Climate-smart agriculture that promotes climate change adaptation and mitigation while improving livelihoods is being advocated to smallholder farmers. Most studies in this area focus on the yield and income impacts of practices, but we explore farmer well-being impacts. Using a multi-criteria analysis embedded in an in-person questionnaire, our findings suggest that smallholder farmers in Southern Malawi have diverse preferences for climate-smart practices based on location, access to markets and resources and importance placed on climate adaptation. The use of multidimensional well-being criteria provides deeper insights into the motivations and priorities of farmers, revealing trade-offs between immediate food needs and climate adaptation concerns, as well as between the need for incentives versus the risk of conditional credits. Our study calls for tailored climate-smart agriculture projects that allow farmers to adopt practices that meet their needs.

A sustainable pathway for valorizing the growing volume of lignin-rich organic feedstocks (LRFs) in emerging economies is to convert them into biochar to sequester carbon and improve soil fertility. However, biochar derived from such LRF may not always show favorable outcomes during soil application. Their interaction with the soil–plant–microbial ecosystem is very complex, and comparative investigations with other common types of biochars are lacking. This study investigated the impact of walnut shell biochar (WSB) and wood chip biochar (WCB) on soil biological properties and crop yield during the growth of Solanum lycopersicum L., and compared them with those of plant waste biochar (PWB) derived from agricultural plant residues. Among biochar variants, only PWB (1% w/w) has increased tomato yield compared to unamended soil. It also showed better carbon mineralization that stemmed from its higher degradability, lower carbon content, and higher H/C ratio. In contrast, WSB showed a relatively higher hydrophobicity, carbonization, and aromaticity that reduced its accessibility to soil microorganisms. Despite these characteristics and higher ash content, WSB did not lower soil enzyme and microbial activity, unlike WCB. At the same time, WSB did not improve crop yield. Mixing WSB (3% w/w) with soil has slightly enhanced the soil carbon stabilization. The high carbon recalcitrance of LRF may necessitate longer aging in soil compared with PWB to showcase any measurable (short/long) benefits to crop yield and soil characteristics.

Almost 12 % of the human population have insufficient access to food and hence are at risk from nutrient deficiencies and related conditions, such as anaemia and stunting. Ruminant meat and milk are rich in protein and micronutrients, making them a highly nutritious food source for human consumption. Conversely, ruminant production contributes to methane (CH4) emissions, a greenhouse gas (GHG) with a global warming potential (GWP) 27–30 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2). Nonetheless, ruminant production plays a crucial role in the circular bioeconomy in terms of upcycling agricultural products that cannot be consumed by humans, into valuable and nutritional food, whilst delivering important ecosystem services. Taking on board the complexities of ruminant production and the need to improve both human and planetary health, there is increasing emphasis on developing innovative solutions to achieve sustainable ruminant production within the ‘One Health’ framework. Specifically, research and innovation will undoubtedly continue to focus on (1) Genetics and Breeding; (2) Animal nutrition and (3) Animal Health, to achieve food security and human health, whilst limiting environmental impact. Implementation of resultant innovations within the agri-food sector will require several enablers, including large-scale investment, multi-actor partnerships, scaling, regulatory approval and importantly social acceptability. This review outlines the grand challenges of achieving sustainable ruminant production and likely research and innovation landscape over the next 15 years and beyond, specifically outlining the pathways and enablers required to achieve sustainable ruminant production within the One Health framework.

