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Subject: Tracing the Evolution of Organic/Sustainable Agriculture
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Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
National Agricultural Library
<http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/tracing.htm>
Tracing the Evolution of Organic/Sustainable Agriculture
A Selected and Annotated Bibliography
Bibliographies and Literature of Agriculture (BLA) no. 72
November 1988
Compiled By:
Jane Potter Gates
Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, Information Centers Branch
National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U. S.
Department of Agriculture
Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2351
Introduction
This bibliography cites writings through which may be traced the evolution of organic/sustainable agriculture and its pattern of philosophical and scientific aspects. It is not a comprehensive list, but the interested reader will find authors' references, individual bibliographies, and sources within the cited writings which will widen the traced path.
Three recent compilations have been of invaluable assistance in the preparation of this bibliography: R. R. Harwood* and M. C. Merrill*, writing in 1983 I and A. M. Scofield* (who wrote a brief article on the origin of the name "organic farming" in 1986) included in their writings citations to selected important works, many of which are cited here. In addition, acknowledgment is made.of the work of the Canadian "Ecological Agriculture Project" (EAP) of the Macdonald College of McGill University, which has also compiled annotated lists of the literature of ecological agriculture and of selected background works of holistic approaches to agriculture.
All of the works cited here are in the collection of the National Agricultural Library, and NAL's call numbers are included in the citations. Directly below the call-number is a "cited in" reference which refers to one or more of the following listed authors:
P = Pieters 1927
W = Waksman 1936
N = Northbourne 1940
B = Balfour 1943
H = Harwood 1983
M = Merrill 1983
S = Scofield 1986
This bibliography was compiled under the direction of Jayne MacLean, Coordinator of the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center. Katy Bielenberg, clerk-typist, provided valuable assistance.
Persons wishing to suggest additions or changes to this list are invited to contact the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, Rm 304, Beltsville, MD 20705.
* see References cited in the introduction
1580
Tusser, Thomas
Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry
n.p.
NAL call no. R30.8 T87
cited in: Bailey
This classic has been-reprinted almost every century since its original publication. Tusser's maxims include observations of human behavior--"Still crop'upon crop many farmers do take, and reap little profit, for greediness sake... 11, observations concerning the land--"-and land (overburdened) is clean out of heart", or "if land be unlusty, the crop is not great." He also gives advice by the month, frequently in rhyme. "Octobers Abstract" is about the rotation of crops: "Where barlie did growe, laie wheat to sowe, yet better I thinke, sowe pease, after drinke. And then if ye please, sowe wheat after pease.11
1788
Dickson, Adam
The Husbandry of the Ancients
Edinburgh: Dickson & Creeca
V.1, 527 pp; V 2, 494 pp.
NAL call no. R30.9 D56
cited in: P
Dickson quotes Columella, Palladius, Cato, Virgil, Pliny, et.al., regarding the knowledge and practice of husbandry, and confesses in the preface to be "agreeably surprised to find, that, notwithstanding the great differences in climate, the maxims of the ancient Roman farmers are the same with those of the best modern farmers in Britain..."
1846
Allen, Richard
A Brief Compend of American Agriculture
New York: Saxon and Miles
437 pp. Index.
NAL call no. 31.3 AL5 1846
cited in: P
The introduction contains a proposal for establishment of a "National Board of Agriculture," plus recommendations for States' actions, particularly re education.
1864
Wolfinger, John F.
"Green Manuring and Manures," Report of the U.S. Commissioner of
Agriculture for the Year 1864.
Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1865. pp 299-328
NAL call no. 1 Ag84 1864
cited in: P
Lincoln was President when this report was published. Wolfinger defines his subject, tracing its history in Flanders (now Belgium), and listing the benefits of, and objections to, the practice of green manuring. He also quotes what "the best agricultural writers say of green manures."
1881
Darwin, Charles
The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms with
Observations on their Habits.
London: Murray. Reprint 1945.
153 pp. Index. Introduction by Sir Albert Howard.
NAL call no. 56.12 D45
cited in: H, M
The real foundation for "the study of the principles underlying farming and
gardening...
