The Farmers Mailbox

Riesling, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes can make magnificent wines but there are also many other excellent wine varieties that for many of us are rarely experienced.
Australian Vines for Wines will expand the wine lover’s knowledge and appreciation of a great range of wines and help to explore their individual preferences for specific varieties, blends, flavours and styles.
This book is based on the highly successful Wine Grape Varieties, which is an aid to identifying grape vines.
Vines for Wines, however, focuses on wines from the average consumer’s point-of-view, introducing the different wine grape varieties and the wines made from them, including blends.
Each variety is represented by a colour photograph of the grape variety, its current world plantings, wine produced and notes describing the varietal characters for each wine grape variety.
The tasting terms and wine notes for each variety provide a benchmark for the consumer to assess the quality of wines they drink, and to allow them to share and compare their experiences confidently with other wine lovers.
Features
• Easy to read and assumes no in-depth knowledge • Explains tasting terminology and wine styles
• High quality colour photographs
Contents: Preface, Introduction
Wine Terminology, Wine and Health
A Brief History, Wine Grape Varieties and Their Wines, Synonyms
Further Reading
Australian, 104 Pages, Paperback

A step by step guide to making vests, belts, wallets by home tanning and hand-working furs and leathers.
In Tan Your Hide, Phyllis Hibson explains just what you need to tan you own leather and fur, and the steps involved in doing it the correct way.
Steve Edwards explains how to make basic leather and fur products, with patterns that you can follow.
• The author tells us...
• What tools and chemicals to use.
• How to select the hide
• The steps to tanning leather and fur
• How to test for tanning
• Old time Indian tanning methods
• How to make you own dyes
• What to look for in leather quality
• Basic leatherwork techniques
U.S. Publication.
144 pages 30 illustrations

Modern four-wheel drive vehicles are powerful and sophisticated machines, able to travel almost anywhere.
Given their growing popularity with recreational drivers, there is an even more pressing need for adequate training.
Even on sealed roads these vehicles require a different set of driving skills: off-road the demands are many times greater.
4WD Driving Skills concentrates on the essential skills of four-wheel driving for every type of off-road terrain as well as sealed and unsealed roads.
It explains what makes a four-wheel drive vehicle different, how to approach challenging situations, and shows what to do if things go wrong.
Features: An explanation of four-wheel drive systems, General principles of four wheel driving, Driving on sealed roads, Unsealed roads and corners, Controlling a slide, Passing oncoming traffic on unsealed roads, Trail driving in mountainous areas, Driving on wet and muddy tracks, River crossings, Driving in sand, Snow driving, Recovery equipment, Caring for the environment.
Paperback 152 Pages with illustrations - Author Vic Widman Published 2001

This manual is the essential safety tool for professional and recreational users of chainsaws.
It contains a comprehensive collection of easy-to-follow charts, colour illustrations and instructions covering basic, intermediate and advanced tree felling.
The first section of the manual covers safety issues, power head maintenance, the cutting attachment, sawchain design and sharpening, and basic crosscutting techniques.
The second section leads the user through the theory of simple tree felling, preparation and cross cutting sequences for different circumstances.
The third section covers problem tree felling involving leaning trees, dangerous and defective trees, trees with double leaders, trees lying across roads and the use of wedges, tree jacks and machinery such as tractors, bulldozers and cables.
Safety is paramount throughout the whole book and all the techniques described are covered by the national competency standards for chainsaw operators contained in the Forest & Forest Products Industry Training Package, which has been endorsed by the National Training Quality Council.
These standards form the basis for accreditation in government agencies.
Paperback 104 Pages, Colour Illustrations Author Bernard R Kestel (Forests NSW) Published May 2005

A practical reference for farmers and land managers covering soil issues commonly encountered at the farm level. Written in a straightforward style, it explains the principles of soil management and the interpretation of soil tests, and how to use this information to address long-term soil and enterprise viability.

