Positive relationships between plant species diversity, soil microbial function and nutrient cycling have been well documented in natural systems, and these relationships have the potential to improve the production and sustainability of agroecosystems. Our objectives were to study the long-term effects of planted species composition and nitrogen (N) fertilization on soil microbial biomass C, extracellular enzyme activity, changes in total soil C, soil fertility and aboveground biomass yield in mixtures of native prairie species managed with and without N fertilizer for bioenergy production at four sites in Minnesota (MN), USA. Species were sown into mixture treatments and composition was not maintained (i.e., no weeding) throughout the duration of the study. Species mixture treatments at establishment included a switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) monoculture (SG), a four-species grass mixture (GM), an eight-species legume/grass mixture (LG) and a 24-species high diversity forb/legume/grass mixture (HD). Species diversity and aboveground productivity were similar for most mixture treatments at final sampling after 11 or 12 years of succession. Despite this homogenization of productivity and diversity throughout the study, the effects of planted species diversity and a decade of succession resulted in some differences in soil variables across species mixture treatments. On a peat soil in Roseau, MN, soil enzyme activities including β-glucosidase (BG), cellobiohydrolase (CBH) and phosphatase (PHOS) were highest in HD compared to GM treatments. On a sandy soil at Becker, MN, total soil C increased in all treatment combinations at the 0–15 and 15–30 cm depth intervals, with SG showing greater increases than HD at the 15–30 cm depth. Final soil pH also varied by species mixture at the Becker and Roseau sites, but differences in treatment comparisons varied by location. Nitrogen fertilization did not affect any response variable alone, but interacted with species mixture treatment to influence PHOS and total soil C at Becker. The inconsistent effects of species mixture and N fertilization on soil biological and chemical properties observed across sites highlight the importance of local soil and climate conditions on bioenergy and ecosystem service provisioning of perennial bioenergy cropping systems.

What is the role of Northeastern agricultural products in the US food system? This paper presents a typology that categorizes where agricultural production and distribution of a specific geographic area, in this case a multi-state region, fits within the US food system. The place of each food is defined based on its production volume, scope of distribution, market timing and agro-ecological niche. Six distinct roles that a region might play in supplying food are identified: (a) the region is a national production center, (b) the region is a seasonally important supplier, (c) regional production and distribution is the primary scale for supplying a food, (d) the product occupies an agro-ecological niche, (e) a product is a co-product of another industry in the region, and (f) the product is marketed explicitly for its geographic provenance as a local or regional product. Illustrative examples of each role are provided from the research of the Enhancing Food Security in the Northeast (EFSNE) regional food systems project. The examples draw from a variety of methodological approaches including regional self-reliance analysis, product case studies, supply chain models, and examination of spatial and temporal patterns in crop and livestock production and marketing. While presented in the context of the Northeast, the typology would likely be valuable for characterizing other regions of the country. We need such a typology to better understand and communicate the value of geographically dispersed agricultural production to creating a resilient food system, thereby improving our decisions of how to respond to future agricultural challenges

This paper presents a novel approach to multi-criteria sustainability performance assessment of horticultural crops. The crops are ranked by the decision-making method ELECTRE IV with environmental, energy and technological criteria. In total eight indicators are taken into consideration and calculated based on primary data collected from over 260 farms in northern Iran. Additionally, Data Envelopment Analysis is used to calculate the technical efficiency and potential for energy saving by different management of the production units. The novel contribution of this study is the comparison of several horticultural products (oranges, kiwis, persimmons and tangerines), when most of the previous studies have focused on one product. Moreover, novel calculations of the carbon footprint are presented for oranges, tangerines and persimmons. This paper also includes the first study on the environmental impact of persimmon fruit's production. The obtained results show that energy efficiency for orange, tangerine, kiwi and persimmon products: 1.1, 0.84, 0.53 and 1.22, respectively. In each hectare of kiwi orchards, the amount of CO2 emissions of 1219 kg and the ecological footprint of 3.21 hectares have been calculated, which is statistically significant compared to orange, tangerine and persimmon. The chemical and fuel inputs have the greatest potential for reducing energy consumption in the studied products. Results of ELECTRE IV showed that kiwi is the most sustainable selection for the studied region followed by orange, persimmon and tangerine, respectively. Kiwi has also relatively low technical efficiency. This means that this product has the greatest potential for a reduction of energy consumption, while maintaining the same amount of crop. It is recommended to include the development of kiwi orchards in the policies of Guilan, but with more careful management of the production inputs.

