AFSIC Find-It Guide

Compiled by: Becky Thompson
Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
Information Research Services Branch
National Agricultural Library
Agricultural Research Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture

2010
Slightly revised February 2013

Table of Contents

• What is Conservation Tillage?
• Database and Internet Searches of:
  
  1. AGRICOLA from the National Agricultural Library (NAL)
  2. Selected Government Websites, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and online resources
  3. The Current Research Information System (CRIS) from USDA
     
• Search Tips
• Recommended Databases and Journals
• Extension and Educational Materials: online sources
• Related Information Sources and Organizations
• Ask an AFSIC Librarian for assistance

What is Conservation Tillage?

• From Sustainable Agriculture: Definition and Terms (AFSIC SRB99-02) September 1999
• From Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC - Purdue University)
• "Conservation Tillage - A Hot, New Idea From the Distant Past." Yearbook of Agriculture 1987. pp. 165-169.
• Conservation Tillage Practices and Erosion Control, AFSIC, (updated quarterly)
• Conservation Tillage, ATTRA, 2003.
• Pursuing Conservation Tillage Systems for Organic Crop Production, Organic Matters Series, ATTRA, June 2001

Database and Internet Searches

Conduct automated, real-time, searches in the NAL catalog (AGRICOLA), search the Current Research Information System (CRIS), or locate topic-related resources on the Internet. Each time you select a link, a new search will be performed, and a new bibliography or list of subject related Web pages will be generated.

NAL AGRICOLA Database

Search for information on tillage types in the AGRICOLA Book Catalog or Article Citations by date range. Articles include journal articles, reports, book chapters, and reprints. Books include books, serials, audiovisuals, etc. Search strategy:
["conservation till?" or "min? till?" or "zone till?" or "no till?" or "ridge till?" or "mulch till?" or "reduc? till?" or "strip till?" or "rotation? till?" or "crop residue management"]

Browse the AGRICOLA Catalog by Subject Heading

Tip: To browse AGRICOLA using a specific term, go to http://agricola.nal.usda.gov/. Under the NAL Catalog or the Articles Database column, select "Basic Search," enter a subject term in the box labeled "Find," select "Subject Browse," and then select "Search."

Quick Bibliographies

• Conservation Tillage (QB92-02)
• Conservation Tillage (QB94-13) January 1991 to December 1993. 338 citations
• How do I search AGRICOLA for other publications on this topic in the National Agricultural Library Collection?

Selected Government Websites, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and online resources

The automated searches below locate resources about specific tillage types on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Web sites.

• conservation tillage
• no tillage
• minimum tillage
• minimal tillage
• reduced tillage
• ridge tillage
• strip till or strip tillage
• chisel tillage

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is USDA's main in-house research agency. ARS research develops solutions to a wide range of problems related to food and agriculture. To find resources by specific ARS locations, use the ARS Advanced Search feature instead of the links above.

Water Quality Information Center, NAL, USDA

The Current Research Information System (CRIS) from USDA

The Current Research Information System (CRIS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's documentation and reporting system for ongoing and recently completed research projects in agriculture, food and nutrition, and forestry.

To conduct a keyword search in the TITLE or DESCRIPTOR fields, follow these steps:

1. Copy one of the following search strategies:
   
   TI,DE=conservation ADJ tillage
   TI,DE=no ADJ tillage
   TI,DE=minimum ADJ tillage
   TI,DE=reduced ADJ tillage
   TI,DE=ridge ADJ tillage
   TI,DE=strip ADJ tillage

2. Access the CRIS database.
   (Note: Following this link will open a new browser window.)
3. Select Professional Search.
4. Select the Edit button beside Search Number S1.
5. Paste the search strategy copied in Step 1 into the search box.
6. Select the OK button.
7. Select the Display button to view the results.
8. Optional: Select the Change Format button to choose a different display format or to customize your format using selected data fields.

Search Tips

The tips below will help you create your own search strategies for conducting literature searches.