Given the increasing global demand for sustainable agricultural practices, there is a growing need to evaluate the effectiveness of governance mechanisms. This paper presents a case study analysis of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) and their impact on maintaining soil health in the context of soybean production, specifically in the Brazilian Savannah (Cerrado biome). The sustainability of soybean production certified by VSS ProTerra and Roundtable on Responsible Soy was evaluated on 35 farms, considering factors such as land use, deforestation, cultivation methods, pesticide usage, and their effects on soil health. The assessment of these factors was conducted through a comprehensive methodology that included field visits, soil sampling and laboratory analysis, remote sensing techniques using satellite imagery, and structured interviews with farm managers. VSS are private governance mechanisms that establish quality standards to be followed in various areas. The study shows that the standards are generally respected on certified farms and, in particular, excluding deforestation. The VSS promote incremental improvements within the overall context of large-scale, business-as-usual agriculture by promoting practices that enhance soil fertility, reduce erosion, and optimise input use. These actions can contribute to stronger soil health, boosting resilience, and productivity. The urgency of reconciling food production with climate change mitigation and adaptation will increase interest in and demand for sustainable agriculture certification in the coming decades. Therefore, the monitoring and verification of the effectiveness of those standards, as shown in our study, are fundamental to provide true benefits, transparency, and confidence to the market.

Biological products used in soybean seed treatment can enhance soil microbial activity, thereby improving soil health. Brazil is the world‘s largest producer of soybeans and has a vast and diverse cultivation area characterized by varying weather and soil conditions. However, there is a lack of studies that have assessed the soil health response to soil biological conditioners based on calcium sulfate dihydrate applied by seed treatment at large-scale farmer-led and over extended periods in Brazilian soybean fields. To address this gap, we carried out a large-scale farmer-led study across a 3000-km transect to evaluate the soil health responses to a biological conditioner over three consecutive years. Soil health indicators including soil organic carbon, extracellular ß-glucosidase enzyme activity, soil bulk density, soil pH, available phosphorus, and exchangeable potassium were measured, interpreted, and integrated into a soil health index (SMAF-SHI) to compare experimental strips with and without of the soil biological conditioner. A dataset of 87 sampling points collected from 15 farmer-led experiments over three consecutive years of the soil biological conditioner application (i.e., 2021 corresponds to one application, 2022 to two applications, and 2023 to three applications) was analyzed. The results showed site- and year-specific alterations on soil chemical, physical, and biological indicators, as well as overall SMAF-SHI. In general, the effects of the soil biological conditioner application were subtle and statistically undetectable for most of the metrics over three consecutive years of application. However, we observed potential changes in soil organic carbon, extracellular β-glucosidase enzyme activity, and soil bulk density indicators after two and three years of the soil biological conditioner application. To further understand the long-term effects of biological conditioners on soil, we propose continued soil health monitoring over time, with a particular focus on the rhizosphere, and the inclusion of molecular biology methods to measure the abundance, diversity and functionality of the soil microbiome.

Improvements to agricultural sustainability are required to maintain productivity in the face of ongoing global challenges, and growers need multiple kinds of support to adopt new sustainability practices and transform cropping systems. Farms are socio-ecological systems, and developing such systems requires tandem changes to human and nonhuman systems. This study evaluates agricultural sustainability practices and perception in the Oregon hazelnut industry, a small, intensified, and rapidly growing orchard production system in the United States. Using a mixed methods approach based on participant observation and an online survey of hazelnut growers in the spring of 2023, we found that growers were widely receptive to the sustainability messaging of industry groups and had widespread adoption of certain sustainability practices including disease-resistant tree varieties and changes in pesticide use, among other practices promoted by researchers. Larger hazelnut growers were more likely to adopt the sustainability practices in our survey, especially certain pest management practices. Growers with older hazelnut orchards turned to more sources of information but also perceived more barriers to implementing new sustainability practices than growers with younger orchards. Growers voiced different opinions about sustainability costs, with some growers expressing economic concerns about sustainability practices and others recognizing the financial benefits of sustainability practices. Differences in the perceived importance of short- and long-term benefits framed some of these concerns about the costs and benefits of sustainability practices. We argue that successful sustainability outreach will address both the short-term economic benefits of certain practices and the long-term sustainability benefits. Growers widely recognize the importance of sustainability, but more messaging about the multiple benefits of sustainability practices can better address both environmental and economic concerns.

