Books in Life Sciences

Animals On the Farm with Tractor Tom and Friends

On the farm with Tractor Tom and friends. Look at the picture, point to the animal then make their noise! This easy to read book is the perfect introduction to the world of animals. Fun on the farm with Tractor Tom!

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Farm and Ranch Business Management

Developed with the cooperation of the National FFA Farm Business Management Contest Committee, this book remains the definite text on managing a farm or ranch on sound business principles. An important key to the survival of the farm and ranch is good business management. The new breed of farmer and rancher that is emerging must know how to apply management principles to their operation in order to make the most profit. They must be able to compete and win in a highly volatile worldwide commodity marketplace. Being able to do so requires extensive knowledge of all aspects of the business. Until the First Edition of this book, a serious gap existed in the quest for this knowledge. In response, Deere & Company developed Farm and Ranch Business Management. This was and is a basic book that is the first word on the subject. The experts, as a practical guide for the agribusiness manager, wrote it. It explains in plain English the principles and techniques that every farmer and rancher must know.

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Growing a Revolution Bringing Our Soil Back to Life

Finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award "A call to action that underscores a common goal: to change the world from the ground up." —Dan Barber, author of The Third Plate For centuries, agricultural practices have eroded the soil that farming depends on, stripping it of the organic matter vital to its productivity. Now conventional agriculture is threatening disaster for the world’s growing population. In Growing a Revolution, geologist David R. Montgomery travels the world, meeting farmers at the forefront of an agricultural movement to restore soil health. From Kansas to Ghana, he sees why adopting the three tenets of conservation agriculture—ditching the plow, planting cover crops, and growing a diversity of crops—is the solution. When farmers restore fertility to the land, this helps feed the world, cool the planet, reduce pollution, and return profitability to family farms.

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Hay and Forage Harvesting

Discusses purposes & uses of different types of hay & forage equipment. Gives theory of operation for each type of machine using color illustrations. Covers all types - mowers, conditioners, rakes, balers, handling systems, cubers, choppers, blowers, & forage harvesters. Explains new large-package hay-handling systems. Explains proper operation & field adjustments. Shows correct steps in maintenance, storage & troubleshooting. CONTENTS: Harvesting methods, planning of harvest, mowers & conditioners, windrowers, rakes, balers, bale wagons, large rollbalers, loose hay stack wagons, hay cubers, choppers, forage harvesters, forage wagons, forage blowers, field operation & adjustments, selection of equipment, comparing harvesting systems, management of total systems & glossary & tables.

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Machinery Management How to Select Machinery to Fit the Real Needs of Farm Managers

The ability to manage machinery is an important skill that must be mastered by farmers and ranchers who want to compete in our complex worldwide commodity marketplace. With the basic information in this book you can build a solid foundation of knowledge that can be used to make the most efficient machinery management decisions and help keep your business competitive. There is no substitute for personally solving a machinery management problem. You should not rely on the short cut methods of others when you make decisions that affect your business. The data and formulas in this text are based on the latest information available at the accuracy of your machinery management decisions. The book is divided into three sections. The first section covers the topic of how to become more efficient by matching machines and power units to different situations. Section Two gives information that can be used to estimate and analyze costs so better machinery management choices can be made. The final section gives several examples of the application of information contained in the first two sections to illustrate the value of making decisions on a sound, economical basis. Throughout this book, emphasis is placed on solving practical problems with either a computer or hand calculator. These problems are flagged in the book with a computer or calculator symbol. Whether you use a computer or a hand calculator, you will be pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of management decision that you can make, once you master these example problems.

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Managing Price Risk in Agricultural Commodity Markets

Managing Price Risk in Ag Commodity Markets is the definitive guide to risk management in today?s volatile agricultural markets. As we move toward the end of the decade and prepare for the 21st century, American farmers face a most uncertain marketplace. Unprecedented changes in farm policy and New World trade agreements are two of the more important reasons why change is assured. It will take a different set of management skills to be profitable in the new marketplace. If it was ever enough to be just an excellent producer, that time is past. The big challenge facing farmers now and in the future is to respond to and manage the risk associated with highly volatile prices. We can help you prepare for that challenge. This book will help farmers like you develop the ability to cope in an uncertain marketplace. It looks at marketing skills and savvy, and develops management strategies that can be used to ensure and protect profitability. Managing Price Risk in Ag Commodity Markets starts with a look at some of the major forces that are changing the marketplace. Then it demonstrates what price risk is and deals with why it is important to you, to the agribusiness firms from whom you buy inputs mean, and to the processors to whom you sell your commodities. Two broad considerations are kept to the ?how? and ?why? of the changing world marketplace. They are responsible for the increased price volatility and risk to American farmers. The first consideration is the 1996 Farm Bill, which changed farm policy in a dramatic way. The second goes back several years and deals with two very important trade agreements: the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT). These two important trade accords expose the American farmer to any and all of the forces that can bring uncertainty to commodity supplies and price variability around the world. The marketplace has indeed changed!

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Modeling of Repair and Maintenance Costs of 2WD Tractors in Iran Universal 650 - Massey Ferguson 285 - John Deere 3140 - John Deere 4955

Machinery ownership and operating costs represent substantial portion of total production expenses. Ownership costs include charges for depreciation, interest of investment, taxes, insurance and housing facilities. Operating costs include repair and maintenance (R&M), i.e. spare-parts, wages and lubricants. R&M costs of machinery are those expenditures necessary to restore or maintain technical soundness and reliability of the machine. Accurate prediction of R&M costs trends is critical to determine optimum economical life of machine and to make appropriate decisions for machinery replacements, and also for general farm management purposes. Since variation in R&M costs depends on site and time specifications, a general relationship can not be suggested. But prediction of these costs at an acceptable level can be made by fitting a regression model based on the previous data. Also, great variations in R&M costs between different tractor models, tractors and their operating conditions make it difficult to obtain meaningful generalized models. The scope of this book is to model accumulated R&M costs based on accumulated usage hours for some two wheel drive tractor models in Iran.

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