Grassland: Quietness and Strength for a New American Agriculture takes on the task of increasing our awareness of the vital role grass and grassland plants have in ensuring a sustainable future for America. Geared toward agriculturists, students, the public, and policy makers, Grassland aims to inspire and provide the reader the foundation needed to move into the future.

Three main sections

• track the history of grassland farming, highlighting the voices of grassland advocates
• examine the current roles that grassland plays throughout the United States
• look at the benefits grass-based agriculture can provide when grass is treated as an essential resource

As Wendell Berry so eloquently argues in the foreword to Grassland, "True farmers have minds that are complex and responsible. . . . They understand and honor their debts to nature. They understand and honor their obligations to neighbors and consumers. They understand and respect the land's need to be protected from washing. . . . In the time that is coming, we are going to need many more such farmers than we have, and we will need them much sooner than we can expect to get them. We will get them only to the extent that young people come along who are willing to fit their farming to the nature of their farms and their home landscapes, and who recognize the paramount importance of grass and grazing animals to good farming everywhere." This book will help that happen.

Walter Wedin is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota, and Emeritus Professor in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University. His particular professional interests are in forages and grazing lands.

Steven L. Fales is Professor of Agronomy at Iowa State University. His research and teaching have focused on improving forage management for economic and environmental sustainability and on understanding elements of forage and biomass composition and quality for livestock productivity and bioenergy applications.