ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries Ju n e 1 9 9 6 /3 5 9 Internet resources for agriculture By K ath leen A. Clark Harvesting agriculture-related information A s the goals o f agriculture are to feed, clothe, and shelter us, agriculture encom­ passes a wide array o f disciplines and inter­ ests. Academic disciplines include agronomy (crops), animal science, economics, engineer­ ing, entomology (insects), environmental sci­ ence, food science, forestry, horticulture, me­ teorology, plant pathology, and veterinary science. Interests may range from the econom ­ ics or biology o f farming to concerns about soil conservation, food safety, and the weather. Those interested in agricultural topics may be farmers, consumers, home gardeners, research scientists, or economists. Although this review o f agricultural resources must be cursory, many “virtual library” indexes to agricultural resources have been created which focus on agricultural topics. In addition, searching the Internet for information has becom e much easier with the advent o f search engines such as AltaVista ( http://altavista.digital.com/). (For a listing o f o th er Internet search en gin es s ee : http:// t h o r p lu s .lib .p u r d u e .e d u / in e t_ r e s o u r c e s / index.html#search.) But a word to the wise: when searching for agricultural information, look for information from government or uni­ versity-maintained resources, as these will be more reputable. The United States Department o f Agriculture (USDA) and its affiliates, and the many schools o f agriculture around the world have made available a wealth o f agricultural information on the Internet. G o ve rn m en t sites • USDA. A long-standing mission o f the USDA has b een to encourage agricultural re­ search and to disseminate information, so it is no surprise that the USDA and its branches have many excellent Web sites on the Internet. A good starting point is the USDA homepage, which has links to many of the various USDA branches and agencies on the Internet such as the Forest Service; the Agricultural Research Service (ARS); the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; the Economic Research Service (ERS); the Foreign Agricultural Service; the Food and Consumer Service; the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS); and the National Agricultural Library. A ccess: http://www.usda.gov/. • C o o p e ra tiv e State R e se a rch , E d u ca­ tion , an d E x te n sio n Service. Many agricul­ tural concerns are local in nature, tied to the regional weather, climate, and soil types. This site provides a clickable map o f the United States, with links to the states’ Extension home­ pages, their land-grant institutions, and agricul­ ture experiment stations. A ccess: http://www. reeusda.gov/. • FDA. Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition. This site has collected valuable in­ formation about food safety, toxicology, food additives, cosmetics, and biotechnology. Access: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html. • A gricu ltu re & Agri-Food C anada. The Canadian corollary to the USDA, this site has links to Canadian agricultural information which runs the gamut from biotechnology issues to fo od safety and fertilizers. A ccess : http:// aceis.agr.ca/. • Food an d A griculture O rganization o f th e U nited Nations (FAO). Currently, this site primarily has information about the FAO, its publications, and forthcoming meetings. In ad­ dition, it provides a link to the World Agricul­ K athleen A. Clark is in the Life Sciences Library a t P u rdu e University; e-m ail: flora@ pu rdu e.edu http://altavista.digital.com/ http://www.usda.gov/ http://www mailto:flora@purdue.edu 3 6 0 /C & RL News Ju n e 1 9 9 6 /3 6 1 tural Information Center (see below). Access: http://www.fao.org/. Lib rary resources • National Agricultural L ibrary (NAL). The NAL, a branch of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, is the foremost agricultural library in the world; it collects books, journals, maps, audiovisuals, oral histories, and micro­ computer software related to the field o f agri­ culture. Its Web site has links to the NAL’s on­ line catalog system (ISIS), its ten information centers, and other Internet sites relating to ag­ riculture, government, and library services. A ccess: http://www.nal.usda.gov/. • In te g ra te d S ystem f o r In fo rm a tio n Services (ISIS) o f th e NAL. ISIS is comprised o f two databases: the NAL’s Online Catalog (1966 to the present), and the Journal Article Citation Database (1989 to the present). The latter is a subset o f the AGRICOLA database, which is the online equivalent o f the NAL’s Bib­ liography o f Agriculture. Both databases are updated daily. A ccess: http://www.nal.usda. gov/isis/. • Libraries with Significant Agricultural H oldings, W