Tag Archives: Agriculture

Databases, Library News

June is Great Outdoors month

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Gene Stratton-Porter Arbor, Rome City, IN. Photo courtesy of Nicole Treesh

Before you head outdoors, come into the Library and check out our resources for outdoor recreation, outdoor research, and outdoor careers. We have suggestions for all ages and interests:

  • Outdoor activities for kids in Fort Wayne City
  • Guides to Indiana State Parks, and National Parks
  • Wildlife and woodlot management
  • River, lakes, and wetlands ecology

Did you know that public parks are the sites of many, and various, research projects? Check out our showcase of articles, including studies of glaciers, slime molds, predator-prey ecology, erosion control, pest control, human behavior, health effects of outdoor recreation, and more.

You can access data from national parks by visiting the websites of the National Park Service. For photographs and other non-text artifacts, use https://museum.nps.gov For texts (research reports, teaching resources, maps, etc.) use the NPS Library website – it is clunky but has links out to all the parks.

A great new resource is the Open Parks Network. When complete, this database will link all the National Parks digitized collections; currently, representation is mostly from the southeast. Users can search in this one place to find collections of interest, rather than going to multiple websites. For example: Civil War maps from Fort Sumter, moths of Congaree National Park, political memorabilia from the Jimmy Carter National Historic site. Also linked are research reports by national parks staff.

Remember, our databases can be accessed 24/7/365 so you can take your reading with you to the beach, woods, or Indiana State Parks.

Books can be checked out when the library is open. Our summer semester hours are:

  • Mondays-Thursdays 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.
  • Fridays 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

See you on the trails!

Pepper, an elderly Cairn Terrier, enjoys the River Greenway. Photo by Ann Spinney.
Books, Events, Journals & Articles, School of Advanced Manufacturing , Engineering, and Applied Technology, School of Business, Logistics & Supply Chain, School of Public Affairs & Social Services, Websites

March is Frozen Food Month

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An email from the Census Bureau alerted us that March is “Frozen Food Month.” Frozen food is easy to cook, but a complex topic. The frozen food industry was born in the USA and continues to develop globally, involving agriculture, food science, logistics, and refrigeration engineering – all subjects taught here at Ivy Tech Fort Wayne.

Frozen foods have both responded to, and influenced, our culture; from the way we cook to our transportation infrastructure. The contribution of this industry to our economy is massive. We have assembled some statistics in our library displays marking this month.

Tucked in among the charts, books, and journals are some themed treats, while supplies last … and yes, you can chew gum at the computers!

 

Databases, Events, Websites

November’s Commemorations

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The month of November seems especially rich in historical commemorations, starting on November 1st when Christians celebrate All Saints Day. Guy Fawkes Day on November 5th recalls England’s struggle for religious freedom, and November 19th is the anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address during the American Civil War. During this month we honor our Native American heritage, especially on Thanksgiving; hold elections; and honor our veterans. The Library of Congress has many resources for students of all ages to explore these topics.

A newly digitized collection of 14 historical newspapers published in Native communities is gathered in the database Chronicling America. These range from coast to coast and cover nearly a century: 1828 to 1922. Many include transcriptions in Native languages along with English language articles that reveal the points of view and concerns of their communities. Try reading the Cherokee writing that Sequoya invented!

Veterans’ Day was originally Armistice Day, celebrating the end of the Great War, which later became known as World War I. November 11th, 2018 will mark 100 years since the cessation of hostilities.  Several divisions of the Library of Congress have contributed short introductions highlighting items from their collections relevant to this occasion.

One of the most moving eulogies to veterans is President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. View an autograph manuscript copy from the Library of Congress collections.

We have books on all these topics available for checkout. This month we are displaying children’s books on Native American heritage and Thanksgiving. As you enter the library, look over our showcase of Agriculture resources in the hallway. We hope to see you soon!

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Books, School of Advanced Manufacturing , Engineering, and Applied Technology

Essential Native Trees and Shrubs for the Eastern United States

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The Guide to Creating a Sustainable Landscape

Call number: QK 115 .D68 2018  View Record in IvyCat

The organization of this book is praised as uniquely useful; your reviewer agrees! While providing a wealth of details based on extensive trials and natural settings, the entries in this guide allow for at-a-glance assessment of species. Sustainable landscaping is a hot topic, and this book will assist professionals or amateurs to choose major plantings with confidence. Includes sources and index.

Databases, Featured Materials, Updates, Websites

Indiana has a new State Insect

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Last week Governor Holcomb signed legislation making Say’s Firefly our first official State Insect. Say’s Firefly is named after noted Hoosier entomologist Thomas Say. Read all about it on the Indiana Department of Natural Resources website, where you can subscribe for updates about all things relating to nature, and download an app that is great for exploring our State parks. Find out more about Thomas Say from our database Biography in Context.

