow and Dynamic rotations intermediate to these. Net returns tended to increase and relative economic risk tended to decrease as crop diversity increased from SG–Fallow and Cont SW to SG–WW–Sun, Five Year and the Dynamic system. Results from this study suggest that more diverse rotations can maintain or increase crop productivity and enhance economic viability.

With food security increasingly seen as an urban concern, urban agriculture (UA) has emerged as one strategy for improving access to healthy, affordable food within cities in the Global North. This research evaluates the contributions of three types of urban gardens in Santa Clara County, California, to food security. Survey, interview and harvest data were collected from home gardeners, community gardeners and gardeners participating in community food security (CFS) programs, which provide low-income families with the materials and training to grow their own vegetables. To assess food security we use a multi-dimensional framework that encompasses food availability, accessibility, nutritional adequacy and cultural acceptability as well as agency within the food system. Over the summer of 2015, median garden production ranged from 26 kg for participants in CFS programs to 56 kg for home gardeners. All garden types produced enough produce for at least one adult to consume the number of cups of vegetables recommended by federal nutritional guidelines. Gardening also increased some low-income gardeners’ access to healthy food, allowing them to have the diet they wanted—one high in organically grown vegetables—but could not otherwise afford to purchase. Interviews showed that gardeners do not think of cultural acceptability strictly in terms of the presence of certain types of cultural crops; they also articulated a broader set of values concerning the environmental and social conditions of food production. At all income levels, gardeners frequently described a set of food values related to knowledge, control, trust, freshness, flavor, organic production methods and sharing, which they were able to enact through gardening. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the nutritional contributions that urban gardens make but also highlight the importance that low-income gardeners place on having food that aligns with their cultural and ethical values and being able to exercise greater autonomy in making food choices. In conclusion, we suggest that more robust, holistic assessments of UA's contributions to food security will include the subjective aspects of food as well as quantitative measures related to food production.

Agri-food globalization is having a serious adverse impact on small- and medium-sized family farms in the province of Málaga (southern Spain), 43% of which have disappeared over the last 10 years. Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are emerging as a potential option for this type of farm, but as a strategy it is apparently not being implemented strongly enough over the region as a whole. The current case study sought to explore the initiatives carried out by local producers to date in implementing SFSCs throughout the province and to examine, from the standpoint of the production sector, the constraints hindering its development and the strategies currently being adopted with a view to addressing them. The analyses carried out under local producers perspective shows us that although SFSCs are interesting for family farms, in terms of prices, economic profit and social recognition, the abilities and capacities these channels require to producers, jointly with technical, flexibility and time demands, make these channels to be not that successful and attractive. Small producers interested in SFSCs must be aware of the special importance of social linkages and the need to take care of them; as well as of the need of establishing synergies and cooperation with other producers and stakeholders, in order to facilitate the tasks associated and that not every food product suit SFSCs.

Successful organic farming requires crop varieties that are resilient to environmental variability. Assessing variety performance across the range of conditions represented on working farms is vital to developing such varieties; however, data collected from on-farm, participatory trials can be difficult to both collect and interpret. To assess the utility of data arising from participatory trialing efforts, we examined the performance of butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata L.), broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) and carrot (Daucus carota L.) varieties grown in diverse organic production environments in participatory trials in Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin and New York using adaptability analysis (regression of variety means on environmental index). Patterns of adaptation varied across varieties, with some demonstrating broad adaptation and others showing specific adaptation to low- or high-yielding environments. Selection of varieties with broad vs specific adaptation should be guided by farmers’ risk tolerance and on-farm environmental variation. Adaptability analysis was appropriate for continuous variables (e.g., yield traits), but less so for ordinal variables and quality traits such as flavor and appearance, which can be vitally important in organic vegetable crop variety selection. The relative advantages of adaptability analysis and additive main effects and multiplicative interactions are also discussed in relation to on-farm trial networks. This work demonstrated the unique challenges presented by extensive participatory vegetable trialing efforts, which, as compared to grain crops, require novel approaches to facilitating farmer participation as well as data collection and analysis. Efficient, precise and reliable methods for evaluating quality related traits in these crops would allow researchers to assess stability and adaptation across a wider range of traits, providing advantages for effective plant breeding and trialing activities within the organic sector.

