Weed competition, especially within the crop row, limits the productivity and profitability of organic crop production. Abrasive weeding, a mechanical alternative to hand weeding, uses air-propelled grits to control small weed seedlings growing within the crop row. Recent research has demonstrated the successful use of abrasive weeding to reduce weed competition and increase yields in organic maize (Zea mays), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and green and red pepper crops (Capsicum annuum), but the profitability of this weed control tactic has not been assessed. Our objective was to determine the profitability of abrasive weeding using empirical yield data from three previously published studies, a range of crop prices and revenues, and a range of costs for wages, grit applicator ownership, tractor use, abrasive grits, and fuel. Results suggest that abrasive weeding was not profitable in organic maize production, and may reduce net income by US$223–3537 ha−1 compared with inter-row cultivation alone for weed control. The cost of abrasive weeding in maize was largely dependent on the cost of abrasive grits and the cost to own a four-row grit applicator (US$736–2105 yr−1). However, abrasive weeding was less expensive than hand weeding, especially as the scale of production increased. Abrasive weeding was profitable in tomato and pepper crops and increased net mean income by US$12,251–33,265 ha−1. However, abrasive weeding was not 100% effective and hand weeding for weed-free conditions was always the most profitable approach to in-row weed management in vegetable crops. The profit potential of the hand-weeded, weed-free treatments demonstrates the importance of weed control in high-value specialty crops–even those grown in plastic mulch film. Despite the profit potential for hand weeding observed here, labor is increasingly difficult to source, retain and afford, and abrasive weeding offers a mechanical alternative with 66% less labor required. Further research is needed to improve the efficacy of abrasive weeding and to reduce the cost of abrasive grits and application.

Organic/biodynamic agriculture has been reported worldwide as a suitable system to conserve or even regenerate natural resources. Due to the lack of long-term studies regarding the profitability of tropical organic vs conventional farming, the economic performance of biodynamic vs conventional soybean was studied using data from a consecutive 7-yr case study in a farm with 48.4 ha of biodynamic soybeans in Paraná State, Brazil. Analyses of production costs and financial indicators were adjusted at updated values according to inflation in the period. Effective operational costs were 4.4% higher in biodynamic than in conventional farming. The biodynamic yields were lower (3.6%) than those of conventional. Prices were 57% higher in biodynamic than in conventional, making biodynamic farming more profitable than conventional farming, as shown by financial indicators (gross revenue, gross margin, net margin, net income and capital income were 50.7, 99.9, 122.9, 150.4 and 166.9%, respectively, higher in biodynamic than in conventional). The price equilibrium point (PEP) was 3.4% higher for biodynamic farming; the leveling point was 36.9% higher for conventional farming. Manual weeding and plowing increased organic costs. Higher biodynamic trading prices than those of conventional triggered a PEP suitable for covering higher costs and thus boosting profitability. Further investigations and policies are suggested to further improve biodynamic farming efficiency and sustainability.

Molly Anderson's vision of making US federal food assistance rights-based is a powerful and strategic call for justice. Let us expand it to a call for human rights-based sustainable food system development at the national and local level. International human rights frameworks provide strategic and still-evolving tools to support social justice as well as experienced global networks and partners. To advance that potential, we need to fire up broad-scale human rights and human right to adequate food and nutrition education and training.

In all countries, the organic sector of the agricultural industry is increasing, with Europe traditionally leading this trend. A survey of different stakeholders (employers) was carried out in 2015 in seven European countries to evaluate the employment market for the organic agricultural industry in Europe. Results indicate the willingness to employ qualified graduates. From the employers' perspective, the most desirable knowledge skills among the graduates of organic agricultural studies include plant production, food quality and plant protection. Further, the study revealed the work skills most desired by the employers are practical expertise, teamwork and problem-solving, and the most important method of learning is cooperation with enterprises (internships/training) in the organic agricultural sector.