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Featured Materials, Videos

Of the Land DVD

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New technologies and scientific discoveries have given rise to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). While such advancements are usually considered forward steps, traditional, organic farmers have been under attack by large corporate farming interests seeking to dominate the food industry. Family farms, and specifically organic operations, are being forced out of business and pushed out of the way in pursuit of corporate profits.

Large chemical companies (Monsanto and Syngenta as examples) own patents on their GMO technology and focus much of their efforts on suing smaller farmers for patent infringement. Traditional, organic farmers, have consistently been under attack by these large corporate farming interests, who seek to dominate the food industry and run family farms out of business.

OF THE LAND looks at our current food supply as well as a variety of organic options available to consumers who want to support sustainable farming methods. It is not just about the fight, it is about potential solutions and available options. It is about choice, family, children and future. OF THE LAND looks at a variety of smaller, organic farming models, and traditional farming methods as options to combat the new GMO dominated industrial revolution.

Call number: S 494.5 .B563 O296 2015 

Books

Precision Farming: Soil Fertility and Productivity Aspects / K. R. Krishna

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Call number: S494.5 P73 K75 2013

Precision farming involves soil fertility and crop growth monitoring, electronic equipment, remote sensing, global information and positioning systems, computer models, decision support systems, variable-rate technology, and accurate recordkeeping. This book on precision techniques provides valuable information on instrumentation and methodology. It discusses the impact of precision techniques on soil fertility, nutrient dynamics, and crop productivity and highlights the application of GPS techniques to regulate fertilizer supply based on soil nutrient distribution and yield goals set by farmers. The book considers advances and examples from different agroecosystems from all continents.

Books

Looking ahead in world food and agriculture : perspectives to 2050 / edited by Piero Conforti

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Call Number: HD9000.5 .L655 2011

Are the natural resources available sufficient to feed a growing population? What are the priority areas where investment and research should be directed? How may the use of agricultural products in biofuel production affect markets? How can climate change affect production possibilities and markets? Around these questions, in 2009, FAO organized a High-Level Expert Meeting on How to Feed the World in 2050. This volume follows up on that initiative, by gathering updated versions of technical materials prepared for the occasion, along with further work. The book seeks to sustain the debate on the future of the global agricultural and food economy. Its contents were designed to interest both a technical audience and a wider range of professionals working around the world in areas related to agriculture, in both public and private institutions.

(From Google Books)

Books

6. Get Great Gardening Tips

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Container Gardening : 250 Design Ideas & Step-by-Step Techniques is for people who don’t have space or time for traditional gardening and who need expert advice on choosing and using plants and containers to create their own garden, large or small. At long last, this is a smart and sensible gardening guide from the most trusted name in gardening. Compiled from the pages of Fine Gardening magazine, Container Gardening will inspire readers with dramatic plant combinations as well as provide step-by-step techniques to plant and care for containers under all conditions.

The Rain Garden Planner : Seven Steps to Conserving and Managing Water in the Garden  encourages the homeowner to conserve water by restoring natural processes that filter and return water to groundwater reservoirs. Learn the installation and maintenance of rain gardens. The Rain Garden Planner provides garden plans and plant lists for different conditions and styles, including wildlife habitat, a pretty cottage border, and a formal garden. It also discusses community gardens, ways that individuals can do their part in conservation, and provides many resources for further information. Rain gardens to suit any style or size of property are within the reach of anyone. Create a beautiful and enjoyable home garden while saving water and the natural environment.

Books

How the government got in your backyard : superweeds, frankenfoods, lawn wars, and the (nonpartisan) truth about environmental policies / Jeff Gillman and Eric Heberlig

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Call number: GE180 .G54 2011

Biotechnology–the future or a genetic time bomb? Renewable fuels–the key to cleaner air or just corporate welfare? Greenhouse gasses–baking the earth to death or just a needless worry? Plant patents improving gardens and farms or just profiteering? When you stop to think about it, the government has its hand in every important environmental issue. And with the left and the right raucously disagreeing about whether the government’s policies are for good or for evil, it’s impossible for a concerned citizen to know what to think. How the Government Got in Your Backyard distills the science, the politics, and the unbiased, nonpartisan truth behind hot-button environmental issues from pesticides to global warming.
By clearly representing what the left says, what the right says, what the science is, and what the facts are, Gillman and Heberlig don’t set out to provide the answer they light the path so concerned citizens can uncover their own true and informed opinion. In this season of political discontent, the unbiased truth about environmental policies free of political agendas is as refreshing as it is fascinating. How the Government Got in Your Backyard is not for Republicans or Democrats, liberals or conservatives. It’s for anyone who is ready to get to the bottom line. (From Google Books)