1906
Hilgard, Eugene Woldemar
Soils, Their Formation, Properties, and Relations to Climate and Plant
Growth in the Humid and Arid Regions
New York: Macmillian
593 pp. Index. List of authors referred to in text.
NAL call no. 56 H54S
cited in: M, P
Professor of Agriculture at the University of California and Director of the California Experiment Station, Hilgard originally planned this to be a text and reference book, but enlarged its scope to include his soil studies "in the humid and arid regions."
1907
Elliot, Robert Henry
The Clifton Park System of Farming and Laving Down Land to Grass.
London: Simpkin, et.al. 5th ed.
260 pp. Index. First published in 1898 as Agricultural Changes.
NAL call no. 32 E152
cited in: H
The author writes of his more than 30 years' experience in India and in England as a planter and a farmer. He quotes Cato, devotes considerable space to Arthur Young, and remarks that proposals to agricultural changes are often met with a response characterized as "What we knows we knows, and what we don't know we don't want to know."
1907
Fletcher, Stevenson Whitcomb
Soils: How to Handle and Improve Them
New York: Doubleday, Page
438 pp. Index. Appendix (includes crop rotations by states).
NAL call no. 56.7 F632
cited in: H
Fletcher, then at the Agricultural College of Michigan, attempts here to "set forth the important facts about the soil in a plain and nontechnical manner."
1910
Hopkins, Cyril George
Soil Fertility and Permanent Agriculture
Boston, Massachusetts: Ginn
653 pp. Index. Appendix.
NAL call no. 56.6 H77
cited in: M; quoted in King
This book contains chapters on "Theories concerning soil Fertility" and on the Rothamsted Experiments. The final chapter is titled "Two Periods in Agricultural History" and contains quotations from Varro (B.C.226 to 28) to Liebig and Lincoln (1859) to King (1910).
1911
King, Franklin Hiram
Farmers of Forty Centuries (or) Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea, amd
Japan
New York: Harcourt, Brace
379 pp. Index. 209 illustrations. Preface by L.H. Bailey.
NAL call no. 34.5 K58
cited in: H, M, P
King, a chief of the USDA Division of Soil Management, wrote this book after his retirement but did not live to write a final chapter. Bailey calls it the "writing of a well-trained observor who went to study the actual conditions of life of agricultural peoples." It is one of the most influential of all the works cited, with far-reaching consequences for agricultural practices worldwide.
1915
Bailey, Liberty Hyde
The Holy Earth
New York: Scribner's
117 pp.
NAL call no. 30.4 B15
cited in: M; quoted in Bromfield
"Dean" Bailey, who wrote many textbooks in fields relating to agriculture and who published one volume of verse, writes here on a simple "philosophy of rural life."
1923
Gray, L. C., et al.
"The Utilization of Our Lands for Crops, Pasture and Forests," U.S.D.A.
Yearbook, 1223. pp. 415-506.
Washington, D.C. Government Printing Office.
NAL call no. 1 Ag844 1923
cited in: P
This article reflects the government's views as to the "present situation and future outlook" regarding available resources for the growing of food and raw materials which must be supplied by crop lands, pastures and forests. As such, it is both a summary and an estimate.
1924
Steiner, Rudolf
Agriculture. A Course of Eight Lectures.
n.p.
175 pp.
NAL call no. S523.S8313-1974
cited in: H, S
This is the text which is based on the series of lectures Steiner gave in Silesia (E. Germany) in 1924. The lecture series marked the beginning of the bio-dynamic agriculture movement.
1927
Pieters, Adrian John
Green Manuring
Wiley
356 pp. Index. Bibliography.
NAL call no. 57.5 P61
cited in: W
Pieters was an agronomist working for the USDA at the time he wrote this book, defining "green manuring," and cover, catch and shade crops. The second chapter, a history of the subject, covers China and Japan, Greece and Rome, through the Middle Ages to England and America in the 19th Century.
1936
Waksman, Selman Abraham
Humus: Origin, Chemical Composition, and Importance in Nature
Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins
526 pp. Index. Index of Authors. Extensive Bibliography.
NAL call no. 56 W13H
cited in: B, H, M; author cited extensively by Pfeiffer
An "attempt to tell the story of humus, its origin from plant and animal residues, its chemical composition, its physical properties, its importance in nature, especially in soil processes and in plant growth, and finally its decomposition."
