Harvest Heat reveals how modern agriculture feeds hungry people. Something magical happens in 1950 during wheat harvest when one war veteran returns home. He struggles with civilian life after fighting from Utah Beach to Berlin. Despite horrible battle memories he gains new strength by keeping his promise to help starving people get food. He meets a young woman who teaches in a Kansas high school. The Kansas moon's white light fires the passion of these young lovers. She helps him adjust to being home from the war. In the summer heat fueled by the aroma of ripening wheat their carnal love exposes her dark secrets. He helps her fight the trauma of a brutal teenage attack. These young lovers face many challenges. War in Korea drives grain prices higher as American soldiers battle hordes of an advancing enemy. By helping farmers lobby for mutual goals and supporting the leaders of huge farm co-ops they establish a giant agricultural business on the lonely prairie where Indians and buffalo once roamed. With friends from Las Vegas they gamble and gain new wealth by trading grain commodity futures. But only 55 years later one of America’s largest farmer-owned cooperatives is bankrupt. Harvest Heat explains the intricate political relationships of people who helped build a multi-billion dollar agribusiness empire. They now struggle to keep their family farms that supply most of America’s food. Harvest Heat tells how much of America’s political influence comes from citizens in small towns. In the vibrant world of agribusiness these Midwestern folks clash with big corporations and crooked politicians who crave more power and money. Visit this Harvest Heat website for more information. http://harvestheat.org

Celebrating the collaboration between farmer and chef--and the journey from land to table--"Harvest to Heat" explores this dynamic relationship and paints beautiful portraits of these often unheralded people, even while it offers up a bounty of 100 recipes.

Celebrated farming expert Coleman continues to lead the way in organic gardening, pushing the limits of the harvest season while working his world-renowned organic farm in Harborside, Maine.

This collection of papers includes some of the presentation given at the International congress of Plant Pathology held in Beijing in 2013 in the session of Recent Development in Postharvest Pathology. Fruit production for human consumption is an important part of the market economy. Any waste during to spoilage and pest infestation, in the field and the postharvest phase, results in significant economic losses which are more pronounced as the losses occur closer to the time of produce sale. Careful handling of perishable produce is needed for the prevention of postharvest diseases at different stages during harvesting. Handling, transport and storage in order to preserve the high quality produce. The extent of postharvest losses varies markedly depending on the commodities and country estimated to range between 4 and 8% in countries where postharvest refrigeration facilities are well developed to 30% where facilities are minimal. Microbial decay is one of the main factors that determine losses compromising the quality of the fresh produce. For the development of an integrated approach for decay management, cultural, preharvest, harvest and postharvest practices should be regarded as essential components that influence the complex interactions between host, pathogen, and environmental conditions. Orchards practices including preharvest fungicide applications can also directly reduce the development of postharvest fruit decay. Among postharvest practices, postharvest fruit treatments with fungicide are the most effective means to reduce decay. Ideally, these fungicides protect the fruit from infections that occur before treatment, including pathogen causing quiescent infections, as well from infection that are initiated after treatment during postharvest handling, shipment and marketing. The implementation of these alternatives techniques often requires modifying currently used postharvest practices and development of new formulation for their applications. The present chapters deal with the newest report related to postharvest pathology in the world.

Best practices for preserving quality and consumer appeal of fresh fruits, vegetables Clarifies calculations for efficient cooling, controlled ripening and storage Presents strategies for reducing microbial risks and post-harvest pathologies A comprehensive introduction to established and emergent post-harvest technologies, this text shows how to enhance the value of perishable fruits and vegetable by mitigating the causes of deterioration and spoilage from farm to point of purchase. After investigating the structural, chemical and nutritional properties of fruits and vegetables, the book provides a step-by-step explanation of processing from machine harvesting through handling, ripening technologies, packaging and distribution. Emphasis is placed on ways to collect data needed to monitor quality. Psychrometric principles and their role in cold storage systems are presented along with calculations enabling effective refrigeration and control of transpiration, humidity and gases. The book includes examples and calculations for improving process control and predicting the shelf-life of temperate-climate and tropical fruits and vegetables.