Cocoa is an important agricultural product that plays a crucial role in local communities in South America. In Brazil, it is traditionally grown in agroforestry systems, which are more sustainable and contribute to biodiversity conservation. However, the recent expansion of intensive monocultures in tropical forests poses significant threats to this activity. Using historical data on land use and cocoa productivity at the municipality level from Brazil’s primary cocoa-producing states, we show that maintaining and restoring forest cover are positively correlated with cocoa productivity, particularly in areas with less anthropogenic disturbance. This highlights the dependence of cocoa production on ecosystem services. Recent data reveal that in municipalities where local agriculture is less reliant on cocoa, only larger farms have benefitted from increased forest cover, probably due to their greater dependence on fragments of natural habitat for ecosystem services. In municipalities that are more reliant on cocoa, the effects of forest cover were not detected, while strong negative effects of forest fragmentation were observed in both small- and large-scale farms. We emphasize the importance of preserving natural forests near cocoa plantations to optimize productivity in Amazon and Atlantic Forest agroforestry, especially in deforested areas.

Climate change (CC) challenges food and climate through reduced crop yields and increasing production risk. Regenerative agriculture (RA) emerged as a pivotal strategy for enhancing crop productivity and soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, contributing to agriculture’s CC mitigation and resilience. Nevertheless, expanding RA’s main challenges is providing sufficient science-based decision support for farmers and other stakeholders. In this context, we present herein the largest public-private partnership in Brazil to conduct research in a multidisciplinary collaborative scientific network on RA and describe the Carbon Farming Program approaches. Bayer SA leads the initiative, which also includes 11 partner institutions (i.e., Universities, Research Institutions and Foundations, and Farmers organisations). The programme aims to assess the benefits of improvement of cropland management, intensified and biodiverse crop rotation plans on SOC, soil health, crop productivity, and profitability in a no-till system. The programme has a multi-scale approach with three main steps (‘Research Partners’, ‘On-Farm Research Sites’, and ‘Carbon Program at Scale’). In total, it encompasses 1,906 farmers and 232 000 hectares across the Brazilian edaphoclimatic conditions. The programme has gathered a large database, integrating SOC and fertility determinations, and crop yields, to derive a quantitative evaluation of the impacts of sustainable agricultural land management practices adoption. Moreover, the programme enabled breaking through the gap of quantitative knowledge for the development of a novel mathematical model to predict SOC dynamics for tropical agroecosystems. This is worth supporting assertive decisions along the specific planning to promote scalability in the insertion of Brazilian agriculture in the global C market.

Deforestation and declining soil fertility are major obstacles for productive cocoa production in West Africa. To improve sustainability of this production system, countries like Ghana promoted agroforestry technologies and introduced organic certification of cocoa agroforests. However, for West Africa, which produces 70% of the world’s cocoa, studies comparing soil fertility under conventional and organic management, which is an important factor for sustainable cocoa production, are rare. Hence this study aimed at investigating differences in soil physico-chemical and microbial properties at 0–10 cm and 10–30 cm depth of traditional cocoa agroforests under organic versus conventional management in four villages with each three farms in Suhum Municipality, Eastern Region of Ghana. Electrical conductivity, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (N), SOC/total N, and extractable potassium (K) in the topsoil were 51%, 35%, 30%, 11%, and 47% respectively, lower (p < 0.05) under conventional than under organic management. On average, topsoil under conventional management recorded 29% higher NH4+-N concentration and 27% lower NO3−-N concentrations than topsoil under organic management. Microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in the topsoil of farms under organic management were 48% and 57%, respectively, greater than under conventional management. Contrarily, conventional management significantly increased the metabolic quotient (qCO2) in topsoil compared with organic management, indicating a higher demand of soil micro-organisms for maintenance energy due to the use of herbicides and pesticides. In cocoa agroforests, conventional management has adverse effects on soil chemical and microbial properties. Hence transitioning from conventional management to organic management is beneficial to maintain soil fertility.