1938
U. S. D. A.
Soils and Men: The Yearbook of Agriculture, 1938
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office
1232 pp. Index. Glossary. Literature cited.
NAL call no. 1 AG844 1938
cited in: M
More than 100 authors contributed to this yearbook, including William A. Albrecht, then Professor of Soils at the University of Missouri and one of the fathers of the ecological agricultural movement. It represents an effort to see "the subject as a whole--scientific aspects, practical aspects, social and economic aspects; the needs of individuals, groups, and the Nation."
1939
Jacks, G. V. and R. 0. White
The Rape of the Earth: a World Survey of Soil Erosion.
London: Faber and Faber
313 pp. Index. 47 illustrations. Published in America under the title
Vanishing Lands.
NAL call no. 56.7 J13
cited in: B, M, N, and Howard
Frequently cited, this book is a pioneering classic on the subject.
1940
Howard, Albert, Sir
An Agricultural Testament
Oxford: Oxford University Press
253 pp. Index. Literature. Bibliographies at ends of
chapters.
NAL call no. 56.6 H83A
cited in: B, S, N, M, H
This is the classic study on soil fertility by the "father of the movement." It includes the "Agriculture of the Nations Which Have Passed Away" and observations of agricultural practices of both the Orient and the Occident.
1940
Northbourne, Walter Ernest Christopher James, Lord (Baron)
Look to the Land
London: Dent
206 pp. Index. Bibliography.
NAL call no. 30 N81
cited in: H, S
This frequently overlooked early inspirational work includes the first known use of the term "organic farming" in a chapter heading on page 148, "diversified organic farming a practical proposition."
According to his son, the present Baron, Northbourne felt obliged, when World War II came in 1939, "to recommend to other farms the chemical methods of stimulating production" in order to "help feed" the country. "Being an honourable person, he therefore felt that he, too, must abandon his organic production and adopt the more conventional methods of fertilising and weed control which were beginning to emerge at that time." (Personal correspondence 9/88)
1943
Balfour, Evelyn Barbara, Lady
The Living Soil
London: Faber and Faber
248 pp. Index. Glossary. Bibliography.
NAL call no. 56.5 B19
cited in: H, M, S
Based on 32 years' comparison of organic, mixed and chemical sections of a farm at Haughley, England, this is an extremely readable exposition of the evidence in favor of biological agriculture by one of the founders of that country's "Soil Association."
1943
Faulkner, Edward Hubert
Plowman's Folly
New York: Grossett and Dunlap
155 pp.
NAL call no. 56.7 F27
cited in: H
As the title implies, this famous work states that plowing is wrong, and that the moldboard plow is not a satisfactory implement for the preparation of land for the production of crops.
1945
Rodale, Jerome Irving
Pay Dirt: Farming and Gardening with Composts
New York: Devin-Adair Company
242 pp. Bibliography. Introduction by Albert Howard.
NAL call no. 57.4 R61
cited in: H, S
The classic statement on the value of soil, this and Rodale's later works
sparked and fueled the organic movement in North America.
1946
Kolisko, Eugen and L. Kolisko
Agriculture of Tomorrow
Gloucester: Kolisko Archive
426 pp., Index. Bibliography.
NAL call no. 30 K833
cited in: H
This account of scientific work based on the principles of Rudolf Steiner details the Koliskos controlled experiments on the effects of cosmic forces on crop production.
1947
Bromfield, Louis
Malabar Farm
New York: Harper
405 pp.
NAL call no. 31.3 B78M
cited in: H, M
The journal of the famous Ohio farmer/author, this work intersperses anecdotes and history with practical advice and a recounting of his experiences. It is a sequel to his earlier book, Pleasant Valley, published in 1945.
1947
Howard, Louise Ernestine Matthaei
The Earth's Green Carpet
London: Faber and Faber
219 pp.Index. Appendices, including "The Indore Process and its Evolution" and a
"List of Books" (including periodicals).
NAL call no. 30 H83
cited in: H, M
This is an account of the ideas and principles of Sir Albert Howard written
by his second wife, also a proponent of organic agriculture.