orldw ide. This list o f 180+ Inter­ net-accessible libraries with significant agricul­ tural holdings was derived primarily from a comparison of two resources: Billy Barron and Marie-Christine Mahe’s “List of OPACs” (May 1994) and A gricu ltu ral In fo rm a tio n R esou rce Centers: A W orld D irectory 1990, edited by Rita Fisher et al. (Urbana, I11.: IAALD, CTA, 1990). A c c ess : http://thorplus.lib.pu rdue.edu:80/ all_libraries/agriculture.html. D a tab ase s • AgDB: A griculture-R elated In fo rm a ­ tion Systems, Databases, and Datasets. From AgNIC (Agriculture Network Information Cen­ ter), this is a carefully annotated, comprehen­ sive resource for more than 400 agriculture- related databases, datasets, and information systems. At this time, only databases with pri­ mary content are included, not bibliographic databases such as AGRICOLA, for example. Al­ though not all the datasets described are avail­ able on the Internet, Web links have been es­ tablished to those that are available. Among the Internet-accessible databases listed: Agri­ cultural Waste Database; Breeds o f Livestock; Crop Index; Culinary Herb FAQ; EXTOXNET— Extension TOXicology NETwork; EthnobotDB— worldwide plant uses; Families o f Flowering Plants: Descriptions and Illustrations; Foodborne Pathogenic Microorganisms and Natural Tox­ ins; Guide to Gardens o f the USA; Medicinal Plants of Native America; Pesticide Information Profiles; U.S. State Fact Sheets (USDA); Water Quality Database; World Cheese Index. A ccess: http://www.agnic.0rg/agdb/erdcalfr.html#a_txt. • C u rre n t R e se a rch In fo rm a tio n Sys­ tem (USDA/CSREES/SERD) Web Site. Con­ tains information on ongoing and recently com­ pleted research projects sponsored by the USDA and the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council; also includes human nutrition research projects conducted or sponsored by the USDA, the NIH, and other federal agencies. CRIS is free-text and field-searchable, with up to 200 retrievals at a time. This is a splendid resource for research­ ers who want to become acquainted with a topic before they begin a research project, or to identify colleagues who are doing research in a particular field. Access: http://cristel.nal. usda.gov:8080/. Many universities also have access to this database via the Community of Science: http://cos.gdb.org/best/fedfund/usda/ usda-intro.html. Agricultural statistics • USDA E co n o m ics an d Statistics Sys­ tem . In cooperation with the USDA, the Mann Library at Cornell University has mounted a Web site which provides access to agricultural eco­ nomic and statistical information. Data are up­ dated daily, based on files received from the USDA’s Economic Research Service and Na­ tional Agricultural Statistics Service. Many of the files are in specific file formats, so, for example, if your applications folder in Netscape is set up correctly, spreadsheet files will open up and display immediately in Lotus 123 or Excel. Other files are in flat ASCII format. Access: http:// usda.mannlib.Cornell.edu/usda/. • C ensu s o f A g ricu ltu re: 1 9 8 2 , 1 9 8 7 , 1 9 9 2 . As part of the Government Information Sharing Program, Oregon State University has mounted the Census o f Agriculture, providing information that is searchable by county, state, or zip codes on such topics as number o f acres, farms, crops, and livestock. A ccess: http.-// sasquatch.kerr.orst.edu/ag-stateis.html. Another site which provides graphical (GIS maps) pre­ sentation o f data may b e found at http:// www.cast.uark.edu/products/CATALOG/NA- TIONAL/HTML/AgCensus_Main.html. • W orld Agricultural In fo rm ation Cen­ te r (WAICENT). This branch of the Food and http://www.fao.org/ http://www.nal.usda.gov/ http://www.nal.usda http://thorplus.lib.purdue.edu:80/ http://www.agnic.0rg/agdb/erdcalfr.html%23a_txt http://cristel.nal http://cos.gdb.org/best/fedfund/usda/ http://www.cast.uark.edu/products/CATALOG/NA- 3 6 2 /C &RL News Agriculture Organization of the United Nations provides statistical information on world agri­ culture, fisheries, forestry, nutrition, and rural developm ent. A ccess: http://www.fao.org/ WAICENT/Agricul.htm. Agricultural o rganizations • Webpages o f Scholarly Societies. From the University of Waterloo Electronic Library Scholarly Societies Project, search under “agri­ cultural and food science,” “biology,” “environ­ mental sciences,” or “health sciences” for soci­ eties with Internet access. A ccess: http:// www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/society/webpages.html. • U.S. State Agricultural Sites. A good starting point if you’re looking for access to state agricultural resources. A ccess: http:// agrinet.tamu.edu/universi/default.htm. • Agricultural Societies and O rganiza­ tions. Maintained by the Oklahoma Coopera­ tive Extension Service, this site lists both