Download or read book Gaining Ground written by Forrest Pritchard and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2013-05-21 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One fateful day in 1996, upon discovering that five freight cars’ worth of glittering corn have reaped a tiny profit of $18.16, young Forrest Pritchard undertakes to save his family’s farm. What ensues—through hilarious encounters with all manner of livestock and colorful local characters—is a crash course in sustainable agriculture. Pritchard’s biggest ally is his renegade father, who initially questions his career choice and eschews organic foods for sugary mainstream fare; but just when the farm starts to turn heads at local markets, his father’s health takes a turn for the worse.With poetry and humor, this timely memoir tugs on the heartstrings and feeds the soul long after the last page is turned.
Download or read book The Myth Of The Family Farm written by Ingolf Vogeler and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ideal of the family farm has been used to justify a myriad of federal farm legislation. Land grants, the distribution of irrigation water, land-grant college research and services, farm programs, and tax laws all have been affected. Yet, asserts the author, federal legislation and practices have had an institutional bias toward large-scale farms and agribusiness and have hastened the demise of family farms. Dr. Vogeler examines the struggle between land interests in the private and public sectors and finds that the myth of the family farm has been used to obscure the dominance of agribusiness and that the corporate penetration of agriculture has in turn contributed to the plight of migrant workers, the decline of small towns, and the economic difficulties of independent farmers. Dr. Vogeler also identifies the major shortcomings of agribusiness and federal land-related laws and programs; examines the regional impact of agribusiness and federal farm programs on rural areas; and considers the role of racial minorities and women in the development of agrarian capitalism. In conclusion, he offers a structural analysis that provides the means for progressive social change and states that the achievement of economic equality in rural America and the dismantling of the corporate control of agriculture can be realized through farmer-labor alliances.
Download or read book Farm and Other F Words written by Sarah K Mock and published by . This book was released on 2021-04-26 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We love The American Farmer. We trust them to grow our food, to be part of children's nursery rhymes, to provide the economic backbone of rural communities, and to embody a version of the American dream. At the same time, we know that "corporate farms" are disrupting the agrarian way of life that we so admire, and that we've got to do something to stop it. So what's our plan for saving the farms we love? In Farm (and Other F Words), Sarah K Mock dismantles misconceptions about American farms and discovers what makes small family farms work, or why they don't. While exploring the intersection of farming and wealth, Mock offers an alternative perspective on American agricultural history, and outlines a path to a more equitable food system moving forward. Calling for change, Farm (and Other F Words) tackles questions like: Do farmers really get paid not to farm? Are "big corporate farms" the future? How much good has the food movement done for small family farmers? Ultimately, Mock suggests a solution without putting the onus for change on struggling consumers and reminds us that, "the future of American agriculture is not yet decided."
Download or read book My Family s Corn Farm written by Katie Olthoff and published by . This book was released on 2022-09-20 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet Presley - a farm girl who narrates the busy life of a modern, working corn farm in this fun and informative picture book about a family growing one of the top crops of American agriculture There's a lot of jobs to do on the family farm! Presley and her farm family work on planting corn, watching for pests, monitoring rain fall so plants get the right amount of water, harvesting the corn, exploring how corn is used in many products, and learning how to be more sustainable farmers. My Family's Corn Farm is a picture book that includes the life cycle of the corn plant, parts of the corn plant, what a corn plant needs to grow, different types of corn and their uses, how farmers work to prevent erosion with cover crops, and how farmers are continuously learning how to be better stewards of the land. The book also showcases farm vehicles and technology such as a tractor, combine, grain bin, and planter. Readers also see how corn can be used for many types of products from ethanol to corn chips, corn syrup, corn starch and more. Easy to read glossary defines the following: acre, bushel, combine, crops, ethanol, farmer, feed, fuel, harvest, kernel, livestock and nutrients. My Family's Corn Farm is a great way to teach about plant life cycles, farm families, and American agriculture. About the publisher: Feeding Minds Press is a project of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture whose mission is to build awareness and understanding of agriculture through education. We focus on helping young readers understand where their food comes from, who grows it, and how it gets to them and believe in cultivating curiosity about food and farming and how agriculture plays a role in our daily lives. All books from Feeding Minds Press have accompanying lessons, activities, and videos to further learning available on their website, www.feedingmindspress.com