This book demonstrates how minerals, trace elements, organic matter, soil organisms and fertilisers affect soil, plant and animal health. It shows how to recognise soil decline, and how to repair soils affected by nutrient imbalances, depleted soil microbiology, soil erosion, compaction, structural decline, soil sodicity and salinity. The major problem-soils – sodic soils, light sandy soils, heavy clay soils and acid sulphate soils – are all examined.

With this information, farmers and land managers will be able to consider the costs and financial benefits of good soil management.

Contents
Preface
The nature of Australian soils
Soil pH
Nutrient balance in the soil
Carbon in the soil
Nitrogen in the soil
Phosphorus in the soil
Potassium in the soil
Magnesium in the soil
Trace elements in the soil
Soil cations
Sulphur in the soil
Aluminium in the soil
Soil sodicity
Soil analysis results
Encouraging soil biological activity
Earthworms
Biological farming
Components of soil fertility
When to apply fertilisers to plants
Soil erosion
Repairing and preventing soil erosion
Soil compaction
Soil structural decline
Water movement in soil
Urbanisation in rural areas
Appendices

Author Information
After training in farm management at Dookie College, Roger Hall spent a number of years working on farms in Victoria and the NSW Riverina. He has worked with the Victorian Soil Conservation Authority, the Rutherglen Research Institute and at Dookie College as a soil conservation instructor. One of his many achievements has been a major study on soil management in the Murray-Darling Basin funded by the Murray-Darling Basin Commission. He now works as a private consultant conducting soil investigations as well as running his own farm, which includes horticultural production of tree seedlings and vegetables.
192 pages - Paperback

The technological revolution in farming practices has allowed us to clear and cultivate more land, grow plants and animals faster, and kill a greater variety of pests and diseases than ever before. Unfortunately, these efficiencies are proving to be unsustainable in the long term and have created problems such as soil structural decline, erosion, salinity, soil acidification, loss of fertility, nutrient loading of waterways, dams and a build up of chemical residues.

This book is about foreseeing and understanding such problems and addressing them before it is too late. John Mason examines all these problems and explains the concepts and long-term benefits of sustainable farming systems such as permaculture, biodynamics, organic farming, agroforestry, conservation tillage, and integrated hydroculture.

Sustainable Agriculture 2nd Edition also looks at important issues such as monoculture versus polyculture, the use of hybrids, selection criteria for plants and stock, integrated pest management and preparing a farm for droughts and floods. Other areas examined include diversifying into farm tourism and value adding before selling produce.

Features

● Explains the different sustainable farming systems
● Covers how to manage change to implement sustainable farming
● Provides strategies from a cross-section of countries
● Explores new areas such as farm tourism and value adding
● Investigates weed control without chemicals

Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 Different things to different people
Chapter 2 Sustainable concepts
Chapter 3 Soils
Chapter 4 Water management
Chapter 5 Pest and disease control
Chapter 6 Sustainable natural weed control and cultivation
Chapter 7 Management
Chapter 8 Managing plants - crops and pastures
Chapter 9 Managing plants – tree plantings and windbreaks
Chapter 10 Managing animals in a more sustainable way
Chapter 11 Understanding products used in sustainable agriculture
Appendix
Index

Reviews
“No doubt, the book will be useful to environmentally aware farmers, particularly in Australia.”
Sayed Azam-Ali (Experimental Agriculture v.40, 2004)

“This well-researched, down-to-earth book makes for a good introduction to the principles and practices of more sustainable soil, water, crop, stock, pest, weed and disease management. It’s a must-have for small hobbyists, full-time farmers and big corporates alike. . . jam-packed with useful tips, hints and full-blown strategies for better farm businesses, better conservation on farms and altogether better farming.”
Habitat Australia, February 2004

“This is an important guide for students, farmers, conservationists and anyone interested in sustainable agriculture options . . . It does include plenty of useful advice that can be applied immediately.”
Conscious Living, Issue 65 2004

“Much information is summarised into points and charts, making it easy to find and clear to read. The book would be useful for anyone on the land wanting to incorporate sustainable farming methods into their daily life, as well as student, enviro groups and even gardeners.”
Grass Roots, no.161 Feb/Mar 2004

Readership
This text will be an important guide for students, farmers and policy makers as well as conservationists and environmental groups.