1947
Pfieffer, Ehrenfried
Soil Fertility, Renewal and Preservation: Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening
London: Faber and Faber. Rev.ed.
196 pp. Index. Bibliography. Introduction by E. B. Balfour.
Published in America as Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening, 1940.
NAL call no. 30 P47
cited in: H, M, N, B
Based on Steiner's approach, this book stresses the importance of the "life process (biological process)", with the farm or garden a biological organic unit, not a series of unconnected processes.
1948
Rodale, Jerome Irving
The Organic Front
Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press
198 pp.
NAL call no. 56.6 R610
cited in: H, M
Rodale calls the movement "organiculture", the "new, yet age-old method."
1949
Leopold, Aldo
A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There
New York: Oxford University Press
226 pp.
NAL call no. 409 L552
In this well-known collection of essays, Leopold presents the case for a land
ethic as a product of social evolution.
1950
Cocannouer, Joseph A
Weeds: Guardians of the Soil
New York: Devin-Adair
179 pp. Brief list of "other books on organiculture" opposite title page.
NAL call no. 79 C04
cited in: H, M
Called a "pioneering work" in the advocacy of the controlled use of weeds, this book's author wrote on other subjects having to do with modern farming practices.
1951
Sykes, Friend
Food, Farming and the Future
London: Faber and Faber
294 pp. Introduction by Louise E. Howard.
NAL call no. 32 Sy4F
cited in: H, M
An experienced British farmer, the author of this book also wrote Humus and
the Farmer and Modern Humus Farming.
1954
Hainsworth, P. H.
Agriculture, A New Approach
London: Faber and Faber
248 pp. Index. Bibliography. Glossary.
NAL call no. 30 H12
cited in: H, M
One of the best early sources of technical information regarding natural fertilizing, this represents an "attempt to gather together relevant material that may have some bearing on the results achieved by,..organic methods."
1954
Wickenden, Leonard
Gardening with Nature: How to Grow Your own Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers
by Natural Methods
New York: Devin-Adair
392 pp. Index. Suggested readings.
NAL call no. 90 W632
Depicted by the author, who has a chemistry background, as largely a 'how-to' book, " this work integrates Wickenden's advice with the scientific basis on which the organic concept of plant growth was built. Readers can thus learn both organic gardening practices and how to defend them. In 1949 Wickenden had written the popular Make Friends with your Land.
1955
Easey, Ben
Practical Organic Gardening
London: Faber and Faber
151 pp.Index. Bibliography. Appendices. Lists of gardens, suppliers, and
organizations.
NAL call no. 57.4 Ea7
This is a substantive work on the subject, with a thorough and
well-documented framework.
1955
Turner, Newman
Fertility Pastures: Herbal Leys as the Basis of Soil Fertility and Animal
Husbandry
London: Faber and Faber
204 pp. Index.
NAL call no. 60.1 T85
cited in: H, M
Also spelled "lea"; the dictionary defines ley as "arable land sown to grasses or clover for hay or grazing and usually plowed and planted with other crops after two or three years." Turner boasts that the "herbal ley is my manure merchant, my food manufacturer, and my vet, all in one."
1964
Hunter, Beatrice T.
Gardening without Poisons
Boston: Houghton-Mifflin
318 pp. Index. List of sources; List of suppliers of
materials. Appendices. List of Organizations interested in gardening
without poisons.
NAL call no. SB975 H91
One of the early works on biological control of insect pests, a 1971
postscript by the author cites research being done by the USDA.
1964
Poirot, Eugene M.
Our Margin of Life
Raytown, Missouri: Acres USA
159 pp. Introduction by William A. Albrecht.
NAL call no. S624 AlP6
cited in: H, M
A farmer/author writes seriously about agriculture, the importance of the
soil, and a philosophy based on his observations and beliefs.
1976
Koepf, H. H., et al.
Biodynamic Agriculture: An Introduction
Spring Valley, New York: Anthroposophic Press
429 pp.Index. Bibliography.
NAL call no. S605.5.K59
cited in: H, M
This work was originally published in German so the bibliography is of
unusual interest.
1977
Berry, Wendell
The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture
San Francisco: Sierra Club Books
228 pp. Chapter notes.