The effects of the farming system (conventional-organic-abandoned) and soil management (native cover crop vs tillage) on vascular plant species were analyzed in sloping olive groves (>20%) in 20 different locations in Andalusia, SE Spain. The soil management techniques included Organic Tillage (OT), Organic Cover Crops (OC), Conventional Tillage (CT), Conventional Non-Tillage (CNT), Abandoned Cover Crops (AC) and Abandoned Woody (AW). Data for the vascular plant species were recorded through three line transects of 30 m with a bar perpendicularly touching every 1 m of the measuring tape. Environmental variables were also recorded at plot level to assess their influence. Dependent variables, such as species abundance, richness and diversity indexes were studied using univariate analysis (one-way ANOVA, Kruskal–Wallis test) while multivariate statistics (ANOSIM, SIMPER, DCA) were used for analyzing the data matrices. We found that the different combinations of farming system and soil management affect biological diversity in terms of individual abundance, plant cover, species richness and diversity, species and family composition. Life forms and species distribution patterns are also affected. The main environmental variables affecting the plant taxa were those related with soil and climate characteristics, slope, olive age and intensive land uses at landscape level, including the percentage of artificial surfaces. The lowest levels of biodiversity (e.g., species richness) were found in the tilled olive groves (CT = 8.1 sp. ± 2.2, OT = 10.0 sp. ± 5.4). Surprisingly, the organic tilled groves (OT) were very poor in species compared to those with native plant cover (OC = 27.9 sp. ± 3.0). The latter, however, showed similar species richness to the abandoned olive groves (AC = 21.2 sp. ± 3.7, AW = 27.2 sp. ± 3.0). Possible solutions for increasingly uncompetitive sloping olive groves include conversion to organic with native plant cover or abandonment for rewilding.

Exotic crops—plant species grown in relatively small quantities and not traditionally cultivated in a country or region—are often intimately linked with the ethnic origins of their maintainers and are a principal source of culinary and nutritional diversity for many people. Recognizing that a wealth of exotic crop diversity and associated knowledge is held by small-scale growers in the UK, Garden Organic initiated the Sowing New Seeds project to capture and preserve some of this valuable resource by building a seed collection and knowledge base. To establish a sample of this diversity and knowledge, we undertook a survey at 31 allotment sites in the Midlands region of the UK with the objectives of identifying the exotic crops cultivated, characterizing the demography of those who grow them, understanding their direct use values, and assessing their potential indirect use value for the diversification and improvement of other crops. Results reveal that 26% of the food crops recorded are exotic and that they are grown by people belonging to 13 different ethnic groups. The majority save their own seed, indicating that these crops are performing well in the UK, with grower selection providing the basis for their continuing success. Further, most maintainers swap seed with other growers, indicating that exotic crops are likely to be gradually diversifying in response to different growing conditions—a positive sign for their value for local food security and as national genetic resources with potential for use in crop improvement programs. The research highlights the multitude of benefits that growers obtain through cultivating exotic crops, which are not only related to nutrition and culinary requirements, but also to general health and well-being, culture, and a range of other forms of life enrichment. It is critical that growers are encouraged and supported in continuing to cultivate, save and pass on their exotic crops to younger generations, as well as to protect allotments from development in order to maintain this important diversity adapted to local growing conditions. Importantly, many exotic crops currently grown on a small scale may enter into commerce, and thus expand the diversity of the UK's food crop base. Such a shift may be particularly important in the face of the increasingly detrimental impacts of climate change on crop production. We conclude that exotic crop diversity could be more important for future nutrition, health and food security than we currently appreciate.