This article makes the case that the legacy of institutional racism by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is connected to the encroachment of the invasive species Juniperus virginiana (eastern red cedar) on farming land. Red cedar's encroachment impacts Black farmers disproportionately in Oklahoma, even as it undermines broader USDA conservation goals and ability to adapt to climate change. As such, this case study illustrates the shortcomings of Farm Bill Conservation Title programs to address ecological issues across the landscape—shortcomings that hinder farmers' ability to carry out long-term adaptation and mitigate risks. Conversely, we show how the work of Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project, Inc. and the Rural Coalition has been vital allies in Black farmers inter-related struggles against racial injustice and red cedar. Thus, we argue community-based organizations have a pivotal, but under-supported, role to play in the shaping and application of farm bill programs and funds.

Much of the global population lacks access to basic public sanitation, energy and fertilizers. Micro-scale anaerobic digestion presents an opportunity for low-cost decentralized waste management that creates valuable co-products of renewable energy and organic fertilizer. However, field-based assessments of system performance and clearly articulated guidelines for digestate management and field application are needed. Feedstocks and effluent from seven digesters in Kampala, Uganda were monitored for standard wastewater and fertilizer metrics including indicator organisms (Escherichia coli and fecal coliform), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD5), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total phosphorous (TP), heavy metals, pH, temperature and total solids (TS) over 2 yr. Results reveal that digester effluent does not meet standards for wastewater discharge or international safety standards for field application. Data indicate that digestate could be a suitable source of fertilizer (TKN = 1467 mg L−1, TP = 214 mg L−1) but poses issues for water quality if not managed properly (TS = 26,091 mg L−1, COD = 3471 mg L−1 and BOD5 = 246 mg L−1). While effluent from the digester contained pathogen indicator organisms (fecal coliform = 8.13 × 105 CFU/100 ml, E. coli = 3.27 × 105 CFU/100 ml), they were lower than the influent concentrations, and lower than reported concentrations in drainage canals. All digestate samples contained little to no heavy metals suggesting effective source separation. Data suggest that micro-scale biogas systems have potential to improve waste handling and meet standards associated with fertilizer application with proper post-digestion treatment.

Ecosystem services related to biodiversity, including cultural services, are essential for agricultural production such as viticulture. In agricultural landscapes, pesticides and mechanization threaten biodiversity, lead to landscape simplification and may reduce ecosystem services. On the other hand, consumers are more and more aware of environmental issues in food production. We investigated if landscape complexity, including soil management practices, was (i) appreciated by visitors and (ii) presented by winegrowers and tourism professionals in the French vineyards with the designation of geographical origin (DGO) ‘Coteaux du Layon’. Our goal was to determine if landscape complexity provides cultural ecosystem services such as aesthetics beneficial for the wine trade and the DGO region's attractiveness. We analyzed the iconographic content and the composition of landscape photographs on 50 websites to investigate if local winegrowers and tourism professionals associate biodiversity in the landscape and soil management practices with wine promotion. A questionnaire was realized to study the perception of local landscapes by interviewing 192 visitors of the region. The benefits of landscape complexity and soil management practices favoring biodiversity in viticulture were known and appreciated by many visitors, even if photographs of wine and traditional practices appeared to encourage wine purchasing. Local winegrowers’ representation of the DGO region only partially served these preferences; instead they mainly presented the wine-growing region by photographs focusing on wine bottles and vineyards. Consumer's preferences showed that complex landscapes could provide cultural ecosystem services that winegrowers are still less aware of. Therefore, complexity-targeted landscape planning including vegetation cover in soil management should be included in policy recommendations as agroecological measures for sustainable DGO production.

