What are /r/Agriculture's favorite Products & Services?

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It is the same story with the activists

If Monsanto is doing good they complain that it is taking over the world

If Monsanto is doing bad, they cheer, imagining that their activism actually did something.

However, back in reality, MON is doing just fine and analysts are thinking it is a buy and hold stock. The real reason is that exports are hurt when the dollar is strong.

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/mon

He had a really rough life, you should read about the decisions he and his wife had to make leaving their son to die in a hospital in another country. He did amazing work, but he was also very human.

https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Bread-Essential-Norman-Borlaug/dp/0578095556

You sound like someone who would really benefit from reading the limits to growth: https://www.amazon.com/Limits-Growth-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/193149858X/ref=nodl_?dplnkId=ed0901b0-2340-4915-8b8e-91c91995c6f4

You're not wrong about their being a lot of sensationalism but resources are going to dry up and humanity is going to go into full on global collapse in probably the next 20-30 years. Even more likely because people just want to keep brushing off the problems. Just a matter of time before mass societal collapse and wars of water.

Also this guy has some great management techniques not necessarily about extending seasons but very useful guide to market gardening:

https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Guide-Growing-Vegetables-Depth/dp/1603586997

There is a very popular Japanese book which shows how close human nutrition and digestive system are to soil ecosystem.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/土と内臓-微生物がつくる世界-デイビッド・モントゴメリー/dp/4806715247/ref=asc_df_4806715247/?tag=jpgo-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=295709114110&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11357787409364017392&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&...

Look into hydroponic methods of growing. You can receive high yields using comparably low amounts of water resources. If you’re looking into large scale systems Howard Resh’s book “Hydroponic Food Production” is a great resource: https://www.amazon.com/Hydroponic-Food-Production-Definitive-Commercial/dp/1439878676.

Otherwise there are fairly easy to make and use home systems. Looking into deep water culture systems as well as wicking systems for the relatively easiest methods.

Although I'm not a farmer (just an interested urbanite living n New Zealand), I've been watching the videos on this MOOC. https://www.coursera.org/course/sustainableag Although it's about Florida, it's interesting and might be somewhere for you to start.

Nature already selects for certain traits, that's called natural selection. In the example of almonds, possibly the bitterness was a genetic advantage because it prevented animals from eating the almonds. When humans take a mutation, like sweet almonds, and breed only that trait, it is called forced selection and can make plants evolve rapidly in the way the farmers desire. Much later we developed other techniques like hybrid plants There have recently been other advancements like GMO crops

Lords of the Harvest... I read this book in college (I studied crop and soil science in the US) and enjoyed it. It paints a good picture of the development of the crop trait/GMO origination. I swear it’s more interesting than this description indicates but worth a read for sure

https://www.amazon.com/dp/073820773X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_t1_86617HPB3X0Z0JZT0HJM

Pam Dawlings has several books ( Sustainable Market Farming: Intensive Vegetable Production on a Few Acres and The Year-Round Hoophouse: Polytunnels for All Seasons and All Climates ) out on Amazon that covers some of you topics. She lives at a commune in Virginia if I recall and grows/manages a garden and 1-3 large 30'x100' high tunnels. Crop rotation is covered (for her area and diet) and using some regenerative agriculture techniques. She also covers typical yield for bed length and requirements for people #'s of food to number of people so you can begin to plan to come up with a plan.

Very complicated subject.

Check out Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations for sore really interesting history on this.

The same author has a second book - Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life which is possibly the most hopeful, uplifting, and practical book I’ve ever read on agriculture or the environment.

Highly recommend both!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lt.noframe.fieldsareameasure

Like this app. but each field planting, fertilization, irrigation, medication information to save the areas should be. in addition, each field Photo to save important.

Assuming you're in the US, there is an incredible book called Traditional American Farming Techniques. It's got a condensed soil sciences, agronomy, animal husbandry, equipment construction/repair and economics course all built in.

It's basically my Bible. Amazon Link. The cover photo on that page is incorrect, but all the information seems to indicate this is the correct item. Give it a look. There's quite a few excerpts floating around online, but I think this might be what you're looking for.

Dirt cheap solution: use GPS Share and get in your field. Make sure to mark every spot in a recognizable way: Hill A, Hole 1, Down of the slope 5B, etc. and label the sample you took there with that naming pattern.

So when you will receive your results, with the name you will know where that sample came from to some degree (your smartphone GPS is not that precise, but you will be roughly at the right spot).

I cannot help you with a real software solution, I don’t use any.