Acacia dealbata Link is one of the main invasive species in southwestern Europe and a resource with potential value for agriculture. Our objective was to assess the value of A. dealbata vegetative aerial biomass used as green manure and as a tool for weed control in maize crops through three sequential experiments. In 2017, an experiment was carried out with acacia green manure vs inorganic fertilization of pots sown with a field corn and a sweet corn hybrid with strong and weak nutrient demand, respectively. Nutrients were not released from acacia green manure at an appropriate timing, and maize suffered nutrient deficit. In 2018, a pot experiment was made outdoors incorporating acacia green manure at different times before maize sowing, and we found that a 4-month period was required for maximum nutrient release from acacia green manure. In 2019, an early and a late-field experiments were performed by incorporating acacia green manure 4 months before maize sowing. Physiological and agronomic data were recorded in maize, along with soil data, for all years, and weed data the last year. Altogether, most effects and interactions between genotype or environment and fertilization treatment were not significant, and some deficiencies caused by acacia green manure fertilization depend on genotype and environment. Incorporation of acacia green manure 4 months before maize sowing partially controlled weeds and replaced inorganic fertilization. However, deficiencies should be corrected with additional weed control practices and fertilization treatments, according to the nutrient demand of the crop and the soil environment.

Intensifying crop–fallow systems could address increased weed control costs, increased land or rental costs, reduced crop diversity, and degraded soil properties in water-limited environments. One strategy to intensify such systems could be the insertion of a short-season crop during fallow. But, how this strategy affects soils, crop production, and farm economics needs further research. Thus, we studied the impacts of replacing fallow in a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L)–corn (Zea mays L.)–fallow system with a short-season spring crop [field pea (Pisum sativum L.)] on crop yields and economics from 2015 to 2019 and 5-yr cumulative effects on soil properties using an experiment in the west-central US Great Plains. After 5 yr, replacing fallow with field pea increased microbial biomass by 294 nmol g−1 and plant available water by 0.08 cm3 cm−3, and reduced bulk density by 0.1 g cm−3 and cone index by 0.73 MPa in the 0–5 cm depth. It had, however, no effect on other soil properties. Field pea yield averaged 2.24 Mg ha−1. Field pea reduced subsequent crop yield by 15–25% in two of three crops compared with fallow. However, economic analysis showed replacing fallow with field pea may improve net income by $144–303 ha−1, although income across the 5 yr differed by $65 ha−1 in favor of fallow. Replacing fallow in winter wheat–corn–fallow rotation with a short-season spring crop offers promise to improve some near-surface soil properties while increasing net economic return during fallow under the conditions of this study.

Conservation practices in agricultural landscapes can greatly mitigate biodiversity loss. However, agricultural landscapes are embedded in complex, social-ecological systems and therefore require a strong social-ecological approach for effective conservation measures. The Galapagos Islands are globally recognized for their high levels of biodiversity. Nevertheless, in recent years, Galapagos landbirds have suffered rapid declines, specifically in the agricultural zone. Our study is the first to examine the farmers’ perception of landbirds in the agricultural zone of Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 38 farmers to characterize the relationship between farmers and landbirds including how landbirds affect farmers and farmers’ perceptions of landbirds. The interviewed farmers managed a diverse array of farm types including coffee in agroforestry settings (23.7%), small-scale fruit and vegetable (60.5%) and livestock production (15.8%). We found that 86.9% of farmers had a positive or neutral perception of birds despite 52.6% of farmers finding finches bothersome. The most common techniques farmers employed to deter birds were putting out food and water, using nets to protect seedbeds and crops and using protective tubes around young plants. Our results suggest a positive potential for future conservation work targeted on farmland biodiversity. Future conservation projects should also address disservices and the mitigation of crop raiding by landbirds, the uninformed use of pesticides and other pest issues such as ants and rats.