Agroforestry (AF) is considered to be a sustainable land use practice as it combines agricultural production with multiple beneficial effects such as carbon sequestration, enhanced nutrient cycling and increased biodiversity. Quantification of these beneficial effects in temperate arable fields is still limited, however, and most studies focus on one sole parameter (i.e., impact on crop productivity, soil quality, biodiversity, etc.). Combined effects are only rarely considered, resulting in a lack of integrated quantification. Here we assess the effect of rows of walnut trees (Juglans regia L.) on soil organic carbon (SOC), soil nutrient status, the presence of potentially beneficial ground-dwelling arthropods and on the yield and quality of neighboring arable crops. Significantly higher SOC and soil nutrient concentrations were found near the trees, which is assumed to be primarily a result of tree leaf litter input. Abundance of macro-detritivorous arthropods was increased in and near the tree rows, whereas only limited effects of tree presence were found on the presence of the predatory arthropod taxa under study. The yield of all crops under study was reduced as a result of tree presence, with the strongest reductions observed for grain maize and sugar beet near the trees (<10 m). In addition, alteration of crop quality was observed near tree rows with decreased dry matter concentration of grain samples and increased crude protein concentration of winter cereals.

Initiatives to foster a transition toward organic agriculture have drawn policy-makers' interest worldwide. However, research studies evaluating the effectiveness of policies intended to promote ‘scaling-out’ organic production systems to more farms and larger production areas are still rare. To better understand the role that public procurement and price incentive policies have in scaling-out organic transitions, we assessed the effects of the Brazilian Food Acquisition Program (PAA) in a group of municipalities. PAA offers both markets for family farmers and price incentives for certified organic products. However, our findings suggest that farmers who establish organic production systems and become certified also gain access to other markets; ones that they find more attractive than those created by the PAA. Thus, we find that the PAA offers insufficient incentives for adopting organic practices among peasant and family farmers and supports the argument that scaling-out organic production is a multilevel process that depends on different, but interrelated drivers.

The 2018 farm bill is the latest in a history that dates to 1933. Commodity assistance is the only program in all farm bills, but with evolutionary changes. Current farm commodity programs largely make payments to farms, a stark contrast to the 1930s when they limited supply, put a floor under market price, and dampened price increases via public stocks. Crop insurance, which began as an experimental pilot program in 1938, now has its own farm bill title. Almost all commodity and insurance programs have provided assistance based on a calculation specific to an individual commodity's price and/or yield. However, an evolutionary change to whole farm commodity programs may be in its infant stages. They provide assistance for variation in a farm's aggregate revenue across multiple crops. Whole farm experiments currently exist in both the commodity and crop insurance titles. Analysis of a whole farm commodity program finds that its payments differ by year from actual payments made by current commodity programs and are smaller in total.

In recent years, several initiatives have sought to encourage redemption of food assistance benefits at direct-to-consumer (DTC) market venues such as community supported agriculture programs and farmers’ markets in the USA, with the dual goal of increasing access to healthy foods for low-income families and sales of locally-grown foods for farmers. Proponents of these interventions assert that these programs have a positive impact on local economies yet there is limited evidence to validate this argument. This research project used a customized input-output model to simulate potential economic impacts of programs and policies that enable Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to shift purchases from traditional food retailers to DTC venues in four states. Two different scenarios were explored: (1) increased outreach to low-income consumers and (2) financial support for using SNAP benefits at DTC market channels. We found a positive, though modest, economic impact at the state level under both scenarios when accounting for (a) business losses in the food retail and wholesale sectors, (b) a shift in acreage from commodity to specialty crops and (c) the cost to taxpayers. Since most of the increased economic activity would be in the produce farming sector, we discuss the opportunities and challenges for this sector along with potential policy implications.