Recommended Keywords and Phrases:

• (conservation till?) or
  (no till?) or
  (minimum tillage) or
  (reduced tillage) or
  (ridge tillage) or
  (strip till*)
  
  
• The NAL Agricultural Thesaurus is an online vocabulary look-up tool for agricultural and biological terms. The Thesaurus is organized to help find terms in a specific discipline or subject area. The Thesaurus features automated Google Scholar and AGRICOLA database searches for each term.
  
  
• NAL Thesaurus Terms Term: conservation tillage
  Broader Terms: tillage
  Narrower Terms: no-tillage; ridge tillage; strip tillage
  Related Terms: conservation practices; soil conservation
  
  
• Refine your search with related keywords and phrases (see also Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms, or check the AGROVOC multilingual agricultural thesaurus).
  
  

Tips for Efficient Searching

• LOEX Clearinghouse for Library Instruction: Tutorials
• Finding Information on the Internet Tutorial, University of California, Berkeley

Recommended Databases and Journals *

• The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center maintains a directory of databases that are related to sustainable and alternative agriculture.

Free online databases

• AGRICultural OnLine Access (AGRICOLA) contains bibliographic records created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library and its cooperators.
  
  
• AGRIS is produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
  
  
• The Current Research Information System (CRIS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's documentation and reporting system for ongoing agricultural, food and nutrition, and forestry research.
  

Fee-based online databases
(Contact us to request assistance with database searches.)

• Biological & Agricultural Index
• BIOSIS Previews
• CAB Abstracts
• Current Contents
• Water Resources Abstracts
  

Selected journals

• Advances in Geoecology (publisher: Catena Verlag)
• Agronomy Journal (publisher: American Society of Agronomy)
• Biology and Fertility of Soils (publisher: Springer-Verlag Heidelberg)
• Canadian Journal of Plant Science (publisher: Agricultural Institute of Canada)
• Canadian Journal of Soil Science (publisher: Agricultural Institute of Canada)
• Crop Science (publisher: Crop Science Society of America)
• HortTechnology (publisher: American Society for Horticultural Science)
• Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
  (publisher: Soil and Water Conservation Society)
• Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (publisher: Taylor and Francis) Formerly titled Journal of Sustainable Agriculture
• Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (publisher: CABI Publishing)
• Soil and Tillage Research (publisher: Elsevier)
• Soil Science Society of America Journal (publisher: Soil Science Society of America)
• Soil Science (publisher: Wolters Kluwer)
• Transactions of the ASAE (publisher: The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASAE))
• Weed Science (publisher: Weed Science Society of America)
• Weed Technology (publisher: Weed Science Society of America)

* How to Obtain Full-text Journal Articles

Extension and Education Materials: online sources

• Missouri Alternatives Center
• Great Places to Find Information About Farming Alternatives
• Resources from the Cooperative Extension Service
  
  To locate your local Extension office or one of the 100 colleges and universities that comprise the nation's Land-Grant University System:
  • Check the government pages of your local phone directory
  • Learn about the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
  • Visit NIFA local Cooperative Extension System Offices
  • Visit NIFA State and National Partners

Related Information Sources and Organizations

• Animal Traction Network for Eastern and Southern Africa
• ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service publications:
  Pursuing Conservation Tillage Systems for Organic Crop Production, and Conservation Tillage
• Conservation Systems Research Team, USDA-ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory
• Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC)
• European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF)
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• International Erosion Control Association
• International Soil Tillage Research Organization
• Missouri No-Till Planting Systems
• Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmer's Association
• National Association of Conservation Districts
• The No-Till Farmer
• No-till on the Plains
• No-tillage information by Rolf Derpsch (Paraguay)
• Pacific Northwest Conservation Tillage Systems Information Service
• Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association
• Soil and Water Conservation Society
• South Dakota No-Till Association
• Western Australian No-Tillage Farmers Association
• World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT)
• World Bank (search)