NAL call no. HD1761.B47
cited in: H
A review/criticism on agricultural policy today, this work presents the author's position: "the care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility."
1978
Besson, J. M. and H. Vogtmann, eds.
Toward a Sustainable Agriculture
Oberwil, Switzerland: IFOAM
243 pp. References at ends of articles.
NAL call no. S605.5.T68
cited in: H, M
These are proceedings of the lst conference of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), in French, German, and English. All IFOAM proceedings are recommended.
1978
Oelhaf R. C.
Organic Agriculture: Economic and Ecological Comparisons with Conventional
Methods
Montclair, New Jersey: Allanheld, Osmun, and Company
271 pp. Index. References.
NAL call no. S605.5.066
cited in: H, M
The author, trained in theology, science and engineering, looks at more than just comparative economic issues and presents a detailed study of internal and external costs and benefits of ecological and conventional agriculture.
1979
Jeavons, J.
How to Grow More Vegetables Than You ever Thought Possible on Less Land
Than You Can Imagine
Palo Alto, California: Ten Speed Press
116 pp. Bibliography.
NAL call no. SB320.6.J43
cited in: H
Jeavons, a former systems an analyst, writes a "primer on the life-giving biodynamic/French intensive method of organic agriculture." He is involved with "Ecology Action" in Palo Alto, California.
1979
Walters, Charles, Jr. and C. J. Fenzau
An ACRES U.S.A. Primer
Raytown, Missouri: ACRES U.S.A.
465 pp. Glossary. Index. Field notes. Lists of
Eco-suppliers.
NAL call no. S605.5.W34
cited in: H, M
A "first reader" in eco-agriculture, this book is written from an organic perspective on the basis of plant and soil science, agronomy and pest control.
1980
Boeringa, R., ed.
Alternative Methods of Agriculture
Amsterdam: Elsevier
199 pp. References.
NAL call no. S60l.D4 Vol.10
cited in: H, M
A translation of selections of the famous Dutch report of 1976, this work includes descriptions of each school of ecological agriculture, and a literature review on techniques, yields, food quality, impact on the environment, and research recommendations.
1980
Jackson, Wes
New Roots for Agriculture
Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press
151 pp. New edition 1985. References & notes at ends of chapters.
NAL call no. S441.J25
cited in: H
The new edition has a foreword by Wendell Berry and an "afterward" to its conclusion, pp 133-148. Both Berry and Jackson are leaders in the movement today.
1980
U.S. Department of Agriculture Study Team on Organic Farming.
Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming
Washington, D.C.: USDA
94 pp. References at ends of chapters.
NAL call no. aS605.5 U52
Compiled with the assistance of the Rodale Press survey of The New Farm readers, this study was "conducted to learn more about the potential contributions of organic farming as a system for the production of food and fiber." A first for the U.S., it is a general overview of the status of organic agriculture in the United States: methods, implications for environmental and food quality, economic assessment, and research recommendations.
1981
Stonehouse, B., ed.
Biological Husbandry: A scientific Approach to Organic Farming
London: Butterworths
352 pp. Index.
NAL call no. 16 S605.5. S7
cited in: H, M
This includes "most of the papers" presented at the lst international symposium of the International Institute of Biological Husbandry, 1980. Sections include: soil structure, flora and fauna, agricultural methods, biological husbandry in the tropics, systems of agriculture, and comparative studies.
1982
Hill, S. B. and P. Ott, eds.
Basic Techniques in Ecological Farming (Proceedings of the 2nd
International Conference, Montreal, 19781
Basel: Berkhauser Verlag
366 pp.
NAL call no. S605.5.B39
cited in: H, M
This volume and other available proceedings of IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) conferences are highly recommended.
1983
Altieri, Miguel
Agroecology; the Scientific Basis of Alternative Agriculture
Berkeley, California. University of California.
173 pp.
NAL call no. S589.7 A4
A review of tempe rate and tropical agroecology, theory and practice, this work includes chapters on the design of sustainable systems, traditional peasant agriculture, polyculture, tree cropping, live mulches, minimum tillage, and pest control.
1984
Lowrance, Richard, Benjamin R. Stinner and Garfield J. House, eds.