Since 1985, land retirement has been the primary approach used by the federal government for environmental protection of agricultural landscapes, but increasingly it is being supplemented by conservation initiatives on working lands. This shift logically supports agroforestry and other multifunctional approaches as a means to combine production and conservation. However, such approaches can be complex and difficult to design, contributing to the limited adoption in the USA. To understand and improve the integration of multifunctional landscapes into conservation programs, we worked with 15 landowners in a collaborative design process to build unique conservation plans utilizing agroforestry. We interviewed participants before and after the design process to examine the utility of a personalized design process, applicability of agroforestry to conservation programs and pathways to improve conservation policy. We found that landowners strongly preferred working in person for the design process, and being presented a comparison of alternative designs, rather than a single option, especially for novel systems. Agroforestry was seen as a viable method of generating conservation benefits while providing value to the landowners, each of whom stated they were more inclined to adopt such practices irrespective of financial assistance to do so. For conservation programs, landowners suggested reducing their complexity, inflexibility and impersonal nature to improve the integration of multifunctional practices that appeal directly to the practitioner's needs and preferences. These findings are valuable for conservation policy because they complement previous research theory suggesting the value of working collaboratively with landowners in the design of multifunctional landscapes. Personalized solutions that are developed based on the unique characteristics of the local landscape and the preferences of the individual landowner may be retained beyond a specified payment period, rather than being converted back into annual crop production.

The Western diet is characterized by high meat consumption, which negatively affects the environment and human health. Transitioning toward eating more plant-based products in Western societies has been identified as a key instrument to tackle these problems. However, one potential concern is that radically reducing meat in the current diet might lead to deficiencies in nutritional intake. In this paper, we explore a scenario in which meat consumption in Sweden is reduced by 50% and replaced by domestically grown grain legumes. We quantify and discuss the implications for nutritional intake on population level, consequences for agricultural production systems and environmental performance. The reduction in meat consumption is assumed to come primarily from a decrease in imported meat. We use data representing current Swedish conditions including the Swedish dietary survey, the Swedish food composition database, Statistics Sweden and existing life cycle assessments for different food items. At population level, average daily intake of energy and most macro- and micro-nutrients would be maintained within the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations after the proposed transition (e.g., for protein, fat, zinc, vitamin B12 and total iron). The transition would also provide a considerable increase in dietary fiber and some increase in folate intake, which are currently below the recommended levels. The transition scenario would increase total area of grain legume cultivation from 2.2% (current level) to 3.2% of Swedish arable land and is considered technically feasible. The climate impact of the average Swedish diet would be reduced by 20% and the land use requirement by 23%. There would be a net surplus of approximately 21,500 ha that could be used for bioenergy production, crop production for export, nature conservation, etc. Implementation of this scenario faces challenges, such as lack of suitable varieties for varying conditions, lack of processing facilities to supply functional legume-based ingredients to food industries and low consumer awareness about the benefits of eating grain legumes. In sum, joint efforts from multiple actors are needed to stimulate a decrease in meat consumption and to increase cultivation and use of domestically grown grain legumes.