Download or read book Dirt to Soil written by Gabe Brown and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-11 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A regenerative no-till pioneer."—NBC News "We need to reintegrate livestock and crops on our farms and ranches, and Gabe Brown shows us how to do it well."—Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation See Gabe Brown—author and farmer—in the Netflix documentary Kiss the Ground Gabe Brown didn’t set out to change the world when he first started working alongside his father-in-law on the family farm in North Dakota. But as a series of weather-related crop disasters put Brown and his wife, Shelly, in desperate financial straits, they started making bold changes to their farm. Brown—in an effort to simply survive—began experimenting with new practices he’d learned about from reading and talking with innovative researchers and ranchers. As he and his family struggled to keep the farm viable, they found themselves on an amazing journey into a new type of farming: regenerative agriculture. Brown dropped the use of most of the herbicides, insecticides, and synthetic fertilizers that are a standard part of conventional agriculture. He switched to no-till planting, started planting diverse cover crops mixes, and changed his grazing practices. In so doing Brown transformed a degraded farm ecosystem into one full of life—starting with the soil and working his way up, one plant and one animal at a time. In Dirt to Soil Gabe Brown tells the story of that amazing journey and offers a wealth of innovative solutions to restoring the soil by laying out and explaining his "five principles of soil health," which are: Limited Disturbance Armor Diversity Living Roots Integrated Animals The Brown’s Ranch model, developed over twenty years of experimentation and refinement, focuses on regenerating resources by continuously enhancing the living biology in the soil. Using regenerative agricultural principles, Brown’s Ranch has grown several inches of new topsoil in only twenty years! The 5,000-acre ranch profitably produces a wide variety of cash crops and cover crops as well as grass-finished beef and lamb, pastured laying hens, broilers, and pastured pork, all marketed directly to consumers. The key is how we think, Brown says. In the industrial agricultural model, all thoughts are focused on killing things. But that mindset was also killing diversity, soil, and profit, Brown realized. Now he channels his creative thinking toward how he can get more life on the land—more plants, animals, and beneficial insects. “The greatest roadblock to solving a problem,” Brown says, “is the human mind.”
Download or read book Family Farming written by and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2008-06-01 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Americans decry the decline of family farming but stand by helplessly as industrial agribusiness takes over. The prevailing sentiment is that family farms should survive for important social, ethical, and economic reasons. But will they? This timely book exposes the biases in American farm policies that irrationally encourage expansion, biases evident in federal commodity programs, income tax provisions, and subsidized credit services. Family Farming also exposes internal conflicts, particularly the conflict between the private interests of individual farmers and the public interest in family farming as a whole. It challenges the assumption that bigger is better, critiques the technological basis of modern agriculture, and calls for farming practices that are ethical, economical, and ecologically sound. The alternative policies discussed in this book could yet save the family farm, and the ways and means of saving it are argued here with special urgency. ø This Bison Books edition includes a new introduction by the author providing a more national perspective, underscoring the repetitive cycles of American agriculture over the decade, and assessing the major policy issues that have dominated agriculture in recent years.
Download or read book Status of the Family Farm and the Prospects for the Future written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture. Subcommittee on Forests, Family Farms, and Energy and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Status of the Family Farm written by and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book American Agriculture written by Mark V. Wetherington and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-05-28 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American Agriculture tells the story of farming in American from contact between Native Americans and Europeans to the present. Agricultural historian Mark V. Wetherington provide a narrative overview of significant historical trends explored through specific crop regions and their emergence over time. He traces the decline of the family farm that at one time formed the backbone of America’s agrarian culture and the emergence of large industrial farms that overproduce subsidized commodity crops. American Agriculture provides a narrative overview of significant historical trends explored through specific crop regions and their emergence over time. It is interdisciplinary in approach and places the major themes and topics within the broader context of the nation's history. This book will be essential reading to anyone interesting in the past, present, or future of American farming.