Agricultural Ecosystems; Unifying Concepts
New York, John Wiley.
233 p. Index. References at ends of chapters.
NAL call no. S589.7 A36
Written by 21 of the foremost thinkers on the subject of agroecosystems, the majority of the chapters were presented initially at a 1982 symposium held during a meeting of the Ecological Society of America.
1985
Fukuoka, Masanobu
The Natural Way of Farming: the Theory and Practice of Green Philosophy
Tokyo, Japan Publications
280 pp. Index. Translated from the Japanese.
NAL call no. S606.6 F72
Fukuoka, author of The One Straw Revolution, reiterates his five major principles: no tillage, no fertilizer, no pesticides, no weeding, and no pruning. His book deals almost exclusively with farming in Japan, but his message can be viewed from a universal perspective.
References cited in the Introduction
1983
Harwood, R.R.
"International Overview of Regeneration Agriculture,"
Proceedings of Workshops on Resource-Efficient Farming Methods for
Tanzania, May 16-20, 1983
Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press
12 pp.
1983
Merrill, M.C.
"Eco-Agriculture: A Review of its History and Philosophy," Biological
Agriculture and Horticulture
volume 1, pp. 181-210
1986
Scofield, A.M.
"Organic Farming--The Origin of the Name," Biological Floriculture and
Horticulture
volume 4, pp. 1-5.
Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
National Agricultural Library
The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, afsic@nal.usda.gov
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/tracing.htm, June 9, 1997
Title: Tracing the Evolution of Organic/Sustainable Agriculture
Tracing the Evolution of Organic/Sustainable AgricultureA Selected and Annotated BibliographyBibliographies and Literature of Agriculture (BLA) no. 72November 1988
Compiled By:
IntroductionThis bibliography cites writings through which may be traced the evolution of organic/sustainable agriculture and its pattern of philosophical and scientific aspects. It is not a comprehensive list, but the interested reader will find authors' references, individual bibliographies, and sources within the cited writings which will widen the traced path. Three recent compilations have been of invaluable assistance in the preparation of this bibliography: R. R. Harwood* and M. C. Merrill*, writing in 1983 I and A. M. Scofield* (who wrote a brief article on the origin of the name "organic farming" in 1986) included in their writings citations to selected important works, many of which are cited here. In addition, acknowledgment is made.of the work of the Canadian "Ecological Agriculture Project" (EAP) of the Macdonald College of McGill University, which has also compiled annotated lists of the literature of ecological agriculture and of selected background works of holistic approaches to agriculture. All of the works cited here are in the collection of the National Agricultural Library, and NAL's call numbers are included in the citations. Directly below the call-number is a "cited in" reference which refers to one or more of the following listed authors:
This bibliography was compiled under the direction of Jayne MacLean, Coordinator of the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center. Katy Bielenberg, clerk-typist, provided valuable assistance. Persons wishing to suggest additions or changes to this list are invited to contact the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, Rm 304, Beltsville, MD 20705. * see References cited in the introduction
1580 This classic has been-reprinted almost every century since its original publication. Tusser's maxims include observations of human behavior--"Still crop'upon crop many farmers do take, and reap little profit, for greediness sake... 11, observations concerning the land--"-and land (overburdened) is clean out of heart", or "if land be unlusty, the crop is not great." He also gives advice by the month, frequently in rhyme. "Octobers Abstract" is about the rotation of crops: "Where barlie did growe, laie wheat to sowe, yet better I thinke, sowe pease, after drinke. And then if ye please, sowe wheat after pease.11
1788 Dickson quotes Columella, Palladius, Cato, Virgil, Pliny, et.al., regarding the knowledge and practice of husbandry, and confesses in the preface to be "agreeably surprised to find, that, notwithstanding the great differences in climate, the maxims of the ancient Roman farmers are the same with those of the best modern farmers in Britain..."
1846 The introduction contains a proposal for establishment of a "National Board of Agriculture," plus recommendations for States' actions, particularly re education.
1864 Lincoln was President when this report was published. Wolfinger defines his subject, tracing its history in Flanders (now Belgium), and listing the benefits of, and objections to, the practice of green manuring. He also quotes what "the best agricultural writers say of green manures."