Removal and disposal of nonnative trees is expensive and time-consuming. Using these nonnative trees as a substrate to produce edible mushrooms could diversify farming operations and provide additional income to small-scale farmers. This research compared the production of shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) on nonnative tree logs to shiitake mushroom production on native oak (Quercus L.) logs, which are the traditional substrate. In a 2-yr study, we evaluated nonnative tree species as alternate substrates for growing shiitake mushrooms at farms in northern Florida and southern Georgia. A mix of native Quercus spp. and nonnative trees was targeted for removal on participating farms. Five nonnative tree species were initially tested for their ability to produce edible mushrooms, either shiitake or oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus var. florida). Of the nonnative trees we tested: Chinaberry (Melia azedarach L.), Chinese tallowtree [Triadica sebifera (L.) Small], silktree (Albizia julibrissin Durazz.), earleaf acacia (Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Benth.), and paperbark tree [Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S.F. Blake], only T. sebifera produced shiitake mushrooms, and none produced native Florida oyster mushrooms. In on-farm trials, Quercus spp. logs produced more total mushrooms and more mushrooms per log and had a higher total mushroom yield per log. However, mushrooms produced on T. sebifera logs had higher mean weight per mushroom. Edible fungi can be used to recycle invasive, nonnative T. sebifera and transform their biomass from waste into an income-producing resource.

This study examines the grazing management plans (GMPs) adoption and prioritization of environmental and economic objectives among U.S. cow-calf and stocker operations, utilizing 2020–2021 survey data and logistic regression analysis. Findings reveal regional adoption differences, with higher rates in the Midwest. Operations with succession plans, larger grazing lands, and stocker activities are more likely to adopt GMPs. Operations with more privately owned land and smaller herd sizes prefer environmental goals, while those with less grazing land prioritize economic outcomes due to resource concerns. The study provides insights for policies promoting GMP adoption and sustainability in the U.S. beef sector.

Diverse agricultural management practices are critical for agroecosystem sustainability, and cover crops provide opportunity for varied management and increased biodiversity. Understanding how cover crops fill open ecological niches underneath the trees, interact with weeds, and potentially provide ecosystem services to decrease pest pressure is essential for ecological agricultural management. The goal of this study was to test the weed suppression potential of two cover crop treatments with varied functional diversity compared to standard weed management practices in commercial almond orchards in California. Transect plant surveys were used to evaluate orchard plant communities under a functionally diverse seed mix including grasses, legumes, and brassicas, and a relatively uniform cover crop mix that included only brassica species. Winter annual orchard cover crops reduced bare ground from 39.3% of total land area to 15.9 or 11.4%, depending on treatment. Furthermore, winter cover crops displaced weeds with a negative correlation of 0.74. The presence of cover crops did not consistently affect weed community composition for low-richness weed communities found in California orchards. Diverse cover crop mixes more reliably resulted in increased ground cover across site years compared to uniform cover crop mixes, with coefficients of variation for ground cover at 49.6 and 91.5%, respectively. Cover crops with different levels of functional diversity can contribute to orchard weed management programs at commercial scales. Functional diversity supports cover crop establishment, abundance, and competitiveness across varied agroecological conditions, and cover crop mixes could be designed to address an assortment of orchard management concerns.

