Developing and Extending Sustainable Agriculture: A New Social Contract explores the challenges faced by today's farmers and ranchers to provide practical strategies to develop a twenty-first century system of sustainable agriculture that is economically sound, environmentally compatible, and socially acceptable. This comprehensive look at the current state of farming and ranching presents leading authorities discussing concepts and approaches in sustainable agriculture such as crop rotations, integrated pest management, alternative sources of nutrients to maintain productivity, and rotational grazing systems.

About the Editors,, Contributors,, Foreword (James Ian Gray and Fred L. Poston),, Preface,, Chapter 1. Overview of the Educational Social Contract: Building a Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (Ray P. Poincelot, Charles A. Francis, and George W. Bird),, Introduction,, Evolving Role of Extension,, Industrial Agriculture and Family Farming,, Building an Appropriate Information Foundation,, Mainstream Activities in Sustainable Agriculture,, Closing the Loop: Educating the Consumer,, Renewing the Contract,, Chapter 2. Integrated Pest Management, Ecoliteracy, and Unexpected Consequences (George W. Bird and Michael J. Brewer),, Introduction,, Nature of IPM,, Monitoring and Evaluation,, State IPM Program Coordinator Observations,, Management Strategies and Tactics,, IPM Program Implementation,, IPM Program Resiliency,, IPM Tactics for Resiliency,, Multiple Benefits of IPM Tactics,, Economics of IPM,, Ecoliteracy,, Law of Unexpected Consequences,, Chapter 3. Soil Management in Sustainable Production Systems (Kent McVay),, Soil Development in Modern History,, Reasons and Goals,, Use of Cover Crops,, Cropping Systems That Mimic a Natural Environment,, Maintaining a Living Soil,, Earthworms,, Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizae,, Soil Management and Soil Quality,, Enhancing Environmental Quality and Productivity,, Chapter 4. Managed Grazing in Sustainable Farming Systems (Terry Gompert),, Introduction,, Why Promote Managed Grazing?,, What Do We Graze?,, What Ec