Agricultural credit card innovation : the case of Financiera Trisan / Mark D. Wenner, Rodolfo Quirós. p. cm. (Sustainable Development Dept. Best practices series ; MIC-107) Includes bibliographical references.

Introduction One option for sequestering carbon in the terrestrial biosphere is to increase the carbon (C) stocks in agricultural soils. There is now an extensive literature on the amount of C that has been lost from soils as a consequence of humans disturbing natural ecosystems, and of the amount of C that might be returned to soils with improved management practices. Improvements in managemen...

The paper investigates the value of using distinct vegetation indices to quantify and characterize agricultural crop characteristics at different growth stages. Research was conducted on four crops (corn, soybean, wheat, and canola) over eight years grown under different tillage practices and nitrogen management practices that varied rate and timing. Six different vegetation indices were found ...

In recent years, accidents in food quality & safety frequently occur, and more and more people have begun to think highly of food quality & safety and encourage food producers to be able to trace the origin of ingredients and process of production along the supply chain. With the development of IT, more and more practices have shown that the supply chain of agricultural products should rely on ...

A clear understanding of a model is important for its appropriate use. In this article, eleven watershed scale hydrologic and nonpoint-source pollution models are reviewed: AGNPS, AnnAGNPS, ANSWERS, ANSWERS-Continuous, CASC2D, DWSM, HSPF, KINEROS, MIKE SHE, PRMS, and SWAT. AnnAGNPS, ANSWERS-Continuous, HSPF, and SWAT are continuous simulation models useful for analyzing long-term effects of hyd...

Excessive nutrients transported from the Mississippi River Basin (MRB) have created a hypoxic zone within the Gulf of Mexico, with numerous negative ecological effects. Furthermore, federal expenditures on agricultural conservation practices have received intense scrutiny in recent years. Partly driven by these factors, the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) recently completed ...

Background: Changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks significantly influence the atmospheric C concentration. Agricultural management practices that increase SOC stocks thus may have profound effects on climate mitigation. Additional benefits include higher soil fertility since increased SOC stocks improve the physical and biological properties of the soil. Intensification of agriculture and...

Agriculture in the United States faces major challenges for the 21st Century; it is at a pivotal stage in terms of integrating societal demands for sustainability and enhanced quality of life from agricultural lands. A growing understanding that farms play key roles in provisioning a wide range of ecosystem services is converging with a surge in public interest in the sustainability of farming ...