Energy and agriculture are both extremely broad subjects and their interactions - the subject of this book - cover almost the full spectrum of the agricultural sciences. Yet the subject is a relatively new one whose importance first received widespread recognition barely a decade ago, following the dramatic increase in oil prices during 1973. The impact of this increase was such as to promote a world-wide debate on the future direction that agriculture should take. This debate was, and is, of particular concern in countries where agriculture plays a leading role in economic and social development. During the last half century many national agricultural systems have been transformed from almost closed, self-sufficient systems with few locally produced inputs geared to satisfy local requirements, to intensive, open systems, utilizing large quantities of energy-rich inputs such as fossil fuel for manufactured agro-chemicals, water distribution and imported animal feedstuffs to produce a range of sophisticated products, often for export, which in tum require many energy-rich inputs for their marketing. This industrialization of agriculture has proved to be very successful in many respects and indeed was accepted as a general model for agricultural development allowing increased productivity and efficiency per unit land, labor and water, even in areas with limited natural resources.

Inhalt
1 Introduction to the Role of Energy in Agriculture.- 1.1 Definition and Scope.- 1.2 Energy Analysis and Agriculture.- 1.3 References.- 1 Principles and Processes.- 2 Economic Impacts of Energy Prices on Agriculture.- 3 Energy Analysis of the Environmental Role in Agriculture.- 4 Genetic Engineering to Modify Energy Flow in Agriculture.- 2 Energy Sources for Agriculture.- 5 Energy in Different Agricultural Systems: Renewable and Nonrenewable Sources.- 6 Agricultural Labour: From Energy Source to Sink.- 3 Case Studies.- 7 Energy Use in the Food-Producing Sector of the European Economic Community.- 8 Energy in Australian Agriculture: Inputs, Outputs, and Policies.- 9 Energy Use and Management in US Agriculture.