Download or read book My Family s Soybean Farm written by Katie Olthoff and published by . This book was released on 2022-09-13 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet Alexander and Charlie - the farm boy and his helpful dog who narrate the busy life of a modern, working soybean farm in this fun and informative picture book about a family growing one of the top crops of American agriculture The busy days and many jobs of a farm family, the life cycle of a soybean plant, and its life as a crop getting to market are all detailed in My Family's Soybean Farm, a picture book on what it takes to grow soybeans, and how the crop becomes the many products we use every day. Each spread walks readers through the many steps of planting and growing the crop throughout the seasons, with extensive text features placed beside the story offering range of additional information for readers, from STEM concepts to illustrations of farm equipment, diagrams, and more. The family's working together is highlighted throughout, across traditional roles and with modern-day tech: Alexander watches as Mom drives the tractor in a modern cab complete with GPS technology, and later, he and Dad check the crop both with age-old techniques like walking the fields ("crop scouting") and by using the latest drone technology, too. Detailed drawings show the life cycle of the soybean crop, as well as diagrams on larger concepts, like how soybeans are alternated with corn for soil preservation. Illustrations and information about literally every farm vehicle and other vehicles involved in growing soybeans and getting them to market are also here - including tractor and planter, sprayer, wagons and grain bins, processors, and finally, even barges and trains to get the crops to markets both domestic and around the world. Spreads also show how soybeans are used in a range of products, from Charlie's bowl of dog food, to foods like soy sauce, feed for farm animals, and more. About the publisher: Feeding Minds Press is a project of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture whose mission is to build awareness and understanding of agriculture through education. We focus on helping young readers understand where their food comes from, who grows it, and how it gets to them and believe in cultivating curiosity about food and farming and how agriculture plays a role in our daily lives. All books from Feeding Minds Press have accompanying lessons, activities, and videos to further learning available on their website, www.feedingmindspress.com.
Download or read book Family Agriculture written by David G. Francis and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-07-26 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1994, this book examines the importance of family agricultural systems in both the developed and the developing worlds. Throughout the world, and throughout history, the family unit has been at the heart of agricultural systems. Working together, families not only furnish their own needs, but form the basis for society itself: they provide the labour, population, resources and the market to maintain much of the world’s economic and social development. But the global race for financial prosperity, with its large-scale intensive farming techniques, is increasingly undermining the family’s role in food production and social cohesion. This book explores both traditional and modern farming techniques and looks at their different consequences for national agricultural resources and for rural societies. Finally, it suggests ways in which technology can be harnessed to meet the needs of the family rather than undermine it, in order to achieve a viable and sustainable agriculture for the future.
Download or read book The Rise of Women Farmers and Sustainable Agriculture written by Carolyn Sachs and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2016-05-15 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A profound shift is occurring among women working in agriculture - they are increasingly seeing themselves as farmers, not only as the wives or daughters of farmers. In this book, farm women in the northeastern United States describe how they got into farming and became successful entrepreneurs despite the barriers they encountered in agricultural institutions, farming communities, and even their own families. The authors' feminist agrifood systems theory (FAST) values women's ways of knowing and working in agriculture and has the potential to shift how farmers, agricultural professionals, and anyone else interested in farming think about gender and sustainability, as well as to change how feminist scholars and theorists think about agriculture.--COVER.
Download or read book The Family Farm written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture and published by . This book was released on 1963 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bet the Farm written by Beth Hoffman and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Eloquent and detailed...It's hard to have hope, but the organized observations and plans of Hoffman and people like her give me some. Read her book -- and listen." -- Jane Smiley, The Washington Post In her late 40s, Beth Hoffman decided to upend her comfortable life as a professor and journalist to move to her husband's family ranch in Iowa--all for the dream of becoming a farmer. There was just one problem: money. Half of America's two million farms made less than $300 in 2019, and many struggle just to stay afloat. Bet the Farm chronicles this struggle through Beth's eyes. She must contend with her father-in-law, who is reluctant to hand over control of the land. Growing oats is good for the environment but ends up being very bad for the wallet. And finding somewhere, in the midst of COVID-19, to slaughter grass finished beef is a nightmare. If Beth can't make it, how can farmers who confront racism, lack access to land, or don't have other jobs to fall back on hack it? Bet the Farm is a first-hand account of the perils of farming today and a personal exploration of more just and sustainable ways of producing food.
Download or read book From the Family Farm to Agribusiness written by Donald J. Pisani and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2021-01-08 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1984.
Download or read book Family Farm Program written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture. Subcommittee on Family Farms and published by . This book was released on 1958 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book From Pioneering to Persevering written by Paul Salstrom and published by Purdue University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Indiana's pioneers came to southern Indiana to turn the dream of an America based on family farming into a reality. The golden age prior to the Civil War led to a post-War preserving of the independent family farmer. Salstrom examines this "independence" and finds the label to be less than adequate. Hoosier farming was an inter-dependent activity leading to a society of borrowing and loaning. When people talk about supporting family farming, as Salstrom notes, the issue is a societal one with a greater population involved than just the farmers themselves.