1881 The real foundation for "the study of the principles underlying farming and gardening...
1906 Professor of Agriculture at the University of California and Director of the California Experiment Station, Hilgard originally planned this to be a text and reference book, but enlarged its scope to include his soil studies "in the humid and arid regions."
1907 The author writes of his more than 30 years' experience in India and in England as a planter and a farmer. He quotes Cato, devotes considerable space to Arthur Young, and remarks that proposals to agricultural changes are often met with a response characterized as "What we knows we knows, and what we don't know we don't want to know."
1907 Fletcher, then at the Agricultural College of Michigan, attempts here to "set forth the important facts about the soil in a plain and nontechnical manner."
1910 This book contains chapters on "Theories concerning soil Fertility" and on the Rothamsted Experiments. The final chapter is titled "Two Periods in Agricultural History" and contains quotations from Varro (B.C.226 to 28) to Liebig and Lincoln (1859) to King (1910).
1911 King, a chief of the USDA Division of Soil Management, wrote this book after his retirement but did not live to write a final chapter. Bailey calls it the "writing of a well-trained observor who went to study the actual conditions of life of agricultural peoples." It is one of the most influential of all the works cited, with far-reaching consequences for agricultural practices worldwide.
1915 "Dean" Bailey, who wrote many textbooks in fields relating to agriculture and who published one volume of verse, writes here on a simple "philosophy of rural life."
1923 This article reflects the government's views as to the "present situation and future outlook" regarding available resources for the growing of food and raw materials which must be supplied by crop lands, pastures and forests. As such, it is both a summary and an estimate.
1924 This is the text which is based on the series of lectures Steiner gave in Silesia (E. Germany) in 1924. The lecture series marked the beginning of the bio-dynamic agriculture movement.
1927 Pieters was an agronomist working for the USDA at the time he wrote this book, defining "green manuring," and cover, catch and shade crops. The second chapter, a history of the subject, covers China and Japan, Greece and Rome, through the Middle Ages to England and America in the 19th Century.
1936 An "attempt to tell the story of humus, its origin from plant and animal residues, its chemical composition, its physical properties, its importance in nature, especially in soil processes and in plant growth, and finally its decomposition."
1938 More than 100 authors contributed to this yearbook, including William A. Albrecht, then Professor of Soils at the University of Missouri and one of the fathers of the ecological agricultural movement. It represents an effort to see "the subject as a whole--scientific aspects, practical aspects, social and economic aspects; the needs of individuals, groups, and the Nation."
1939 Frequently cited, this book is a pioneering classic on the subject.
1940 This is the classic study on soil fertility by the "father of the movement." It includes the "Agriculture of the Nations Which Have Passed Away" and observations of agricultural practices of both the Orient and the Occident.
1940 This frequently overlooked early inspirational work includes the first known use of the term "organic farming" in a chapter heading on page 148, "diversified organic farming a practical proposition." According to his son, the present Baron, Northbourne felt obliged, when World War II came in 1939, "to recommend to other farms the chemical methods of stimulating production" in order to "help feed" the country. "Being an honourable person, he therefore felt that he, too, must abandon his organic production and adopt the more conventional methods of fertilising and weed control which were beginning to emerge at that time." (Personal correspondence 9/88)
1943 Based on 32 years' comparison of organic, mixed and chemical sections of a farm at Haughley, England, this is an extremely readable exposition of the evidence in favor of biological agriculture by one of the founders of that country's "Soil Association."
1943 As the title implies, this famous work states that plowing is wrong, and that the moldboard plow is not a satisfactory implement for the preparation of land for the production of crops.
1945 The classic statement on the value of soil, this and Rodale's later works sparked and fueled the organic movement in North America.
1946 This account of scientific work based on the principles of Rudolf Steiner details the Koliskos controlled experiments on the effects of cosmic forces on crop production.
1947 The journal of the famous Ohio farmer/author, this work intersperses anecdotes and history with practical advice and a recounting of his experiences. It is a sequel to his earlier book, Pleasant Valley, published in 1945.
1947 This is an account of the ideas and principles of Sir Albert Howard written by his second wife, also a proponent of organic agriculture.
