Resources

References for the Sustainable Agriculture CDE

organized by Dr. Bob Williams and Carolyne Savage

Updated April 3, 2025

The Career Development Event in Sustainable Agriculture for FFA members was first held in May 2022 at Texas A&M University-Commerce (now East Texas A&M University) as a graduate student research project. Since that first event, we have reviewed many resources and developed exam items that are relevant to best practices in sustainable agriculture but are, in many cases, also applicable to scaling up and adoption in conventional farming and ranching practices. 

Our next Sustainable Agriculture CDE will be on Wednesday, May 6, 2026 beginning at 9:30 a.m. at a location on the East Texas A&M University campus to be determined and announced closer to the contest. The event will be traditional teams of 3-4 members with the top three individual scores added together for a team score, similar to other CDEs. A chapter can enter more than one team.

This contest focuses on agricultural practices that are ecologically sound, economically feasible, and ethically responsible for farm operators and workers, landowners, and consumers. Sustainable agriculture is an emerging field of research, education, and employment. As such, we are all still learning and growing in our professional understanding of what works best in the production of food for a growing population on a shrinking amount of farmland that allows sufficient profit to sustain farm enterprises of all types for the long haul.

We hope you will consider preparing students to participate in the Sustainable Agriculture CDE. This year's event, although individually competitive, will hopefully introduce sustainable agriculture to a broader set of students, advisors, and other stakeholders. This contest is an excellent end of school experience for students of various course or prior CDE backgrounds. Additionally, we are hoping to encourage more chapters to add this event to their invitational CDEs for 2026-2027.

The references on the following pages provide the source of the exam items used in the contest. We are continuously developing new exam items and have a study test bank of 150+ questions available upon request by email. The reference resources selected for this event are currently available for free in downloadable PDFs. Some have an audio version. 

We are interested in recruiting and assisting chapters in hosting an invitational version of the Sustainable Agriculture CDE during the 2026-2027 school year. Let us know if you are interested!

For more information, contact:

Dr. Bob Williams, Mayo Professor of Agriculture, Food, & Family 
Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems
[email protected]         
903.886.5350 (Office)

Carolyne Savage
Graduate Assistant 
[email protected]        

Crop Production and Protection

• Clark, A. (2012, June). Managing Cover Crops Profitably. Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/Managing-Cover-Crops-Profitably.pdf
• Magdoff, F., & Van Es, H. (2021). Building soils for better crops: Ecological management for Healthy Soils (4th ed., Ser. 10). Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education. https://www.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/Building-Soils-for-Better-Crops.pdf
• Mohler, C. L., Teasdale, J. R., & DiTommaso, A. (2021). Manage weeds on your farm: A guide to ecological strategies (Ser. 16). Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE). https://www.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/Manage-Weeds-on-Your-Farm.pdf
• Earles, R. (2005). Sustainable Agriculture: An Introduction. ATTRA. Retrieved 2022, from https://attra.ncat.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/sustagintro.pdf

Integration of Livestock/Poultry

• Coffey, L. & Mumma, T. (2014). Integrating Livestock and Crops: Improving Soil, Solving Problems, Increasing Income. National Center for Appropriate Technology-ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture-IP 475. https://attra.ncat.org/publication/integrating-livestock-and-crops-improving-soil-solving-problems-increasing-income/
• Fanatico, A. (2006). Alternative Poultry Production Systems and Outdoor Access. National Center for Appropriate Technology-ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture-IP 300. https://attra.ncat.org/publication/alternative-poultry-production-systems-and-outdoor-access/

Marketing Strategies

• Rittenhouse, T. (2016). Direct Marketing. National Center for Appropriate Technology-ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture-IP 113. https://attra.ncat.org/publication/direct-marketing/

Identification

See the accompanying list for items that may appear in the ID part of the contest.