Perennial Lewis flax (Linum lewisii Pursh) has the potential to be grown as a new oilseed crop that could simultaneously meet commodity production, ecosystem service provisioning, and farm resiliency goals. Despite many potential benefits, Lewis flax remains minimally explored as an agronomic crop. Determining agronomic best practices for producing economically relevant stands of Lewis flax is critical to its adoption as an oilseed crop. Several aspects of Lewis flax agronomic production were explored through the lens of adaptive management between 2020 and 2022. Initial field trials aimed at assessing spring-seeded Lewis flax row spacing, plant population density, and intercropping strategies with legumes and grasses failed due to poor establishment. Heavy rains and excessive weed pressure further complicated attempts to reestablish these initial trials. We established additional Lewis flax plots via fall and dormant seeding in response to the failure of our first experiment. This second experiment focused on exploring row spacing, population density, and seeding timing impacts on flax production. Flax yield did not differ among our treatments, averaging 59 kg ha−1. The low yields realized by our field trials may be due to several factors including need for harvest technology optimization, high weed pressure, and need for Lewis flax genetic improvement. Our study is a first step toward developing recommendations for optimal production strategies for Lewis flax in an agronomic context. Continued exploration of methods to improve management and yield of Lewis flax will be critical to its successful development as an agronomic crop.

As organic food increases in popularity, there has been increased interest in the history of organic farming. Previous scholarship has done excellent work documenting the social and political aspects of organic and sustainable agriculture, but less research has been done on the history of organic farming methods. The purpose of this study was to address this deficiency by surveying the organic and sustainable farming community in the midwestern and northeastern United States to identify influential authors, publications and organizations. Information about influences on farming practices was created using an anonymous online survey, distributed through organic and sustainable agriculture organizations in the target region. Out of the 224 respondents who completed the survey, 171 (76%) listed books, 169 (75%) listed organizations and 123 (55%) listed influential individuals. A total of 218 authors were identified, with Eliot Coleman receiving the most mentions, followed by Rodale publications, Wendell Berry, Acres U.S.A. magazine, Masanobu Fukuoka, Joel Salatin and Michael Pollan. 242 organizations were listed, with Marbleseed (MOSES), MOFGA, NOFA, PASA, OEFFA, LSP, SFA-MN and MOFFA most frequently mentioned. These results provide a useful starting point for future research on the development and dissemination of farming methods in this region. Research priorities include conducting oral histories with still-living authors of influential books and archiving organizational records before critical historical information is lost.

The welfare of animals in food-production systems is a cause of concern to the public. Regenerative agriculture was first used by the Rodale Institute and proposes to regenerate degraded components of ecosystems, aiming to be more than just sustainable. However, despite animal welfare being pushed to be part of the SDG agenda for 2030, there is no clarity on how regenerative agriculture impacts animal welfare. It is challenging to determine regenerative agriculture impacts on animal welfare, since it is not entirely defined. One Welfare could help define entry points for future research by studying animal welfare in connection with human welfare and environmental conservation. We aimed to analyse the extent to which positive animal welfare outcomes characterise regenerative agriculture systems in peer-reviewed articles and whether the narratives of such articles support that regenerative agriculture promotes animal welfare directly or indirectly by improving human welfare and environmental conservation. We searched papers including ‘regenerative agriculture’ using PRISMA-P, selecting animal welfare, human welfare, environment conservation terms, developed themes, and carried out analysis using Atlas.Ti8 and Causal Loop Diagram. We found that papers mainly linked animal welfare to animal health, human welfare to financial farm status and farmer’s self-awareness, and environmental conservation to soil improvement. Causal Loop Diagram indicated that regenerative agriculture had the potential to improve the health and nutrition components of animal welfare by enhancing financial farmers’ status/self-awareness (human welfare), and the soil (environmental conservation), reflecting that the processes that affect human welfare and environmental conservation could also affect animal welfare. However, information in papers remains insufficient to determine how regenerative agriculture impacts on animal welfare and research into regenerative agriculture needs to extend its focus on animal welfare and elucidate the regenerative agriculture principles leading to animal welfare.