1947 Based on Steiner's approach, this book stresses the importance of the "life process (biological process)", with the farm or garden a biological organic unit, not a series of unconnected processes.
1948 Rodale calls the movement "organiculture", the "new, yet age-old method."
1949 In this well-known collection of essays, Leopold presents the case for a land ethic as a product of social evolution.
1950 Called a "pioneering work" in the advocacy of the controlled use of weeds, this book's author wrote on other subjects having to do with modern farming practices.
1951 An experienced British farmer, the author of this book also wrote Humus and the Farmer and Modern Humus Farming.
1954 One of the best early sources of technical information regarding natural fertilizing, this represents an "attempt to gather together relevant material that may have some bearing on the results achieved by,..organic methods."
1954 Depicted by the author, who has a chemistry background, as largely a 'how-to' book, " this work integrates Wickenden's advice with the scientific basis on which the organic concept of plant growth was built. Readers can thus learn both organic gardening practices and how to defend them. In 1949 Wickenden had written the popular Make Friends with your Land.
1955 This is a substantive work on the subject, with a thorough and well-documented framework.
1955 Also spelled "lea"; the dictionary defines ley as "arable land sown to grasses or clover for hay or grazing and usually plowed and planted with other crops after two or three years." Turner boasts that the "herbal ley is my manure merchant, my food manufacturer, and my vet, all in one."
1964 One of the early works on biological control of insect pests, a 1971 postscript by the author cites research being done by the USDA.
1964 A farmer/author writes seriously about agriculture, the importance of the soil, and a philosophy based on his observations and beliefs.
1976 This work was originally published in German so the bibliography is of unusual interest.
1977 A review/criticism on agricultural policy today, this work presents the author's position: "the care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility."
1978 These are proceedings of the lst conference of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), in French, German, and English. All IFOAM proceedings are recommended.
1978 The author, trained in theology, science and engineering, looks at more than just comparative economic issues and presents a detailed study of internal and external costs and benefits of ecological and conventional agriculture.
1979 Jeavons, a former systems an analyst, writes a "primer on the life-giving biodynamic/French intensive method of organic agriculture." He is involved with "Ecology Action" in Palo Alto, California.
1979 A "first reader" in eco-agriculture, this book is written from an organic perspective on the basis of plant and soil science, agronomy and pest control.
1980 A translation of selections of the famous Dutch report of 1976, this work includes descriptions of each school of ecological agriculture, and a literature review on techniques, yields, food quality, impact on the environment, and research recommendations.
1980 The new edition has a foreword by Wendell Berry and an "afterward" to its conclusion, pp 133-148. Both Berry and Jackson are leaders in the movement today.
1980 Compiled with the assistance of the Rodale Press survey of The New Farm readers, this study was "conducted to learn more about the potential contributions of organic farming as a system for the production of food and fiber." A first for the U.S., it is a general overview of the status of organic agriculture in the United States: methods, implications for environmental and food quality, economic assessment, and research recommendations.
1981 This includes "most of the papers" presented at the lst international symposium of the International Institute of Biological Husbandry, 1980. Sections include: soil structure, flora and fauna, agricultural methods, biological husbandry in the tropics, systems of agriculture, and comparative studies.
1982 This volume and other available proceedings of IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) conferences are highly recommended.
1983 A review of tempe rate and tropical agroecology, theory and practice, this work includes chapters on the design of sustainable systems, traditional peasant agriculture, polyculture, tree cropping, live mulches, minimum tillage, and pest control.
1984 Written by 21 of the foremost thinkers on the subject of agroecosystems, the majority of the chapters were presented initially at a 1982 symposium held during a meeting of the Ecological Society of America.
1985 Fukuoka, author of The One Straw Revolution, reiterates his five major principles: no tillage, no fertilizer, no pesticides, no weeding, and no pruning. His book deals almost exclusively with farming in Japan, but his message can be viewed from a universal perspective. References cited in the Introduction1983Harwood, R.R. "International Overview of Regeneration Agriculture," Proceedings of Workshops on Resource-Efficient Farming Methods for Tanzania, May 16-20, 1983 Emmaus, Pennsylvania: Rodale Press 12 pp.
1983
1986
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