LibGuides: Agriculture & Food: Ag: DVD, Web, etc.

DVDs in the Library Catalog

Basic training for tree climbers by National Arborist Association
Call Number: DVD SB435.85.B37 1999
Publication Date: 1999
Chainsaw safety, maintenance and cutting techniques by International Society of Arboriculture five short films on the safe use and maintenance of chain saws.
Call Number: DVD TJ1233.C4835 2006
Publication Date: 2006
Dirt! The Movie by Benenson, Bill Featuring live action and animation, this movie examines the history and current state of the living organic matter that we come from and will later return to.
Call Number: DVD S591.D57 2009
Publication Date: 2009
Entrenamiento basico para operaciones en tierra en el cuidado de arboles by Peter Gerstenberger
Call Number: DVD SB435.8.E58 2007
Publication Date: 2007
The Future of Food by Deborah Koons Garcia Documents the trend of unlabeled genetically-modified foods which have become increasingly prevalent in grocery stores. Unravels the complex web of market and political forces that are changing the nature of what we eat. Explores organic and sustainable agriculture as alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture.
Call Number: DVD TP248.65.F66F88 2007
Publication Date: 2007
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Schwarz "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These simple words go to the heart of food journalist Pollan's thesis. Humans used to know how to eat well, he argues, but the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientists, and journalists. As a result, we face today a complex culinary landscape dense with bad advice and foods that are not "real." Indeed, plain old eating is being replaced by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention our meals. Pollan's advice is: "Don't eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as food." Looking at what science does and does not know about diet and health, he proposes a new way to think about what to eat, informed by ecology and tradition rather than by the nutrient-by-nutrient approach
Call Number: DVD RA784 .I53 2016
Publication Date: 2016
Natural beekeeping with Ross Conrad by Ross Conrad Vermont beekeeper, Ross Conrad, proposes a program of selective breeding and natural hive management. The video presents a comprehensive survey of natural beekeeping methods and challenges.
Call Number: DVD SF523.N38 2012
Publication Date: 2012
Recognizing the horse in pain . . . and what you can do about it : the DVD by Joanna L. Robson presents an informative and detailed look at how to: recognize signs of back pain and conformational changes resulting from chronic pain ; understand how saddle fit affects your horse's performance, and fit your own saddle ; see how the rider and training equipment affect the horse ; understand veterinary spinal manipulative therapy, veterinary acupuncture, and infrared thermography.
Call Number: DVD SF951.R63 2009
Publication Date: 2009
Utility pruning by Kevin Eckert Emphasizes proper techniques for pruning near utility conductors to increase safety, efficiency, and cost effectiveness. Examples are shown of improper line-clearance pruning, severe waterspout growth, limb interference with conductors, and dead or dying trees. Proper tools and their use are described and shown in use, and correct techniques are demonstrated.
Call Number: DVD SB435.76.U85 2010
Publication Date: 2010
Vanishing of the Bees by George Langworthy Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon threatens the loss of much more than honey as we depend on honeybees to pollinate one third of the food on our tables. Vanishing of the bees chronicles the innermost thoughts and feelings of beekeepers and scientists as they fight to preserve the honeybee and make it through another day. Featuring experts like author Michael Pollan, the film also presents a platform of solutions, encouraging audiences to be the change they want to see in the world.
Call Number: DVD SF538.5.C65V36 2010
Publication Date: 2010

Statistics

FAOSTAT
from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
NASS: Agricultural Statistics
Annual compilation from the NASS
NASS: Census of Agriculture
USDA Economic Research Service

