Book Reviews

"Modern industrial agriculture, authors Horne and McDermott tell us, is deservedly on trial. Although it has given us an abundance of food, in the process it continues to cause serious environmental, health, and safety problems that endanger our natural resources, future food supplies, and the well-being of farmers, rural communities, and eventually all citizens. The remedy, their book describes with conviction and clarity, is what people now call a 'sustainable agriculture. ' Written in an honest, down-to-earth style, this highly readable book gives us an insightful account of the struggles now underway to make sustainable agriculture a truly viable alternative to conventional farming. The authors' conviction is understandable and contagious."

Neill Schaller, PhD
Former Associate Director,
Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, Greenbelt, MD

"What kind of agriculture do we need, and how can farmers provide it? These are the two questions addressed in Horne and McDermott's book, The Next Green Revolution. The book begins with an indictment of our current industrial agriculture for failing to fulfill its fundamental responsibilities to the farmers who use it, to the natural environment that supports it, and to the society that depends upon it. While their case against industrial agricultural is convincing, this book is really about the remedy, a treatment that can cure the ills of industrialization – a sustainable agriculture.

The authors refer to sustainable agriculture as revolutionary thinking, which it truly is. They suggest that we can and must find ways to meet our needs while leaving equal or better opportunities for others, both of this generation and for all generations in the future. Pursuit of individual short-run self-interests will not protect the natural environment or ensure long-run societal well-being. We must make conscious, purposeful decisions to take care of other people, the natural environment, and ourselves as well.

The bulk of the book is devoted to eight practical steps that farmers can take to ensure a healthy, enduring agriculture. Perhaps the greatest contribution of this book is its down-to-earth, step-by-step approach to developing more sustainable farming systems. It gives farmers practical suggestions for increasing profits and reducing risks while regenerating the soil, protecting the environment, and being good neighbors. Horne and McDermott show us that sustainable farming is not only possible, it is also very practical."

John E. Ikerd, PhD
Professor Emeritus,
University of Missouri, Columbia

"James Horne tells his own story of how a sharecropper's son became a PhD agricultural economist and how his work with farmers led him to become a teacher, practitioner, and advocate in the search for more sustainable agricultural systems. By telling his personal story and vision, sandwiched with layers of practical information, Horne breathes life into the story of American agriculture, its history, triumphs, and tragedies.

Horne finds the full-time, small farmer – Jefferson's ideal citizen – as rare today 'as a Cadillac on an Oklahoma country road.' He builds a convincing case to show what America is losing by ignoring the social, economic, and ecological costs of these long-term and current trends in agriculture."

Lorraine Stuart Merrill, BS
Farmer and Agricultural Journalist,
Stratham, NH

"The Next Green Revolution by Jim Horne and Maura McDermott is a very timely, informative, and readable contribution to the future of agriculture and rural communities in the United States. This book speaks to mainstream farmers in a very effective manner. It offers a vision of a more successful agriculture that supports both farmers and rural communities, and an eight-step plan for achieving it.

The heart of the book is the eight chapters that spell out the eight steps, from conserving and creating healthy soil (step 1) to increasing profitability and reducing risk (step 8). Each chapter covers, in a very informative and engaging manner, the principles behind the recommended step (both scientific and practical) and the basics of implementation, including handy 'how-to' checklists for farmers. The specifics of implementation have to be tailored, of course, to the individual farm, which will require considerable on-farm experimentation.

This book provides an excellent and very accessible starting point and guidebook for any farmer who is considering making changes. It is richly illustrated throughout with first-person examples from Horne's lifetime of experience in farming and consulting on both conventional and alternative methods, and with scientific findings from the USDA and other sources.

In short, the book is a very readable overview and blueprint for farmers who want to improve both profits and stewardship, but should also be read by researchers, policymakers, and anyone who has an interest in the future of agriculture or rural America."

Jill Shore Auburn, PhD
Former Associate Director,
University of California
Sustainable Agriculture Program;
Currently with USDA

"One of the reasons American farmers have been slow to adopt organic and other forms of sustainable farming has been the lack of truly credible messengers. Knowledge and sincerity are not enough; farmers need to get the word from other farmers, and from those who, themselves, have faced the challenges of inclement weather and a capricious marketplace. They need to hear from someone who has gotten his hands dirty. Farmers will find such a messenger in Jim Horne.

