Are strong local food systems better for the environment than conventional food systems where relatively close proximity between points of production and consumption is not a defining characteristic? Despite growing support for efforts to strengthen local food systems, surprisingly little is known about the relationship of local food to environmental sustainability. In particular, the relationship of local food systems to the use of agricultural chemicals to manage pests, weeds and disease has not been a subject of systematic research. In this paper, I use longitudinal data from the US Census of Agriculture to explore whether growth in local food systems is associated with decreased on-farm use of agricultural chemicals. Drawing on county-level data from 1997 to 2012, I find that an increase in the strength of local food systems—whether measured as the number of farms that market products directly to consumers, or as the total value of direct market products—has been broadly associated with a decrease in spending on agricultural chemicals in the USA as a whole. But the magnitude of the relationship between direct marketing to consumers and changes in agricultural chemical use has dwindled over time, to the point where it is not clear whether contemporary local food systems are still incentivizing farmers to reduce their use of pesticides. Overall, this study lends new credence to the idea that robust local food systems can benefit the environment. But even where just one dimension of agriculture's impact on the environment is concerned, the characteristics of local food systems appear to have varied over time—a qualification that argues strongly for further research into the relationship of local food to agricultural practice.

Tubificid worms that live in the paddy mud increase in numbers when an organic fertilizer is applied. They mix the soil by passing it through their gut as well as by their burrowing and respiratory movements, thereby checking the sprouting of paddy weeds. Tubificids inhabiting the pond's mud also serve as fish food. It is suggested that such a pond might be appropriate for aquaculture.

This study considers a method to control paddy field ecosystems based on the above to produce rice and freshwater fish, with organic fertilizers but without the use of herbicides and insecticides.

Introduction. Plusieurs facteurs peuvent contribuer à l'obtention des niveaux excessifs de nouaison chez le pommier. Cette nouaison excessive aboutit généralement à l'obtention de fruits de petit calibre et de qualité médiocre et peut accentuer le phénomène d'alternance. Les travaux présentés ont permis de tester différents traitements d'éclaircissage chimique adaptés aux conditions marocaines. Matériel et méthodes. Deux produits chimiques ont été testés à deux concentrations différentes chacun : l'acide naphtalène acétique (ANA) à (1,0 et 1,5) g$\cdot$100 L-1 et le N-méthyl carbamate de napthyl-1 (carbaryl) à (80 et 100) g$\cdot$100 L-1, sur deux variétés de pommier couramment cultivées au Maroc : `Golden Smoothee' et `Ozark Gold'. Les traitements témoins ont été constitués par des pommiers éclaircis manuellement ou non éclaircis. Les produits ont été appliqués sur des fruits au stade de (10 à 12) mm de diamètre, soit 17 j après pleine floraison. Résultats. Les résultats d'éclaircissage ont varié avec la variété, le produit utilisé et sa concentration. Cette variation s'est manifestée sur l'évolution de la chute des fruits, la proportion de corymbes portant moins de quatre fruits, le rendement et le calibre du fruit. L'éclaircissage a été plus satisfaisant pour `Ozark Gold' que pour `Golden Smoothee' et pour le carbaryl que pour l'ANA. Conclusion. Le carbaryl à 100 g$\cdot$100 L-1 a donné de très bons résultats, notamment sur `Ozark Gold'. Il a permis d'obtenir des taux de chute de fruits, des proportions de corymbes à peu de fruits et de fruits de calibre supérieur, ainsi qu'un rendement quantitatif équivalents à ceux obtenus sur les plants témoins éclaircis manuellement.

Control of agricultural policymaking by the “agricultural establishment” has been challenged by a wide range of interests concerned with the externalities of modern industrialized agriculture. An “externalities/alternatives” or “ex/al” coalition appears to be an emerging force in agricultural policy debates. We surveyed three alternative agriculture groups, three conventional agriculture groups, and a statewide sample of farmers to learn whether each category forms a distinct, unified interest group whose perspectives on agricultural policy diverge substantially from the others'. There is considerable similarity among the alternative agriculture groups and among the conventional agriculture groups, the differences between them being much greater than the differences within each category. The statewide farmer sample is generally intermediate between the two sets of interest groups, but is closer to the conventional perspective on most issues.

Impediments to agricultural change extend beyond lack of appropriate research and the federal farm program to addiction to use of agricultural chemicals. Several recent trends in American agriculture have been caused by or have resulted in dependence on agricultural chemicals. They include the continuing separation of livestock from farms, farm size, separation of ownership and farming of the land, discontinuity of learned procedures, part-time farming, and certain aspects of noxious perennial weeds. This implies that prospects for agricultural change are related to the trends with which they are associated.