Rainfed Farming Systems

Today’s environmental pressures make it more vital than ever to re-assess the value of rain-fed farming systems and find ways to improve their long-term productivity, profitability and sustainability. This well timed analytical volume does precisely that.

While a good grasp of the many separate aspects of agriculture is important, it is equally essential for all those involved in agriculture to understand the functioning of the farming system as a whole and how it can be best managed.  It is necessary to re-assess and understand rain-fed farming systems around the world and to find ways to improve the selection, design and operation of such systems for long term productivity, profitability and sustainability. The components of the system must operate together efficiently; yet many of the relationships and interactions are not clearly understood.  Appreciation of these matters and how they are affected by external influences or inputs are important for decision making and for achieving desirable outcomes for the farm as a whole.  This book analyses common rain-fed farming systems and defines the principles and practices important to their effective functioning and management.

Preface.- Foreword.- 1. Principles of a Systems Approach to Agriculture.- 2. Types of Rainfed Farming Systems Around the World.- 3. A Systems Approach to Climate Risk in Rainfed Farming Systems.- 4. Water Availability and Use in Rainfed Farming Systems.-  5. Plant Nutrient Management in Rainfed Farming Systems.- 6. Principles and Management of Soil Biological Factors for Sustainable Rainfed Farming Systems.- 7. Technological Change in Rainfed Farming Systems.- 8. Weed Management in Rainfed Agricultural Systems.- 9. Principles and Methods for Sustainable Disease Management in Rainfed Agricultural Systems.- 10. Sustainable Pest Management in Rainfed Farming Systems.- 11. Interactions Between Crop and Livestock Activities in Rainfed Farming Systems.- 12. Economic and Social Influences on the Nature, Functioning and Sustainability of Rainfed Farming Systems.- 13. Farming Systems Design.- 14. Soil Organic Carbon – Role in Rainfed Farming Systems.- 15. Rainfed Farming Systems in the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) Region.- 16. Rainfed Farming Systems in South Africa.- 17. Farming Systems, Emerging Farmers and Land Reform in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.- 18. Modernisation of Eritrean Rainfed Farming Systems Through a Conservation Farming Systems Approach.- 19. Rainfed Farming Systems on the Canadian Prairies.- 20. Rainfed Farming Systems in the USA.- 21. Rainfed Agroecosystems in South America.- 22. Important Rainfed Farming Systems of South Asia.- 23. Rainfed Farming Systems in the Loess Plateau of China.- 24. Farming Systems in the Valleys of Central Tibet.- 25. Rainfed Farming Systems of North-Eastern Australia.- 26. Diversity and Evolution of Rainfed Farming Systems in southern Australia.- 27. Using Monitoring and Evaluation for Continuous Improvement of Rainfed Farming Systems.- 28. More from Less – Improvements in Precipitation Use Efficiency in Western Australian Wheat Production.- 29. Transforming Farming Systems: Expanding the Production of Soybeans in Ontario.- 30. The Social Dimensions of Mixed Farming Systems.- 31. A Study in the Development of a Farm System on the Canadian Prairies.- 32. Improving Traditional Crop-Pasture Farming Systems with Lucerne South Eastern Australia.- 33. Use of Conservation Agriculture to Improve Farming Systems in Developing Countries.- 34. Using Conservation Agriculture and Precision Agriculture to Improve a Farming System.- 35. Risk Management Strategies and Decision Support Systems in Agriculture.- 36. The Emergence of ‘Farming Systems’ Approaches to Grains Research, Development and Extension.- 37. Farmer Decision-Making in Rainfed Farming Systems.- 38. When Culture and Science Meet, the Tension Can Mount.- 39. Advances in No-Till Farming Technologies and Soil Compaction Management in Rainfed Farming Systems.- 40. No-Tillage Agriculture in West Asia & North Africa.- 41. A Comparison of Three Farms in South Australia.- 42. Ruradene, South Australia.- 43. Lindene.- 44. Developmentsin a Mixed Farming System in Southern New South Wales, Australia.- 45. The Development and Operation of No-Till Farming in Northern New South Wales (NSW), Australia.- 46. Farming System Development in North-Central Victoria.- 47. The Jochinke Farm; David Jochinke.- 48. The Halford Farm.- 49. Four Farms in the USA.- 50. Summing Up.- Glossary.- Index