schol­ arly and nonscholarly agricultural organizations; a long list of farm “journals” is also maintained. A ccess: http://www.okstate.edu/OSU_Ag/ agedcm4h/bobslist.htm. • Agricultural C o n feren ces, Meetings, Sem inars C alendar. Maintained by the Agri­ culture Network Information Center (AgNIC). Access: http://www.agnic.org/mtg/. Electronic journals and m agazin es • E lectron ic Jo u rn als. This site provides a large, linked, searchable listing of electronic journals in all disciplines. Some societies, such as the American Society of Animal Science, are providing their members with electronic access to their journals. Other journals, such as the J o u r n a l o f Extension, are available free to all. Access: http://www.edoc.com/ejournal/. • Ag Pubs. About 50 journals, magazines, and newsletters are listed at “B ob ’s Awesome List.” Access: http://www.okstate.edu/OSU_Ag/ agedcm4h/bobslist. htm#D. Lists an d new sgroups A large number of discussion groups concern agricultural topics, e.g., AGECON-L (agricultural econom ics), AGRIC-L (general agriculture), AGWOMEN-L, BEEF-L, DAIRY-L, FARM-MGT, EAF-L (EcoAgroForestry), FOOD-NET (food safety), MULCH-L, NEWCROPS (minor crops), RUSAG-L (Russian agriculture), SLA-FAN (food and agriculture librarians), SUSTAG-L (sustain­ able agriculture), SWINE-L, VETMED-L, etc. Sub­ scription information about these lists can be found via several searchable indexes to discus­ sion groups, by searching for “agriculture,” ’’food,” “animal,” “farming,” etc. Among the best of these indexing sites are: • K ovacs’ WWW View o f D irecto ry o f Scholarly and Professional E-C onferences. Access: http://n2h2.com/KOVACS/. • Liszt: D irectory o f E-Mail Discussion Groups. Access: http://www.liszt.com/ • tile.net/Lists. Access: http://www.tile.net /tile/listserv/index. html. Both research scientists and farmers are find­ ing the agricultural Usenet groups of interest. A sampling of the nonscholarly groups include: a lt.a g ric u ltu re .fru it, a lt.a g ric u ltu re .m is c , alt.sustainable.agriculture, rec.gardens.roses, se i.agriculture, sei.agriculture.b eek eep ing, sci.bio.conservation, sci.bio.food-science. Schol­ arly groups can be found under the heading “bionet.” and include such topics as grasses, agroforestry, plants, mycology (fungi), nitrogen fixation, virology, and molecular biology. The BIOSCI bionet Newsgroup Archives is both searchable and postable. A ccess: http://net. bio.net/. W eather • W eatherN et. Weather is always very important to farmers and other agriculturists! Sponsored by the Weather Underground at the University of Michigan, this site has gathered links to most of the major weather resources on the Internet. Use it to find local, regional, and international weather forecasts, radar pho­ tographs, weather maps, travel conditions, and ski reports. Access: http://cirrus.sprl.umich.edu/ wxnet/. • State W eekly Crop-W eath er R eports. Issued for most states, these reports give timely information on the progress of crops (planting, growth, harvesting), local weather conditions, soil moisture, calving, etc. A ccess: http://www. usda.gov/ nass/pubs/staterpt.htm. M ajor guides to agricultural resources • Not Ju st Cows: A Guide to In tern et/ B itn et R eso u rces in A g ricu ltu re. Wilfred Drew’s now-classic list! This Web version pro­ vides links to and information about agricul­ tural gopherholes, Web sites, bulletin boards, databases, listservs, almanacs, Usenet groups, and electronic newsletters and magazines. A c­ cess: http://www.lib.isu.edu/sci.njc.html. • Agrigator, fro m th e Institute o f Food and Agricultural Sciences at th e University http://www.fao.org/ http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/society/webpages.html http://www.okstate.edu/OSU_Ag/ http://www.agnic.org/mtg/ http://www.edoc.com/ejournal/ http://www.okstate.edu/OSU_Ag/ http://n2h2.com/KOVACS/ http://www.liszt.com/ http://www.tile.net http://net http://cirrus.sprl.umich.edu/ http://www http://www.lib.isu.edu/sci.njc.html Ju n e 1 9 9 6 /3 6 3 o f Florida. Agricultural resources are grouped by their source: e.g., international, commercial, U.S. state, U.S. federal, or marketing services. A comprehensive guide to upcoming agricul­ tural conferences is also maintained. Access: http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/www/agator/htm/ ag.htm. • Bob’s Aw esome List: Oklahom a C oop­ erative E x te n sio n ’s Guide to A gricultural Web Sites. Especially rich in links to agricul­ tural publications, organizations, gardening sites, and information about horses. Focus is on sites with reference value. Access: http:// w w w .o k s ta te .e d u / O S U _ A g / a g e d c m 4 h / bobslist.htm. • AgriWeb Canada. From Agricultu Agri-Food Canada’s Electronic Information Ser­ vice (ACEIS), this is a directory of Canadian agriculture and agri-food