Readings and lectures
A branch of agriculture dealing with field-crop production and soil management?
What is agronomy?
The transformation of a non‑arid landscape to an arid landscape, usually through a combination of climate changes and human‑induced soil degradation.
What is desertification?
Used to move excess water from a field to a ditch.
What is tile drainage?
Corn → oats → soybean → wheat is an example of this practice, which diversifies a cropping system across both time and space.
What is crop rotation?
Example of a pulse crop
What are lentils, chickpea, dry beans, and peas?
GHG associated with dairy production. Can be captured and used generate electricity.
What is methane?
Two ways to build soil organic matter
What are 1) reduce losses and 2) increase additions?
Most efficient type of irrigation.
What is drip (also known as micro-irrigation)?
The difference between crop yields observed at any given location and the crop’s potential yield at the same location given current agricultural practices and technologies.
What is a yield gap?
Marketing spin used to deceptively make products appear to be more sustainable.
What is greenwashing?
Amount of food that is never consumed.
What is 1/3?
Tool used to completely invert soil. Effective at killing weeds, incorporating amendments, and preparing seedbeds prior to planting crops. Also can degrade soil health and requires relatively large amounts of fuel and labor.
What is a moldboard plow?
This is the controlled application of water to crops to supplement water not supplied by rainfall.
What is irrigation?
System where two or more crops are grown
simultaneously on the same field
Origin (name and year) of the definition of sustainable agriculture.
What is the Brundtland Report ‘Our Common Future’ 1987, which was commissioned by United Nations?
Difficult but important problems set by various institutions or professions to encourage solutions or advocate for the application of government or philanthropic funds.
What are Grand Challenges?
This is the number of essential elements required by plants for growth and development.
What is 18?
Aquifer in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska that has been severely depleted over the past century.
What is the Ogallala aquifer?
This Michigan research station is home to a long-term cropping systems experiment that began in 1988 and compares conventional, no-till, reduced-input, and biologically-based systems.
What is Kellogg Biological Station?
The current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.
What is the Anthropocene?
Using less intensive farming methods that conserve biodiversity within agricultural fields
What is Land sharing?
Person who developed “Law of the Minimum” in 1828
Who is Carl Sprengel and Justus von Liebig?
Soil management system used in large scale field crop production that can effective keep crop roots out of standing water.
What is ridge tillage?
Challenge(s) associated with crop diversification
What are increased knowledge/labor requirements, different equipment needs, potential reduction in short-term profitability, and proximity to processing facilities/markets?
Approach to conserving biodiversity that uses intensive agriculture to produce more food on less land so that some could be set aside to conserve biodiversity
What is land sparing?