The presence of pollinating insects in crop fields is an essential factor for agricultural production and pollinator conservation. Agricultural intensification has been identified as a driver of pollinator decline over the last decades and challenges the efficiency of pollination. Several approaches are used to support pollinators and their ecosystem services, notably reward-based wildflower strips. ‘Farming with Alternative Pollinators’ (FAP) aims to attract and sustain pollinators using marketable habitat enhancement plants (MHEP) in the field borders instead of wildflowers. These MHEP are selected in conjunction with farmers. We tested here whether the FAP approach increases diversity and abundance of flower visitors in melon fields in a semi-arid landscape in Morocco. Moreover, we examined whether MHEP increase flower-visitor abundance in melon flowers. We recorded a total of 1330 insect specimens including 573 specimens of wild bees. Lasioglossum malachurum was the major flower visitor in melon and several MHEP. As flower-visitor abundance and diversity in FAP fields were higher than in control fields, we conclude that FAP can be a valuable approach for pollinator protection in agro-ecosystems; 16.5% of wild bees and wasps showed spillover from the field borders to the melon fields.

Organic matter is a key element of soil fertility. However, in-soil stocks of organic matter are in decline in specialized crop farms. Reintroducing organic fertilizers could be a way to increase or at least maintain organic matter stocks in these soils. Straw/manure exchanges between crop farms and livestock farms could improve overall land fertility and thus the long-term income of farmers. Here we used a bioeconomic model to estimate the agronomic and economic benefits of straw/manure exchanges as part of a strategy to improve soil fertility. Iterative simulations were run with prices of farmyard manure varying from €0 to €20 ton−1 to identify the price at which a crop farm can buy manure and sell straw without degrading its net income (manure ceiling price) compared to purchasing mineral fertilizer only and ploughing back straw. Parallel simulations were run to identify the price at which a livestock farmer can sell manure and buy straw without degrading its net income (manure floor price) compared to keeping all manure on the farm and buying straw on the market. The key new contributions of this study are that it (i) considers the characteristics of manure beyond its short-term fertilizing value, i.e., better mineralization of humus and a 10% increase in crop yields, (ii) estimates both the economic and agronomic benefits of manure and (iii) assesses the impacts of uncertainties on manure effects and prices. The results show that it is profitable for a French farmer in a conventional field crop system to buy manure at a price between €10 ton−1 in the short term and €18 ton−1 in the long term. The results also show that it is still economically advantageous for a livestock farmer to sell part of their manure, even at a very low price. This study shows that it is possible to better distribute manure resources over a territory in a way that enriches the soils of crop farms without degrading the soils of livestock farms.

Legumes have been shown to enhance bioavailability of phosphorus (P) from sparingly soluble pools, yet this functional trait remains underutilized in agriculture, and is untested at decadal scales. Management and legume presence effects on temporal soil properties were evaluated in a 17-year field crop experiment using soil samples collected in 1992, 2000 and 2006. Management systems compared included: (1) conventional corn–soybean–wheat rotation (C–S–W), (2) organic (C–S–W+red clover), (3) alfalfa and (4) early successional field. To evaluate the effects of long-term management versus recent management (residues and P fertilizer) on P and bio-availability to soybean, subplots of soybean were established with and without P-fertilizer (30 kg P ha−1), and compared to subplots and main plot with the long-term system. We evaluated soil properties (C, total P, Bray extractable inorganic P, particulate organic matter phosphorus) and soybean P uptake, biomass and yield. Recent fertilizer P inputs had no detectable influence on soil P, and total soil P stayed stable at ~350 mg P kg−1, whereas inorganic P (Pi) declined from an initial value of 54 to an average of 35 mg P kg−1. A P balance was constructed and showed a net loss of −96.7 kg P ha−1 yr−1 for the organic system, yet Bray-Pi and soybean P uptake were maintained under organic production at similar levels to the conventional, fertilized system. Particulate organic matter P was 57, 82 and 128% higher in organic, alfalfa and successional treatments, respectively, compared to conventional. A similar pattern was observed for soil C, soybean yield and bioavailable P, which were 20–50% higher in the organic, alfalfa and successional systems relative to conventional. This study provides evidence that long-term management history influences bioavailability of P.