This study evaluated the effects of a diet containing yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.; TM) larva meal on quality parameters (pH24, color and drip losses), proximate composition and fatty acid (FA) profile of meat from free-range chickens. A total of 140 medium-growing hybrid female chickens were free-range reared and randomly allotted to two dietary treatments: a control group and a TM group, in which TM meal was included at 75 g kg−1 as fed in substitution of corn gluten meal. Each group consisted of five pens as replicates, with 14 chicks per pen. At 97 days of age, ten birds (two birds/pen) from each feeding group were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. Quality parameters and proximate composition of breast and thigh meat were not affected by treatment. The effects of dietary TM larva meal on the FA profile of thigh meat were negligible. Breast meat from TM-fed chickens showed higher oleic and α-linolenic acid percentages as well as lower atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indexes. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that TM inclusion in diets for free-range chickens did not prejudice meat quality traits. The obtained results confirm that TM can be considered a promising insect protein source for the poultry feed industry.

US farmers and ranchers have actively pursued markets in foreign countries for their products since the 1970s. This priority was reflected by the US Congress in 1978 enacting the first set of laws establishing programs aimed at promoting US agricultural exports. In 1986, the US government initiated its first trade negotiations, with the government of Canada, with the express goal of liberalizing access in that market to all US food and agricultural exports. Since that time, the US government has completed free trade agreements with 20 countries, six in DR-CAFTA, 13 in bilateral agreements and adding Mexico to create NAFTA. The US government also devotes considerable resources to detecting and combatting unfair barriers to trade, through informal channels as well as through WTO dispute settlements. However, these tools primarily focus on capturing larger slices of existing markets. To generate better returns, we need to focus more energy on efforts to generate increased demand in developing countries, by helping their agricultural economies prosper. Once those economies are growing, the other tools can be utilized.

The Colombian industrial sector is moving toward alternative forms of treatment of industrial waste, considering that the waste can be a source of raw material in the production chain. Thus, aiming at the decrease in mineral fertilizer use, and maintaining or even raising the crop yield, the sugarcane industry has recently advanced in the composting of the industrial waste and application in the field, both of them being potentially sustainable practices. This manuscript reports the economic benefits and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the sugarcane production system in Colombia that has been simulated in this study to evaluate the beneficial effects of reusing industrial waste from ethanol production. This study was performed using the Virtual Sugarcane Biorefinery (VSB) modeling software for the simulation of agricultural and industrial parameters on integrated alternatives for the sugarcane industry. Colombian sugarcane sector was modeled using three scenarios representing agricultural systems that do not use composted industrial waste vs a paired scenario for each condition where composted waste is utilized. Regarding compost and vinasse use as fertilizer and soil conditioner, GHG emissions from the biogenic origin are not included as a reported item in the matrix of GHG emissions of the sugarcane sector. Inputs for the economic and environmental assessment models are based on actual operational data from two mill sites, one located in the traditional sugarcane production region of Cauca River Valley and the other one, on the agricultural expansion region of Llanos Orientales. Here, we have found that the reuse of composted industrial waste is beneficial and provides an economic cost savings of 2–6% per year. However, it also results in an annual increase of 10–20% in the GHG emissions.

Cover crops are frequently adopted to immobilize residual nitrogen post-harvest, thereby reducing potential N losses. However, the effectiveness of a cover crop depends on the species planting date, and other management practices. Limited information on N dynamics in cover crop systems is available specially in short-season vegetable rotations under temperate climate. From 2008 to 2010, a split-plot field experiment was carried out in a humid, temperate climate with cover crop treatment as the main plot factor [no cover crop control (NoCC), cereal rye, hairy vetch, oat, forage pea, oilseed radish (OSR) and a control with fertilizer N to the cucumber crop (NoCC + N)], and cover crop planting date as the split factor (early and late) to evaluate their impacts on cover crop biomass and N dynamics over the fall and following cucumber crop. All cover crop treatments significantly lowered soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) by 39–87% compared to the NoCC control, which was concomitant with cover crop growth and N accumulation. In the fall, SMN (0–90 cm depth) was less under the early-planted cover crops (avg. 78 kg N ha−1) compared to the late-planted (avg. 100 kg N ha−1). In April, greater plant available nitrogen (PAN, sum of SMN to 60 cm depth and plant N) with cover crops than without demonstrated N conservation over the winter and into the cucumber crop. Crop yield was equal to or better with a cover crop compared with the NoCC in both years; moreover, compared to the NoCC + N control yields were equivalent with OSR and pea. Oat, vetch and pea cover crops benefited the most by having an earlier planting date, while OSR and rye are recommended if the planting date is delayed. Although an early August planting date significantly increased plant N accumulation and SMN by November, this species-dependent interaction did not persist into the following season in yield and N accounted for in the system.