resources on the In­ ternet. A ccess: http://aceis.agr.ca/agriweb/ agriweb.htm. • INFOMINE: C om p reh en sive Biologi­ cal, Agricultural, and Medical In tern et Re­ sou rce Collection. Annotated, searchable, sub­ ject-delineated site; each listing is cross-listed to provide access to additional, related re­ sources. Access: http://lib-www.ucr.edu/bioag/. • W orld Wide Web Virtual Library. Vir­ tual libraries are maintained in Agricultural Eco­ nomics, Agriculture, Animal Health, Bio Sci­ e n ces, B io lo g ical Control, B io tech n o lo g y , Environment, Fish, Entomology, Forestry, Gar­ dening, Irrigation and Hydrology, Landscape Architecture, Livestock, Plant Biology, Poultry Science, Recreation, Sustainable Development, and Veterinary Medicine (NetVet and the Elec­ tronic Zoo). Each virtual library is maintained by independent organizations or people with expertise in the field. A ccess: http://www.w3. o r g / h y p e r te x t/ D a ta S o u r c e s / b y S u b je c t/ Overview.html. • Y a h o o : A gricu ltu re. Yahoo is a fine starting point, but it doesn’t have the depth of many of the agriculture-specific resource lists. A ccess: http://www.yahoo.com/Science/Agri- culture/. Clip art an d agricultural im age sites These sites offer graphics that are useful for extension agents and other educators. • T e x a s D e p a rtm e n t o f A g ricu ltu ra l C om m u n ication (DAC) A rt a la C arte Col­ lection . A ccess: http://leviathan.tamu.edu:70/ 1m/clipart/taex_alacarte/. • A gricu ltu ral Im ages (f ro m N ational re A gricultural L ibrary o f th e USDA). Access: http ://www.inform ,um d.ed u:8080/EdRes/ Topic/AgrEnv/Agrlmg/. O ther interesting sites • The Time-Life G ardening Library. In­ cludes the Life Time Electronic Encyclopedia, with photos and information for growing plants from more than 1,400 genera, and the House Plant Pavilion, with information on identifying and caring for house plants. A ccess: http:// pathfinder.com/@@m52R*PFR4gIAQCWD/vg/ TimeLife/. Gardeners should also check out the WWW Virtual Library on Gardening at http:// www.gardenweb.com/vl/. and • W eed C o n tro l Notes: W eed Identifica­ tio n Series. Both cultural and chemical means for controlling 50 of the most common weeds are provided, along with clear drawings of each weed in its vegetative and flowering stages. Access: http://www.sasknet.sk.ca/saskgov/SAF/ weeds/tablecon.htm. For excellent photographs o f weeds, look at Rutger’s Weed Images and Descriptions site at http://cook-college.rutgers. edu/www/rce/weeds.htm. • H o m e ste a d : B uild Y o u r O w n W eb Page! Sponsored by @griculture Online, this site makes putting up a Web page easy, and it’s free! So far about 400 agriculturists have taken this opportunity to make a space for them­ selves in cyberspace. A ccess: http://www. agriculture.com/homested/. • Quiz fro m Iow a State U niversity E x ­ ten sio n (ISUE). Each week a staff person from ISUE presents a challenging quiz on an inter­ esting consumer-oriented topic. Access: http:// w w w .e x n e t .i a s t a t e .e d u / Q u i z / C u rre n t/ homepage.html. • P ed ro ’s BioM olecular R esearch Tools. Not strictly an agricultural resource, this site indexes the tools necessary for the agricultural molecular biologist. Included are molecular biology search and analysis tools, bibliographic and Web tools, guides, tutorials, and lists of journals and newsletters. Access: http://www. public.iastate.edu/~pedro/research_tools.html. • NetVet V eterin ary R e so u rce s & th e E lectro n ic Zoo. Find here a gold mine of in­ formation about animal health care and ani­ mal-related organizations, discussion groups, government regulations, education, etc. In ad­ dition, the author, Ken Boschert, has collected homepages for nearly every conceivable type and breed o f pet. A ccess: http://netvet.wustl. edu/welcome.htm. ■ http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/www/agator/htm/ http://www.okstate.edu/OSU_Ag/agedcm4h/ http://aceis.agr.ca/agriweb/ http://lib-www.ucr.edu/bioag/ http://www.w3 http://www.yahoo.com/Science/Agri- http://leviathan.tamu.edu:70/ http://www.gardenweb http://www.sasknet.sk.ca/saskgov/SAF/ http://cook-college.rutgers http://www http://www.exnet.iastate.edu/Quiz/Current/ http://www http://netvet.wustl 3 6 4 /C&RL News For complete details, check with us. CQ Weekly Report. REUTERS N inety-nine percent o f Capitol H ill’s offices get Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. And so do 89% o f the largest college and university libraries. You see, the most trusted source on the Hill is also a favorite o f patrons like yours. Scholars, researchers and students alike know we’ve covered Congress for over 50 years, without taking sides. The facts they get are just that— unbiased and always complete. 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