ECOLOGICAL FARMING RESOURCES

From practical videos to scientific studies, we’ve gathered a variety of resources to help farmers enhance ecological practices on their farm. Grow food while increasing biodiversity, reducing GHG emissions, sequestering carbon in the soil and conserving natural resources like water and topsoil.

Compost:

On Farm Composting Video

This video explores on-farm composting, including a brief overview of California’s new best management practices mandate for on-farm composting as well as the food safety and organic requirements. Hear from

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How to Add Compost on Your Small Farm

Compost provides nutrients to plants, improves soil structure, increases water holding capacity, and suppresses root diseases by supporting benefi cial microorganisms in the soil. It also helps improve porosity and

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Building Soils for Better Crops

Building Soils for Better Crops is a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management, now expanded and in full color. It provides step-by-step information on soil-improving practices as well as in-depth

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Compost Science Webinar

Originally aired March 8, 2017 | Composting is both an art and a science. For some, composting is a passion and an emotional experience, but often when we start thinking

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Cover Crops

Managing Cover Crops Profitably

SARE’s publication is available free for download and is a comprehensive and practical resource with recommended species by U.S. region, a section on management in conservation tillage systems, soil fertility,

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Grazing Cover Crops

How to manage livestock with adaptive grazing on cover cropped land, from the Wallace Center. The use of cover crops in row crop farming is becoming increasingly popular. According to

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Cover Cropping in Vineyards

The use of cover crops can yield substantial benefits or be the source of unforeseen problems or drawbacks. The choice of which species to sow, as well as the decision

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Building Soils for Better Crops

Building Soils for Better Crops is a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management, now expanded and in full color. It provides step-by-step information on soil-improving practices as well as in-depth

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Cover Crop Economics

When it comes to making the big decisions about managing a farm, whether it’s to grow a new crop, buy an expensive piece of equipment or upgrade infrastructure, farmers are business people

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Cover Crops Database

Cover crops can be broadly defined as any non-cash crop grown in addition to the primary cash crop.  They have the potential to increase soil organic matter (SOM), protect the

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Bio-Intensive No-Till

Building Soils for Better Crops

Building Soils for Better Crops is a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management, now expanded and in full color. It provides step-by-step information on soil-improving practices as well as in-depth

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Integrated Crop & Livestock Systems

fire and agriculture logo

5 Key Wildfire Resilience Practices

It’s not always obvious that some of the ecological farming practices used frequently by farmers, also provide wildfire protection and recovery benefits. Check out the infographic below which was developed

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Grazing Cover Crops

How to manage livestock with adaptive grazing on cover cropped land, from the Wallace Center. The use of cover crops in row crop farming is becoming increasingly popular. According to

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Integrating Livestock and Crops

Traditional farms relied on livestock to maintain soil fertility and to use plant material that would otherwise have been wasted. Modern agriculture has tended to favor specialization, leading to large

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Hedgerows & Farmscaping

Hedgerows: Enhancing Agroecological Services

Hedgerows are linear assemblages of trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses densely planted along the borders of fields. Hedgerows provide multiple services including windbreak, erosion control, restoration of biodiversity, pollination, and

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Hedgerow Farms Case Study

John Anderson’s love of wildlife and concern about disappearing wildlife habitats is what drove him to become a farmer. He and his wife Marsha bought their Yolo County farm in

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Other Ecological Farming Resources