Legume cover crops can supply a significant amount of nitrogen (N) for cash crops, which is particularly important for organic farmers. Because N mineralization from cover crop residue depends on the amount of biomass, cover crop quality, as well as environmental conditions such as soil moisture and temperature, predicting the amount of N mineralized and the timing of release has been difficult. We have developed a Cover Crop Nitrogen Calculator based on the N subroutine of the CERES crop model and evaluated the use of the predicted N credits on yields of fall broccoli [Brassica oleracea L. (Italica group)] at a research farm and two working farms. Research farm trials consisted of a cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) cover crop and no cover crop treatments, each at four N rates (0N, 0.5N, 1N and 1.5N, with 1N the target N rate of 112 kg N ha−1 in 2013 and 168 kg N ha−1 in 2014 and 2015) in a randomized complete block design. On-farm trials consisted of a cowpea or sunn hemp (Crotolaria juncea L.) cover crop at four N rates (0N, 0.5N, 1N and 1.5N) and no cover crop treatment at the 1N rate in a completely randomized design. Cover crop biomass and quality (N%, carbohydrates%, cellulose% and lignin%) were measured and used with a 5-yr average soil moisture and soil temperature from a local weather station to predict an N credit. In the cover crop treatments, the N rate was modified by the predicted credit, while the no cover crop treatment received the full N fertilizer rate either as feathermeal (certified organic fields) or as urea (conventional field). At the research farm, broccoli yield increased up to the 0.5N rate, and there was no difference in yield between the no cover 0.5N rate and the cover crop 0.5N rate in 2013, 2014 and 2105. On-farm, we saw an N response in two site-years. In these site-years, there was no difference between the no cover 1N rate and the cover crop 1N rate. At the third site-year, no N response was seen. Overall, our results showed using the cover crop credit predicted by the Calculator did not reduce yields. The use of a decision support tool such as the Calculator may help farmers better manage N fertilizer when cover crops are used, and increase cover crop adoption.

Compost production is a critical component of organic waste management. One of the most important properties of compost is its ability to suppress soil-borne pathogens such as Phytophthora nicotianae in pepper plants. Both the physico-chemical and biological properties of composts can be responsible for the suppression of pathogens, although biological properties are the main driver. In this study, we analyzed composts with various levels of suppressiveness against P. nicotianae. We analyzed both physico-chemical properties like pH and electrical conductivity and biological properties like microbial activity, amplicon sequencing and metaproteomics. We believed that the link between community structures and proteins could provide deep insights into the mechanism of compost suppressiveness. Our results indicate that there are differences between suppressive and non-suppressive composts at the phylogenetic level (sequencing) and at the functional level (based on analysis of the cluster of orthologous groups, COGs). The proteins identified were assigned to the carbohydrate process, cell wall structure and inorganic ion transport and metabolism. Proteobacteria could also be new indicators of P. nicotianae suppression.

In an attempt to utilize large amounts of Japanese beetles, Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) that were captured using a mass trapping system, compost using Japanese beetle carcasses was prepared with the layer method. Carbon sources included shredded paper, wood chips and leaves, while the sole nitrogen source was frozen Japanese beetles. In addition, Japanese beetle-based vermicompost was prepared in the greenhouse by mixing the Japanese beetle-based compost with sphagnum peat moss and moist shredded paper and exposing this mixture to composting earthworms (Eisenia fetida). Chemical analyses of the Japanese beetle carcasses indicated that 10.8% of their body weight is nitrogen (N). Analyses of the resulting Japanese beetle-based compost and vermicompost indicated that both types of materials are good quality soil amendments. Greenhouse studies were conducted to quantify the effects of varying proportions of Japanese beetle-based vermicompost and compost mixed with a potting medium and varying dosages of synthetic fertilizer 20-0-0, on mean fresh and dry weight of lettuce shoots and leaf area. Japanese beetle-based compost and vermicompost increased lettuce biomass to an extent that was comparable with the addition of synthetic N-based fertilizer. A mixture of 15 and 30% of each compost type with potting media significantly increased plant weight and leaf area compared with potting medium alone. Results indicate that composting and vermicomposting insect carcasses are a simple, effective and affordable method to augment fertilization in support of organic production.

