--- title: Sustainable Farming description: Sustainable farming focuses on agricultural practices that protect the environment and support communities. Learners will understand soil conservation, biodiversity, organic cultivation techniques, and methods to reduce the ecological footprint of agriculture. category: sciences subcategory: agricultural-science difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/sustainable-farming --- # Sustainable Farming Sustainable farming focuses on agricultural practices that protect the environment and support communities. Learners will understand soil conservation, biodiversity, organic cultivation techniques, and methods to reduce the ecological footprint of agriculture. ## Available Resources 5 Books • 3 Courses • 4 Websites ## Websites ### 1. Savanna Institute Nonprofit research and education group advancing Midwest agroforestry. Its farm guides, crop budgets, and demonstration-farm reports show how to establish and manage tree crops, alley cropping, and silvopasture alongside conventional row-crop and livestock operations. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.savannainstitute.org/ **Tags:** agroforestry, silvopasture, perennial-crops, regenerative-agriculture, farm-planning ### 2. Regeneration International A nonprofit network of farmers, scientists, educators, and policymakers promoting regenerative agriculture and land-use practices, covering soil health, carbon sequestration, and food sovereignty through case studies, webinars, and reports for food-system practitioners. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://regenerationinternational.org/ **Tags:** regenerative-agriculture, food-systems, sustainability, soil-health ### 3. sare.org SARE.org is the online hub for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, funded by the USDA, offering practical guidance to help farmers adopt sustainable practices. It features how-to resources, case studies, farmer profiles, education materials, and information on grants and ongoing research projects in sustainable farming. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://sare.org **Tags:** websites, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ### 4. rodaleinstitute.org Rodale Institute is a nonprofit research and education organization advancing organic farming and regenerative agriculture. The site provides research results, soil-health guides, practical farming resources, and information on programs, events, and trainings for farmers, gardeners, and advocates. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://rodaleinstitute.org **Tags:** websites, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ## Courses ### 1. Agriculture, Economics and Nature **Author:** David Pannell University of Western Australia course on the economics of farming and its environmental effects: supply and prices, input decisions and production functions, land conservation, cost-benefit analysis of agri-environmental projects, and farm policy. Learners can evaluate farm and policy decisions with basic economic models. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/agriculture-economics-nature **Tags:** agricultural-economics, cost-benefit-analysis, agri-environmental-policy, natural-resource-economics, farm-management ### 2. Sustainable Agricultural Land Management This course will cover the agricultural and urban water quality issues in Florida, their bases, land and nutrient management strategies, and the science and policy behind the best management practices (BMPs). Students will learn to evaluate BMP research and analyze its role in determining practices and policies that protect water quality. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/sustainable-agriculture **Tags:** courses, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ### 3. Sustainable Farming Practices A focus on sustainable agricultural and agribusiness practices around the globe. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/masters/micromasters/doanex-sustainable-agribusiness **Tags:** courses, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ## Podcasts ### 1. Working Cows Podcast **Author:** Clay Conry Weekly interview podcast in which host Clay Conry talks with ranchers who have moved to regenerative management. Episodes cover planned grazing, Holistic Management, herd health, low-stress stockmanship and ranch profitability, showing how grazing decisions affect soil health and the bottom line. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en-us | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://workingcows.net/podcasts/ **Tags:** regenerative-agriculture, soil-health, grazing, ranching, farm-business ### 2. Regenerative Agriculture Podcast **Author:** John Kempf This is a show for professional growers and agronomists who want to learn about the science and principles of regenerative agriculture systems to increase quality, yield, and profitability. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.regenerativeagriculturepodcast.com **Tags:** regenerative-agriculture, soil-health, agronomy, plant-nutrition, podcast ### 3. Growers Daily **Author:** Jesse Frost Podcast formerly called The No-Till Market Garden Podcast, hosted by Kentucky organic grower Jesse Frost, on running small no-till vegetable farms. Episodes cover soil biology, cover crops, pest management, pricing and direct sales, so listeners can plan a productive, financially viable market garden. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://notillmarketgardenpodcast.libsyn.com/website **Tags:** market-gardening, no-till, soil-health, cover-crops, small-farm-business ## Books ### 1. The New Organic Grower, 3rd Edition **Author:** Eliot Coleman Coleman's manual for productive vegetable growing on 2.5 acres or less: bed layout, crop rotation, soil blocks, hand tools, succession planting, greenhouse work and per-crop notes, based on decades of trials at his Maine farm. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1603588175?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** market-gardening, small-scale-farming, organic-vegetable-production, crop-rotation, season-extension ### 2. Building Soils for Better Crops, 4th Edition **Author:** Fred Magdoff and Harold van Es A 394-page ecological soil management text, free as a PDF from USDA SARE. Covers organic matter dynamics, soil biology, physical structure, compost, cover crops, rotations, tillage and nutrient management, with farm case studies throughout. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.sare.org/resources/building-soils-for-better-crops/ **Tags:** soil-health, soil-organic-matter, cover-crops, composting, nutrient-management ### 3. The Omnivore's Dilemma **Author:** Michael Pollan Traces four meals back to their sources: industrial corn, big organic, a Virginia grass farm, and personal foraging, comparing the energy, ecology, and economics of each. Readers gain a framework for judging farming systems beyond marketing labels. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0747586837?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ### 4. Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations **Author:** David R. Montgomery A geomorphologist traces how soil loss undermined agricultural societies from Mesopotamia to the American Dust Bowl, at rates outpacing soil formation. Explains why tillage practice and erosion budgets, not yield alone, determine whether a farming system lasts. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0520272900?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science ### 5. Restoration Agriculture **Author:** Mark Shepard Shepard argues for replacing annual grain monocultures with perennial polycultures modelled on oak savanna, drawing on his Wisconsin farm. Readers finish able to design a staple-crop system of nut trees, fruit, and livestock and reason about its economics. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601730713?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, agriculture-environment, agricultural-science --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/sustainable-farming