Websites

Ag Energy: Agricultural Energy Curriculum
American Dairy Science Association
AquaFish Collaborative Research Support Program
Big Trees
Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources
Countryside Classroom: Teaching Resources Educators may appreciate Countryside Classroom, where they will find over three hundred free teaching resources centered around "themes of food, farming, and the natural environment." Countryside Classroom is a UK-based educational resource portal managed by the nonprofit LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) Education on behalf of over thirty partner organizations. Their collection of well-organized guides, case studies, and other materials has an easy-to-use search interface where readers can narrow their search results by a variety of fields. Target age groups range from as young as 3-4 years old to 16+, and the collection includes resources applicable to a wide range of academic subjects, such as music and business, as well as nutrition and geography. Readers in the UK may also want to check out the rest of the Countryside Classroom website, which offers information about potential field trip locations and individuals and organizations available for advice.
FDA Animal & Veterinary Topics
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Food in the West: A Timeline, 1700-2001 This culinary-themed timeline was created by students in a "Foundations of Western Civilization" class taught by Utah State University professor Julia Gossard. Here, visitors can learn about major culinary trends -- including trends related to food, drink, feasts, and agriculture -- from the Ancien regime through the present day. For instance, one stop on the timeline, Enlightenment Desserts, notes the growing popularity of chocolate in Enlightenment-era Europe. Another timeline entry, "Fear of the Tomato in Italy," reveals that during the late eighteenth century, some Europeans grew to fear tomatoes because, curiously, a number of individuals grew seriously (sometimes fatally) ill after eating the fruit. The true culprit was lead, which was often included in fine dishware of the day. As the entry explains, "tomatoes would draw out the lead that was in their dish and would eventually poison" wealthy diners who ate from plates containing lead. Other entries address the Irish Potato Famine, the advent of processed cheese, and the invention of the chocolate chip cookie.
Harvest Public Media Readers interested in issues related to food, agriculture, and energy may enjoy Harvest Public Media. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, this resource is a public media collaboration that aims to "provide in-depth and unbiased reporting on things like climate change, food safety, biofuel production, animal welfare, water quality, and sustainability." Recent topics covered by Harvest Public Media include the growing popularity of electric cars and what that might mean for the ethanol-producing Corn Belt; a multi-part exploration of the trade war between the US and China; contemporary challenges of rural life, such as hospital closures and the need for better internet access; and an International Space Station experiment designed by Kansas middle-schoolers to find out whether or not mint will grow in space. Multiple new stories are generally added to Harvest Public Media each week, with most of their reports getting their start as radio stories airing on one of their many partner stations, which are then expanded to include an online component. Launched in 2010 by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Harvest Public Media is largely supported by its partner stations operating throughout the Midwestern United States.
Natural Resources Conservation Service - Idaho
NOAA-FishWatch
U.S. seafood facts
Pollinator Conservation Resource Center Readers interested in bees and other pollinators may appreciate the Pollinator Conservation Resource Center. This collection of resources is offered by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a science-based international nonprofit that "protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats." Visitors to the Pollinator Conservation Resource Center will find an abundant collection of links to pollinator information, organized regionally and covering the continental US and Canada. Clicking the desired region on the map leads to an assembly of resources curated specifically for that region. For example, under the Great Lakes region, readers will find links to recommended pollinator plants, conservation guides, numerous native pollinator plant nurseries and seed companies, resources for bee species identification and monitoring, and policy information. There is also a set of national resources. Many of the resources were created by the Xerces Society in collaboration with local universities, while others were produced by universities or by government agencies. The Pollinator Conservation Resource Center itself is a collaboration between the Xerces Society and the Neal Williams Lab at the University of California, Davis.
Pollinators (National Park Service) The National Park Service has created an online guide to some of nature's most prominent pollinators, including hummingbirds, monarch butterflies, and bees. As the site notes, "More than 75 percent of the Earth's flowering plants depend on bees, butterflies, birds, bats, and other pollinators. Yet scientists have noted that these hardworking insects and other animals are in trouble." A number of factors threaten pollinators, including climate change, pesticide use, and the introduction of non-native species into their habitats. On this website, visitors can learn more about the important role pollinators play in ecosystems around the world and learn about the traits of specific pollinators. In the know your pollinators section, readers can read short articles about specific species and national parks. This website is a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about different kinds of pollinators or about the widespread impact of global climate change.
Rangeland Soil Quality
from Natural Resources Conservation Service
Soil Biology Primer
from Natural Resources Conservation Service
FoodSpan: Teaching the Food System from Farm to Fork
University of Idaho: Aquaculture Research Institute
Western Regional Aquaculture Center
Western Society of Soil Science
Woody Plant Seed Manual
from the US Forest Service

Cooperative Extension Services

Weeds & Invasive Species

Aquatic Invasions (e-journal) The ecosystems of many water bodies around the world are under threat from aquatic invasive species. Scholars interested in this pervasive problem may want to check out the international peer-reviewed journal Aquatic Invasions. Established in 2006, this open-access journal offers readers "academic research of biological invasions in both inland and coastal water ecosystems from around the world." Aquatic Invasions publishes scientific research focusing on topics such as the population dynamics, dispersal patterns, and ecological impacts of non-native species. Recent articles include studies in the Netherlands, the Gulf of Maine, and Croatia. This journal is published by the Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre in Finland, and Kit Magellan of the University of Hong Kong is its editor-in-chief, supported by an international editorial board. Aquatic Invasions is one of the official journals for the International Association for Open Knowledge on Invasive Alien Species (INVASIVESNET), and it is indexed by databases such as EBSCO, Thomson Reuters, and DOAJ.
Invasive Species of Idaho
Identify Weeds
National Invasive Species Information Center: Plants
North American Invasive Species Network