Conservation agriculture (CA) and no-till (NT)-based cropping systems could address soil degradation and fertility decline in southern Africa. A multi-location and multi-year experiment was carried out between 2008 and 2014 to assess the effects of different levels of maize residue biomass (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 t ha−1) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer (0, 30, 90 kg ha−1) on maize performance under no-tillage. In some sites, different (N) fertilizer levels were superimposed to test their effects on maize grain yield and leaf chlorophyll content under different maize residue biomass levels. The different residue levels had no significant effect on maize yield in most growing seasons. Maize residue cover increased grain yield in eight out of 39 site-years across the sites used. However, in some sites, maize yield decreased with increases in residue level in cropping seasons that had average to above average rainfall. At a few sites maize yield increased with increase in residue level. Seasonal rainfall pattern influenced the effect of different residue levels on grain yield at most sites. Nitrogen fertilizer increased maize yield regardless of the residue level applied. This study demonstrates that mulching with maize residues in CA/NT systems results in limited maize yield gains – at least within the first 6 years in different agro-ecological conditions of southern Africa.

Federal food assistance in the USA is an agglomeration of programs, the legacy of charitable and needs-based approaches that have been in place since the 1930s. Moving toward a rights-based approach would overcome many of the problems of these programs, such as the stigma attached to receiving assistance, the fragmentation of different programs with different eligibilities and the disconnect between monitoring and strategies to reduce food insecurity. Although the USA has not accepted its obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the right to adequate food and nutrition, steps can be taken regardless toward a rights-based approach at the federal, state and municipal levels. With federal recognition of the right to adequate food and nutrition and incorporation within the Nutrition Title, however, a complete reshaping of federal food policy would be possible.

Given the limited number of middlemen in short food supply chains, producers marketing through such channels must carry out various tasks associated with production, processing (if applicable) and marketing. Since productivity increases with specialization, it is presumably difficult for such producers to achieve high levels of labor productivity in each of the tasks they perform (in terms of organizing the work and controlling for costs). This study reports on the results of a detailed analysis of the apparent labor productivity in each activity segment (production, processing and distribution) on farms in Quebec (Canada) that market through short food supply chains. We adapted the concept of a complex activity system and the Work Assessment method to reflect the context in Quebec and the unique features of integrated farming models based on direct marketing. In total, we analyzed work organization on 32 Quebec farms to determine how added value and work hours are allocated among different activity segments. Our analysis of apparent labor productivity highlights the heterogeneity of farms involved in direct marketing as every farm studied had a unique profile. In addition, work patterns reflected the background, choices and skillsets of farmers and different combinations of production factors were utilized. Overall, labor productivity was lower in production-related tasks, although this was often offset by higher productivity levels in other activity segments. Our results indicate that greater productivity in the areas of processing or distribution allows farms in short food supply chains to be financially sustainable. The findings of our study also confirm that farmers involved in direct marketing work hard to sustain their activity systems, even though net earnings are often low when compared to the amount of effort involved. However, farmers are partially compensated in other ways, such as through client appreciation and work enjoyment.

In this study, we measured nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from plots of fall-planted hairy vetch (HV, Vicia villosa) grown as a green nitrogen (N) source for following summer forage crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis). Two treatments were compared: (i) HV grown solely as green manure where all biomass was incorporated by tillage, and (ii) harvesting of aboveground HV biomass prior to planting of crabgrass. Fluxes of N2O were measured with closed chamber systems on 27 dates during a 2-month growth period of crabgrass after the termination of HV in early May. At termination, the average aboveground biomass yield of HV was 4.6 Mg ha−1 with 146 kg N ha−1 content. The N2O emissions were as high as 66 g N2O-N ha−1 day−1 on day 1 after HV incorporation, but reached close to zero within a week. Emissions of N2O increased with subsequent rainfall and irrigation events from both treatments but emission peaks were not observed during the rapid growth of crabgrass. Two-month cumulative emission of N2O (mean ± s.e., n = 4) from HV incorporated plots (921 ± 120 g N2O-N ha−1) was three times (P < 0.05) of HV harvested plots (326 ± 30 g N2O-N ha−1). However, crabgrass biomass yields, N concentrations and total biomass N uptake were decreased significantly by harvesting HV. In conclusion, the results suggested that whereas removal of HV biomass for use as forage may significantly reduce N2O emissions, quantity and quality of the following recipient crops may be constrained.