Rapid changes in economic, environmental and social conditions generate both problems and opportunities in agriculture. The cycle from problem identification through discovery of potential solutions is lengthy. The objective of this study was to use collaborative methods to speed the cycle of discovery in sustainable organic strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) production systems in the southeastern USA. This method, stakeholder-driven adaptive research (SDAR), combines farmers' experiential knowledge with scientists' experimental knowledge to develop rigorous research design collectively. Farmers evaluated our biological research and co-designed research experiments with scientists. Farmers and other stakeholders (1) evaluated on-station experiments individually and then made recommendations as a group, (2) served as advisory council members to direct our goals and objectives, and (3) conducted farmer field trials where they implemented aspects of our on-station experiments under their management regimes. The results eliminated potential solutions that were not feasible, ineffective or too costly for farmers to adopt. Key results included eliminating treatments using high tunnel systems altogether on one field trial on a University of Florida (UF) research facility, adding a leguminous cover crop mix treatment, adding companion planting, and eliminating strawberry cultivars Strawberry Festival and Florida Beauty from our research trials. Our proposed methodology allows farmers and other stakeholders to inform the biological research from design through dissemination to reduce the time needed to create research products in an era of rapid bio-physical, social and economic change. Accelerating the discovery cycle could significantly improve our ability to identify and address threats to the USA and global food and fiber production system.

The supplementation of nitrogen can be increased by the use of nitrogen-fixing, diazotrophic bacteria such as Azospirillum brasilense. These bacteria can act to promote plant growth in various plant species, including corn (Zea mays L.). However, there is a need to understand the behavior of these bacteria in different agricultural systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect on the growth and yield of corn inoculated with A. brasilense, and to identify the type of farming system which benefited most from the use of A. brasilense-based inoculants. The experiment conducted over two corn crop seasons was arranged in a 6 × 2 factorial scheme, consisting of six farming systems and the presence or absence of inoculation with the bacteria A. brasilense. The farming systems were derived from a long-term experiment with different fertilization systems that has been conducted since 1984. Among these systems, there were three conventional systems (CNT1: conventional no-till without fertilizer; CNT2: conventional no-till with 150 kg ha−1 of mineral fertilizer + 50 kg ha−1 of urea; CNT3: conventional no-till with 300 kg ha−1 of mineral fertilizer + 100 kg ha−1 of urea), and three organic systems (ONT1: organic no-till with 40 m3 ha−1 of organic compost; ONT2: organic no-till with 20 m3 ha−1 of organic compost; ONT3: organic no-till with 40 m3 ha−1 of organic compost and intercropped with Canavalia ensiformis). Although the Azospirillum population in the soil before planting was the same for all six systems, the count in the rhizospheric soil was higher in the organic systems, and there was no increase in that count due to inoculation. In this study, the only difference observed was within the CNT1 system, between the inoculated (CNT1-I) and uninoculated (CNT1-NI) treatments. In this system, inoculation resulted in an increase in plant height, in addition to higher concentrations of foliar N and P, and a higher plant survival rate, which culminated in higher yield. Corn inoculated with A. brasilense in the CNT1-I treatment showed a significant increase in yield—2839 kg ha−1 higher than that recorded for CNT1-NI. This study shows that, in the conventional low input treatment CNT1-I, inoculation with A. brasilense resulted in an increase in corn growth and yield.

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems is a multi-disciplinary journal which focuses on the science that underpins economically environmentally and socially sustainable approaches to agriculture and food production. The journal publishes original research and review articles on the economic, ecological and environmental impacts of agriculture; the effective use of renewable resources and biodiversity in agro-ecosystems; and the technological and sociological implications of sustainable food systems. It also contains an open discussion Forum, which presents lively discussions on new and provocative topics. However, the opinions of the Forum and responses are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems or Cambridge University Press.