To promote sustainability, multistakeholder initiatives (MSIs) are an emerging form of private governance that brings together diverse stakeholders across the agrifood system to advance sustainable agriculture practices. Previous research on MSIs focuses on the organization and structure of various MSIs through coordinator and management perspectives. In this paper, we examine farmers' experiences of participating in a leading MSI metrics program for U.S. agriculture, Field to Market. Through survey and interview methodology, this paper examines farmers' motivations, perceived benefits and power dynamics within Field to Market's metrics program. We find that although being open to sharing sustainability metrics with buyers, farmers struggled to gain tangible benefits. The majority of farmers considered themselves ‘already sustainable’ in that they made economically efficient farming decisions. As such, participating in Field to Market resulted in little to no changes in farming practices. Because MSI metrics programs work to assist farmers in becoming aware of inefficiencies and encourage changes, the lack of utilizing data generated from the sustainability metrics highlights a significant shortfall of this MSI metrics program. Farmers also perceived buyers as the primary beneficiaries of sustainability metrics since the buyers could now make claims about the sustainability of their products. Additionally, our findings provide nuance related to economic benefits as farmers broadly conceptualized the primary economic benefits as continuing a relationship with buyers who were now asking farmers to join the metrics program and report data. Although the metrics program appears ‘voluntary,’ farmers perceived few other options when asked to report data since sharing data became an apparent baseline for doing business. This paper contributes an understanding of farmers' experiences of engaging with an MSI metrics program, which helps to illuminate the potential implications of these newly emerging approaches to promoting sustainability. Our findings demonstrate that proponents of this newly emerging approach to promoting sustainability may want to consider the distribution of benefits and the power dynamics embedded in these programs since these programs may carry unintended consequences as they are scaled up. Finally, we posit several additional avenues for future research to further elucidate the potential social implications of MSI metrics programs.

In the Mediterranea area, major effects of climate change are a modification in rainfall patterns, an increase in temperature with an intensify in tropical nights, and an increase in incoming radiations, especially UV-Bs. Despite the various adaptation strategies, grapevines are sensitive to altered climatic conditions. This paper aims to assess the benefits of applying a new sustainable product to the soil that can implement farmers’ resources to adapt to this changing situation. Zeowine was realized by combining the properties of zeolite, which has excellent potential in many sectors such as in agriculture, with the organic substance of a compost obtained on a company scale from the reuse of waste processing grapes, pomace and stalks. The effects of two different soil management (Z – Zeowine, 30 t/ha dose and C – Compost, 20 t/ha dose) on vine physiology and berry compositions in Sanforte grapevines (new plantation) were studied during the 2019–2020–2021 growing seasons in the San Miniato area, Italy. The following physiological parameters of grapevines were measured: leaf gas exchange, leaf temperature, stem water potential and chlorophyll fluorescence. The results showed that Z increased single leaf photosynthesis, reduced leaf temperature and water stress. In addition, phenolic and technological parameters were studied. The Z-treated vines had higher sugar content and total and extractable anthocyanin content as well as berry weight. These results suggested that the application of zeolites added to compost in the vineyard to the soil can be a valid tool to mitigate the effects of climate change.

This paper aims to assess young farmers' willingness to adopt sustainable agriculture (SA) by implementing the expanded theory of planned behavior (TPB) within the northern region of Bangladesh. The outcomes attained specified that attitudes toward SA, perceived behavior control and perceived self-identity have progressive and fundamental impacts on adoption behavior and affect farmers' intentions to adopt SA's particular production mechanism. On the other hand, the social interface view toward SA is not significantly associated with the Bangladeshi farmer's adoption intention. The results also show that interconnections between social and familial pressure are not significant for sustainable farming practice adoption intentions. However, the interconnections among the psychosocial factors have a crucial role in formulating the TPB to forecast the intentional behavior for adopting SA practices. Thus, the government should highlight the advantages of several sustainable agricultural practices and circulate more detailed information regarding SA tactics to improve the knowledge gap of smallholder farmers. Furthermore, training facilities should be extended to improve the attitude and perceived self-identity of young farmers. Moreover, the formulation of structural information sharing platforms and agricultural value chain facilities should also help shape young farmers' interpersonal behavior in adopting SA practices.