Jim Horne was raised on a family farm in Western Oklahoma. He has spent a lifetime in agriculture as a rancher and advisor to farmers and the agricultural community. Today, he serves as the CEO of the well-respected Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Together with Maura McDermott, Horne has written a book that tells the story of his journey from a believer in and proponent of status quo industrial farming to a leadership role in the sustainable agricultural community. But The Next Green Revolution is more than a personal story and more than an indictment of modern American agriculture; it provides the reader with eight realistic and comprehendible steps that farmers and ranchers can undertake to make their operations more sustainable-both economically and ecologically. As such, it not only inspires, but gives the farmer practical guidance on how to begin the transition.

The Next Green Revolution is well written and replete with personal experiences, real-farm examples, and technical references. It is advisable reading not only for farmers, but also for policy makers and for anyone who works with farmers. It belongs on the reading list of every County Extension Agent and Farm Advisor in the Country.
George Kuepper, agriculture consultant, AMAZON.com book review

Book Review: The Next Green Revolution by Dan Nagengast

Those interested in sustainable farming methods have long had reason to lament the casualties from our increasingly industrialized food system. Fact of the matter is, it’s hard to find a non-casualty on the battlefield. The only winners seem to be corporate executives and faraway shareholders. No one has convinced me yet that the same quantities of food couldn’t or wouldn’t be grown if the whole structure of agriculture was revamped and farmers were paid for the risk they take and the food they grow.

I have been convinced that food quality would be a lot higher if animals were given wholesome conditions to grow in, reducing or eliminating rampant antibiotic use. And something deep in my soul questions the genetic manipulation, steroid use, hormonal stimulants and toxins which industrial agriculture says are indispensable to producing food. The public policy response to that kind of criticism is that rising waste lagoons will lift all ships. If that were true, agricultural America would be floating pretty high right now.

But these are all general notions I have. They’ve grown out of reading a lot of news stories and reports, and my understanding of human nature.

Then along comes a book by Jim Horne and Maura McDermott of the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Oklahoma, and we find that someone was collecting all those news stories and research documents and all that economic analysis and putting together a documented argument for sustainable agriculture. And if the logic, science and economics weren’t enough, the book is interlaced with tales of Jim’s youth coming up as the son of a cotton farmer in southwestern Oklahoma.

Through The Next Green Revolution: Essential Steps to a Healthy Sustainable Agriculture, by James E. Horne, PhD. and Maura McDermott, one sees the social loss that accompanied the industrialization of agriculture. What has happened to our society now that we can no longer offer a way of life which teaches thriftiness, self-sufficiency, and intuitive understanding of natural ecosystems? That social loss also encompasses neighborhoods and communities which were interlaced in every way imaginable; socially, by blood relation, economically, and in a less than perfect harmony with the natural world and the seasons. Yes, there were problems in dirt poor, farming America, but our century has been a consistent search for solutions which cause even greater disharmony.

So the question has to be asked. Why does a PhD agricultural economist have to write a book which reintroduces things such as the nutrient cycle, land management for water cycle, land management for water quality and conservation, recycling of livestock waste and a discussion of species introduction into ecosystems? The same land grant universities that did all the original research on these topics, went on to develop farming systems that fly in the face of their original research, creating systems which actively mine, waste or destroy natural resources. Well, an economist would know something about the engine driving that trend.

This book is long on research. It is well documented with a page or more of footnotes for each chapter. But it also provides answers. The final chapter comparatively illustrates not only where agriculture has gone, but where it could go if we as a society could start looking down the road, in both directions. What we have lost might be resurrected. Science can help us find a path. But those thinking of corralling as much money in as short a time as possible aren’t going to be the ones leading us there.

This book needs to be read by every person interested in how our grandchildren might live. It should be read by every land grant university administrator, every agronomy or animal science professor, every ag. economist. It’s all here, in a nutshell. The book is available from Haworth Press, 1-800-429-6784 for $27.96.

Ordering Information

Order hard or soft cover copies (up to 5 copies) of the book from the Kerr Center at special discount prices– soft: $25; hard: $50. Shipping and handling is $4 for the first book, $1.50 for each additional. ORDER

To order more than 5 copies contact Haworth Press at 1-800-HAWORTH, email: getinfo@haworthpressinc.com; web: http://www.haworthpressinc.com

Examination and review copies are available from Haworth Press. For special sales or catalog resale contact Margaret Tatich, sales manager at 607-722-5857 ext 340 or email mtatich@haworth pressinc.com

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