Grassland

Grassland: Quietness and Strength for a New American Agriculture takes on the task of increasing our awareness of the vital role grass and grassland plants have in ensuring a sustainable future for America. Geared toward agriculturists, students, the public, and policy makers, Grassland aims to inspire and provide the reader the foundation needed to move into the future. Three main sections track the history of grassland farming, highlighting the voices of grassland advocates examine the current roles that grassland plays throughout the United States look at the benefits grass-based agriculture can provide when grass is treated as an essential resource As Wendell Berry so eloquently argues in the foreword to Grassland, "True farmers have minds that are complex and responsible. . . . They understand and honor their debts to nature. They understand and honor their obligations to neighbors and consumers. They understand and respect the land's need to be protected from washing. . . . In the time that is coming, we are going to need many more such farmers than we have, and we will need them much sooner than we can expect to get them. We will get them only to the extent that young people come along who are willing to fit their farming to the nature of their farms and their home landscapes, and who recognize the paramount importance of grass and grazing animals to good farming everywhere." This book will help that happen.

Foreword ix Wendell Berry Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv Contributors xvii Part One Past is Prologue 1 Grass in the Timeline of Agriculture 3 Frederick Kirschenmann, Terry Gompert, and Allen Williams 2 H. A. Wallace, J. J. Ingalls, O. S. Aamodt, and Other Voices of the 19th and 20th Centuries 15 Vivien Gore Allen and John Herschel Fike 3 Reflections from Grass: The 1948 Yearbook of Agriculture 29 Walter F. Wedin and Steven L. Fales Part Two The Present: Transitions over 60 Years 4 Grassland: Definition, Origins, Extent, and Future 57 Matt A. Sanderson, David Wedin, and Ben Tracy 5 The Western United States Rangelands: A Major Resource 75 Kris Havstad, Debra Peters, Barbara Allen-Diaz, James Bartolome, Brandon Bestelmeyer, David Briske, Joel Brown, Mark Brunson, Jeff Herrick, Lynn Huntsinger, Patricia Johnson, Linda Joyce, Rex Pieper, Tony Svejcar, and Jin Yao 6 Grazinglands, Forages, and Livestock in Humid Regions 95 Craig C. Sheaffer, Lynn E. Sollenberger, Marvin H. Hall, Charles P. West, and David B. Hannaway 7 Grass-based Farming Systems: Soil Conservation and Environmental Quality 121 Jeremy W. Singer, Alan J. Franzluebbers, and Douglas L. Karlen 8 Urban, Suburban, and Rural Amenities of Grass 137 A. J. Turgeon Part Three The Forward Look: Opportunities and Challenges 9 Grasses and Legumes: Genetics and Plant Breeding 157 E. Charles Brummer, Joseph H. Bouton, Michael D. Casler, Mark H. McCaslin, and Blair L. Waldron 10 People, Grassland, and Livestock in Revitalized Rural Communities 173 Paul Lasley, Maynard Hogberg, Zane Helsel, and Andrew Larson 11 Grass and Human Nutrition 189 Heather D. Karsten and David J. Baer 12 Grasses and Legumes for Cellulosic Bioenergy 205 M. D. Casler, E. Heaton, K. J. Shinners, H. G. Jung, P. J. Weimer, M. A. Liebig, R. B. Mitchell, and M. F. Digman 13 Grasses and Legumes for Bio-based Products 221 Paul J. Weimer and J. Bradley Morris 14 The Road Ahead: Policy, Programs, and Progress 235 D. J. Undersander, J. H. Bouton, and M. A. Massengale Index 249