This comprehensive handbook on economic entomology for Australian field crops and pastures is the first of its kind. It encompasses pests and beneficial insects as well as allied forms of importance in Australian agriculture.

Organised by commodities – such as cereals, sugar and tropical pasture legumes – it examines all the pest species for a particular commodity across Australia. Identification, distribution, damage, host range, biology, risk period and monitoring techniques are described for each entry, accompanied by useful illustrations. The book also describes introduced biological control agents that effectively control crop pests.

Pests of Field Crops and Pastures will be a useful tool in crop management for progressive farmers, agronomists, agricultural consultants and academics alike.

Features
● Covers all significant field crops, legumes and grasses in Australia
● Tables show the various product growth periods at which the insect is most active
● Profusely illustrated with colour photographs and line drawings

Readership
Progressive farmers, agricultural consultants, departments of agriculture and primary industries, quarantine, academics and students and libraries.

Author Information
All the 40 authors contributing to this book have many years’ field experience of managing insects and allied forms in Australian field crops and/or pastures. They are biologists who, through field experience in crop and pasture agro-ecosystems, have developed practical strategies for applying integrated pest management and biological control techniques in Australian agriculture.

528 pages - Hardcover

This essential reference provides an introduction to the remarkable soils and landscapes of Australia. It reveals their great diversity and explains why an understanding of soil properties and landscape processes should guide our use of the land.
Using striking photographs of characteristic landscapes, it begins by describing the basic properties of soils and how Australia’s distinctive soils and landscapes have co-evolved. We gain a greater understanding of why particular soils occur at certain locations and how soil variation can influence landscape processes, agricultural productivity and ecosystem function. The book explains the impact of various forms of land use and the changes they can bring about in soil.
This is followed by an invaluable compendium that describes and illustrates over 100 of the more important and widespread soils of Australia, along with their associated landscapes. There is a brief account of each soil’s environment, usage and qualities as well as details on chemical and physical properties so we can make more informed decisions about appropriate land-use.
Australian Soils and Landscapes will be a valuable resource for farmers, natural resource managers, soil and environmental scientists, students and anyone with an interest in Australia’s unique environment.
Features: • Provides an introduction to soil properties, processes, and their significance for land use and management. • Includes a well-illustrated compendium of the most common soils in Australia, showing soil profiles and their associated landscapes and detailing usage and soil properties. • Explains how Australian soils have evolved, giving a practical context for current day land management.
Contents: Acknowledgements
Introduction, 1 Properties of soil
2 The evolution of Australian soils
3 Characteristic Australian landscapes, 4 Soil function within ecosystems
5 Land use, soil change and future management, Compendium of Australian Soils, Rationale and format
Anthroposols - soils formed by humans, Calcarosols - soils dominated by carbonate, Chromosols - neutral to alkaline soils with sharp increases in texture, Dermosols - structured B horizons and minor changes in texture, Ferrosols - high iron levels and minor changes in texture, Hydrosols - wet soils, Kandosols - strongly weathered earths with minor changes in texture
Kurosols - acid soils with sharp increases in texture, Organosols - organic soils, Podosols - soils with accumulations of organic matter, iron, and aluminium, Rudosols - minimally developed soils, Sodosols - alkaline and sodic soils with sharp increases in texture, Tenosols - slightly developed soils, Vertosols - cracking clays
Endnotes, References, Index
“. . .an outstanding textbook written for farmers as well as scientists.”
Australian Landcare, Dec 2004
“This excellent book fills an important gap in the literature on the Australian environment. It is is both authoritative and very readable. There is a real need for non-indigenous Australians to improve their understanding of the Australian landscape with its unique character and often great fragility. This book will help us develop our sense of place as inhabitants of this continent.”
Dr Peter Lockwood, School of Rural Science and Agriculture, University of New England.