This case study documents the trajectory of a successful alternative dairy farm in southeastern Wisconsin. The 1990s were a difficult period for dairying and the Krusenbaum family entered this shifting field in 1990 with a 37-cow Holstein herd in a stanchion barn, 88 tillable hectares and a vision to gradually develop a biodynamic dairy. Low milk prices and the unrelenting workload associated with conventional dairying forced the family to look for alternative strategies. By 1995 they had converted all their land to 47 rotationally grazed paddocks, increased herd size to 70 cows and their annual net farm income had grown to a solid $54,000. The workload remained very heavy, and during the next few years they introduced a swing-16 milking parlor that approximately doubled their milking efficiency and allowed them to again increase herd size, implemented seasonal dairying and constructed an outwintering shed (1997) that greatly facilitated animal management during the winter. By 2002 the farming system had been, by and large, consolidated and by not focusing solely on milk production and crossbreeding with non-Holstein breeds, the herd benefited from improved reproductive vigor. They were then able to synchronize annual calving and the herd's maximum nutritional needs with the spring flush of their pastures, which resulted in lowered purchased feed costs per cow. By this time, annual milk production was fairly constant [around 7400 kg rolling herd average (RHA)], herd health was good and annual net farm income had grown to $75,600. In 2003, the farm became certified organic. With this change the value of the milk increased dramatically from $0.31 liter−1 to $0.45 liter−1 ($14.27–$20.24 per hundredweight), but feed costs climbed sharply due to the high cost of organic feed, as did labor costs due to the decision to train new farmers in grass-based dairying rather than simply hire employees. Due to very sound farm management, good money management and an entrepreneurial philosophy, this farm, by most performance standards, is now both highly profitable and environmentally sound and the families living on it have a good quality of life.

Faced with a society that demands the reduction of negative environmental impacts of agriculture while producing high-value, healthy food for local and export markets, Argentina is currently in a debate on the alternative paths toward sustainability in agricultural production. Argentina is ranked second in the world in terms of land under organic certification. Extensive sheep production in Patagonia natural grasslands accounts for most of this area and harvested organic area remains a very small fraction of total harvested land (0.6%). This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of opportunities and limitations in organic farming as an ecological intensification alternative for Argentina's Pampas. A case study was conducted on Pampa Orgánica Norte. This is a group of nine organic farmers that manages field crops and livestock-certified organic production. Farmers interviewed in this study considered different criteria including economic and environmental attributes when choosing to produce organically. However, the main drivers for conversion to organic production are related to environmental factors, in particular ecosystem protection. The main limitations in organic production are related to crop management practices, primarily weed control. To achieve the goal of increasing organic production a more active role of the public sector in technology generation and transfer was demanded by farmers.

Decision making in organic farming is related to risk and uncertainty, and options must be evaluated in the decision-making process. This paper presents the methodology of an integrated deterministic simulation system (KARSIM 1.0) application for decision-making support on organic farms in northeastern Slovenia. An emphasis to modify the net present value (NPVt) criterion by incorporating the real options approach was made. Its application is shown in organic spelt (Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta McKey) production and processing using two real options approaches, the Black–Scholes and binomial models. The NPVt indicates that the decision to process spelt for animal fodder is financially unfeasible, while the real options approach differentiates the results by organic spelt grain and flour production for human nutrition. It may be concluded that the real options approach can be useful when assessing projects with uncertainty, sunk costs and irreversibility, and it can provide for examining agricultural investment decisions.

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.

Due to correlations between purchasing patterns and diet disparities, differences in food shopping patterns and strategies across income levels and other socio-economic characteristics is a widely-studied research area. Most extant literature uses either primary or secondary data, which are often characterized by, respectively, limited geographical scope and considerable level of detail, or wide geographical reach but low detail. That literature also reveals contrasting results based on methods, data sources and geographic location. In this paper, we use three different datasets to characterize the differences in purchasing patterns across income levels, rural–urban status and other variables of food shoppers in the Northeastern USA and compare these trends with existing research. While many of the findings corroborate previous studies, new findings include less reliance on superstores overall, except for rural respondents, and a greater reliance on limited assortment supermarkets for SNAP and low-income households. Food purchasing differences are described by race and ethnicity, income and education, and children in the household. The analysis presented here includes a portion of the work performed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers engaged in the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative project Enhancing Food Security in the Northeast (EFSNE). By using primary data from shoppers' intercept surveys, and secondary data from two large datasets, one of household food purchases and the other of food expenditures, we identify purchasing decisions holding at both the case-study (limited geography) and broader geographic (entire Northeast) levels, which both support previous findings and reveal the need for additional research in this area.