Streaming Videos

Big Business in Little Seeds: The Propaganda of Food The genetic engineering lobby boasts their modified plants require fewer pesticides and result in higher yields, increasingly pressures politicians and governments, and wants to extend its network worldwide. This program provides an insight into the controversial campaigns of the genetic engineering lobby and shows the role that the goal of profit maximization across the entire value added chain is having.
Biotechnology on the Farm and in the Factory: Agricultural and Industrial Applications
Cow Power: Vermonters Turning Manure Into Energy
The Dark Side of Chocolate
Deep Down and Dirty: The Science of Soil
Designing Our Food Future: Exploring the Problem Supermarket shelves are stocked high with products targeting popular food trends and diets but, as the resources on our planet become more precious, food businesses are moving towards solving real-world problems, like sustainability and food waste, via new food products. How do businesses choose a problem to focus on, and what are the initial steps in the food design process to turn the bud of an idea into a feasible concept? Ideal for senior-secondary and higher education audiences, this programme explores these questions.
Designing Our Food Future: From Concept to Prototype When designing a new food product, like most things in life, practice makes perfect. This programme takes viewers through the prototyping process of a new food product, where failure is not only expected but a highly valuable part of perfecting its physical properties, shelf life and, importantly, taste. With insightful commentary from real food scientists, this program is important viewing for senior-secondary and higher education students of food sciences.
Designing Our Food Future: Trialling a New Product As viewers will discover in this programme, there is more to taste-testing than meets the eye. A detailed and rigorous exercise, trialling a new food product is the last crucial step in the design of a new food product before the process of launching it to market can commence. Whether trialling a product with trained testers or the general consumer audience, getting it right can mean the difference between a successful product and one that sits stagnant on supermarket shelves.
Digital Food
The Family Farm n its journey across the majestic Canadian countryside, The Family Farm explores the diverse agricultural pursuits of earnest farm families and serves as a window into the small-scale food production process that modern-day consumers have become estranged from.
Farm to Fork: Primary and Secondary Processing
FoodMaven Patrick Bultema is a true industry maker whose mission is to eliminate food waste. Growing up on a farm, it pains him to know how much food is thrown away that farmers have worked so hard to produce, so he’s addressing the problem at the source. FoodMaven sells high-quality local, oversupplied and imperfect food from distributors, manufacturers, and producers to restaurants and institutional kitchens at a significant discount. This is a fascinating story about doing well, while doing good.
The Future of Food: A Looming Crisis
The Future of Food: Sustainability and Security
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto "Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants." With those seven words, journalist Michael Pollan distills a career's worth of reporting into a prescription for reversing the damage being done to people's health by today's industrially-driven Western diet. Pollan offers a clear answer to one of the most urgent questions of our time: What should I eat to be healthy? Distributed by PBS Distribution.
A Global Food Crisis May Be Less Than a Decade Away Sara Menker quit a career in commodities trading to figure out how the global value chain of agriculture works. Her discoveries have led to some startling predictions: "We could have a tipping point in global food and agriculture if surging demand surpasses the agricultural system's structural capacity to produce food," she says. "People could starve and governments may fall." Menker's models predict that this scenario could happen in a decade -- that the world could be short 214 trillion calories per year by 2027. She offers a vision of this impossible world as well as some steps we can take today to avoid it.
Insects to the Rescue Are biopesticides - micro-organisms that fight pests naturally – the promise of a chemical-free agriculture? Farmers all over the world are converting to biopesticides, stimulated by scientific research that is opening up new perspectives. But is the technique risk-free for the environment? Invertebrates, insects, mites, fungi, bacteria, viruses … these living mini-organisms that scientists are studying in great detail worldwide, will here make light work of pests. Today they are our best hope of a pesticide-free agriculture that is so harmful to man and the environment. So are biopesticides revolutionary? In Europe, Brazil and India, millions of farmers have already adopted bioprotectors. Today, the agro-chemical industry is investing heavily in the sector, but promising as it is, the technique is still far from being infallible, and is not entirely devoid of risk to the ecosystem.
Jimmy and the Food Price Hike Series (3 fillms)
The Man Who Tried to Feed the World The Man Who Tried to Feed the World recounts the story of Norman Borlaug, a man who not only solved India’s famine problem but would go on to lead a “Green Revolution” of worldwide agriculture programs estimated to have saved one billion lives. He was awarded the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his work but spent the rest of his life watching his methods and achievements come under increasing fire.
The Meat of the Matter, Episode 2 Cheap meat is actually quite costly, taking its toll on America’s health and the environment. The good news is it’s now possible to have your steak and eat it, too. Meet a new breed of ranchers who are leading the red meat revolution by returning to traditional styles of raising cattle. Iowan bison ranchers, Georgian cattlemen and Californian cowgirls all have one thing in common— grass. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
New Farms, Big Success, with Three Rock Star Farmers This inspiring documentary presents three ecologically responsible farms in the USA and Canada. Their unique business plans eliminate the middle man, use sustainable methods and few fossil fuels and show a decent living can be made! These new farming practices avoid the destructive trap of industrial food production and its financial burden. With the participation of Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations, and leading American environmentalist, author and educator Bill McKibben, this documentary provides critical information to develop an enduring local food network in a time of climate change. The three rock star farmers are: Kristin Kimball, author of The Dirty Life and farmer of Essex Farm; Jean-Martin Fortier, author of The Market Gardener and farmer of Les Jardins de la Grelinette; Lauren Rathmell, greenhouse manager of Lufa Farms.
Of the Land Of the Land is a detailed exploration into our current food supply as well as a variety of organic options available to people who want to support sustainable farming methods.
The Once Good Earth: Understanding Soil
Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds
Our Real and Virtual Water Footprint: Stephen Leahy
Power Trip: The Story of Energy: Food How do we harness energy to feed our growing population without the downsides of industrialization? FOOD traces a centuries-long journey across Europe, Asia, and the United States to show us the energy it takes to bring us our food. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
Rise of Vertical Farming Our food system is currently organized very inefficiently. Our food travels for many kilometers, uses an excessive amount of water, is wasted on a tremendous scale, and also contaminates the environment. And yet, the 7 billion residents of planet Earth—all mainly living in large cities—must be fed. In an attempt to achieve this in a sustainable manner, food production must, for the most part, be integrated into the urban infrastructure. Food flats and city agriculture are important alternatives for this.
School Lunch Revival, Episode 6 All public school kids have access to free or reduced-price lunch. But affordability doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for them. Detroit’s renegade lunch lady is not only serving kids healthy food, she’s got them growing it, too. Houston schools are joining a national movement with “seed to plate” classroom cooking and a new generation of service members is connecting farmers and schools. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
Seeds of Change: A Case Study of Sustainable Development in China
Seeds of Change, Episode 3 Seeds represent hope, a new beginning. Amid battles over GMO crops and monocultures that dominate American farmlands, meet seed savers pursuing grassroots alternatives. From the dry deserts of Arizona to corn and soybean growers in Iowa and Illinois, genetic diversity does matter and the roots of change are taking hold. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
SOS: Save Our Soil The top six inches of soil are the most precious, yet least understood ecosystem on earth—yet we continue to treat soil like dirt. Get down and dirty with large-scale Midwestern composters, California carbon farmers reversing climate change and a West Virginia poultry farmer creating "biochar" from chicken poop. Explore new frontiers beneath our feet that just might save our soil.
Starting a Produce Farm: The StartUp Experience
The Truth about Meat
The U.S. of Agriculture, Episode 13 From the Founding Farmers to the modern Farm Bill, what has 200 years of progress brought to the table? More food at lower prices for sure, but also food fights over the environment, hunger, nutrition, and waste. In this closing episode of Food Forward, politicians, policy watchdogs and food experts take us on a personal tour through the history of food and agriculture in America. Distributed by PBS Distribution.