Permaculture is an international sustainability movement and agroecological design system. Using ecological management practices and locally-adapted solutions, permaculture claims to benefit several ecosystem services including provisioning of diverse crop yields, regulating hydrological cycles and soil quality, supporting wildlife conservation, and biocontrol of pests, weeds and diseases. Despite limited attention by the academic community, grassroots permaculture adoption has been reported in at least 45 countries worldwide thus creating a unique opportunity for in-situ research. This study characterized plant communities on ten applied permaculture farms and found that independent adopters consistently implemented predominately perennial species (73% of species richness), polycultures (mean 42 crop species per site), and zone design. These practices resulted in commercial farms characterized by perennialization, crop diversification, landscape heterogeneity and nature conservation. Grassroots adopters were remarkably consistent in their interpretation and application of an unregulated agricultural model suggesting that such movements may exert considerable influence over local agroecological transitions. While this characterization does not provide an exhaustive depiction of applied permaculture, it is recommended that future research acknowledge these traits as a minimum for study designs investigating the effects of permaculture management on ecosystem function.

Interseeding provides flexibility in cover crop establishment, but most cover crop species are not well-adapted to the duration of low-intensity light beneath the cash crop canopy. Field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) has physiological seed dormancy traits and its emergence pattern may be better synchronized with cash crop senescence. The objective of this study was to demonstrate proof-of-concept for using pennycress as an interseeded cover crop. A 2-year field experiment was conducted where cereal rye (Secale cereale L.), mustard (Guillenia flavescens L.) or pennycress were interseeded into edamame [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] 1 month after planting. Rye and mustard emerged within 6 days, whereas pennycress emergence was delayed up to 56 days after interseeding. Pennycress provided 37–57% soil cover in fall and produced 0.4–2.5 Mg ha−1 biomass the following spring. Preliminary results demonstrate the utility of pennycress as an interseeded cover crop and the potential value of seed dormancy traits in interseeding systems.

Molly Anderson's argument that irrespective of the US refusal to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, 1966) it is time for federal food assistance programs such as SNAP mandated through the Farm Bill to adopt a right to food and nutrition approach is foresighted and significant. As is Anne Bellow's succinct and equally powerful proposal for widening the debate to include a system's-based human rights approach to a National Food Plan. Their timely advocacy is compelling given the few influential US food policy voices speaking from a food justice perspective about the dysfunctional industrial food system and the failure of the Federal Government to ensure access to healthy food and food security for all.

For most economic goods market participants are ‘not forced to make a deal.’ They can walk away, perhaps permanently, or revisit a transaction later if the terms of trade are more to their liking. That is not the case for food. It is a biological necessity to participate in the food market. This coercive property of food demand and other unique market characteristics make the agricultural sector very unresponsive to changes in price and hence—in contrast to textbook expectations—its ability to quickly self-correct. In recent decades agricultural policy legislation has not taken into account the root causes of agriculture's chronic price and income problems. As a result, it has been largely ineffective and unnecessarily expensive. We argue in this paper that a well-designed supply management program can take agriculture's unique characteristics into account in a way that benefits farmers, consumers and the public as a whole.