Blogs & Podcasts

Edible Geography (blog)
Flipping the Table: A Podcast about the Future of Food and Farming Roots of Change (ROC), an organization that works primarily in California to change U.S. agricultural policies in order to promote the health and well-being of farmers, food producers, and consumers, presents the Flipping the Table podcast. About two years of episodes (dating back to January 2019) are available on the site, and can also be streamed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher. Installments vary in length and readers should note that episode duration is more easily discerned using one of the various podcasting services than on the site linked above. Episodes include an interview with Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and author of Farming While Black (see the June 25, 2019 episode) and a nearly hour-long conversation with Berkely restaurateur Alice Waters (see the March 26, 2020 episode) taped near the start of pandemic lockdown where Waters discusses the effects of COVID-19 on the restaurant industry and school food. In addition to the podcast, the Our Work tab offers information about Roots of Change's other Projects and a Blog on various food-related issues. Visitors can learn more about the organization's goals and alignment by reading the pages under the Positions tab.
Food Politics
Blog by Marion Nestle
Gastropod [podcast]
"Food through the lens of science and history"

Agriculture & Food: Ag: DVD, Web, etc.

DVD, Web, Streaming video

DVDs in the Library Catalog

Statistics

Websites

Cooperative Extension Services

Weeds & Invasive Species

Streaming Videos

Blogs & Podcasts