Download or read book The Independent Farmstead written by Beth Dougherty and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2016-09-07 with total page 589 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With in-depth information on electric fencing, watering, and husbandry for ruminants, poultry, and pigs, plus butchering, dairying, and more “If we work hard, we sleep well.” Twenty years ago, when authors Shawn and Beth Dougherty purchased the land they would come to name the Sow’s Ear, the state of Ohio designated it “not suitable for agriculture.” Today, their family raises and grows 90% of their own food. Such self-sufficiency is largely the result of basing their farming practices around intensive pasture management. Pioneered by such luminaries as Allan Savory, Greg Judy, and Joel Salatin, the tenets of holistic grazing—employed mostly by larger-scale commercial operations—have been adapted by the Doughertys to fit their family’s needs. In The Independent Farmstead, The Sow’s Ear model for regenerating the land and growing food—“the best you ever tasted”—is elucidated for others to use and build upon. In witty and welcoming style, The Independent Farmstead covers everything from choosing a species of ruminant and incorporating it into a grass-based system to innovative electric fencing and watering systems, to what to do with all of the milk, meat, and, yes, manure that the self-sustaining farm produces. Within these pages, the Doughertys discuss how to: Find and improve poor, waste, or abused land and develop its natural water resources; Select and purchase the appropriate ruminant for regenerating your farmstead; Apply fencing strategies and pasture management basics; Implement basic, uncomplicated food processing, including large and small animal butchering and cheese making; and Integrate grass, gardens, and livestock to minimize or eliminate the need for off-farm inputs. As the Doughertys write, more and more people today are feeling “the desire for clean, affordable food, unmodified, unprocessed, and unmedicated and the security of local food sourcing for ourselves and our children.” The Independent Farmstead is a must-have resource for those who count themselves as part of this movement: both new and prospective farmers and homesteaders, and those who are interested in switching to grass-based systems. Best of all it’s the kind of rare how-to book that the authors themselves view not as a compendium of one-size-fits-all instructions but as “the beginning of a conversation,” one that is utterly informative, sincere, and inspiring.
Download or read book The Farming Ladder written by G. Henderson and published by Read Books Ltd. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1943, “The Farming Ladder” aims to explain how the reader may start and maintain a successful and profitable farm in the easiest way possible, without requiring a great deal of special knowledge or skills. With original ideas and a wealth of helpful tips, this is a volume not to be missed by existing or prospective smallholders and farmers. Contents include: “The Farm”, “The Plan”, “The Poultry”, “The Cattle”, “The Sheep”, “The Pigs”, “The Land”, “Labour”, “Corn Bins Unlimited”, “Holidays”, “The Farm Buildings”, “The Fourth Rung of the Ladder”, “Wartime Farming”, “Accounts”, “Conclusion”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on farming.
Download or read book Food Security and Soil Quality written by Rattan Lal and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2010-06-23 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just five years ago, it was generally believed that the number of food insecure people in the world was on continuous decline. Unfortunately, widespread soil degradation along with resistance to recommended agronomic practices, and little attempt to restore degraded soils have conspired with significant droughts (in regions that could least tolerat
Download or read book Independent Homesteader written by Rebecca Bloom and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-05-07 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Getting Your FREE Bonus Download this book, read it to the end and see "BONUS: Your FREE Gift" chapter after the conclusion. Independent Homesteader: Produce On Your Homestead Vegetables, Meat And Honey For Personal Use And For Money (FREE Bonus Included) Book#1: Backyard Homestead: 46 Simple Steps To Producing Own Food And Reach Self-Sufficiency This book "Backyard Homestead: 46 Simple Steps to Producing Own Food and Reach Self-Sufficiency" is a great guide for you if you are looking forward to do gardening at your own house. Gardening does not only involved growing flowers but it involves all the natural growth of vegetables, fruits, herbs and much more. You will be able to learn various techniques and steps in this book which will help you get a hold of the garden in no time. Book#2: How To Make Compost: 10 Ways To Make Gold From Your Wastes Are you interested in having the best soil in your house? Have you been looking for ways to grow the best foods from your soil? Are you looking for ways to learn the process of composting? Then this book right here will answer all your questions and solve all your problems. This book is written to make you understand what composting is. The book gives you a clear understanding of every little and important detail that you should be aware of. Book#3: Find Answers On Any Questions You Have Planning Your Perfect Chicken Coops This is an easy to follow beginners guide based on creative ideas to help you to plan and build the perfect chicken coop to suit your needs. Raising chickens is becoming a very popular trend right across the country. People are becoming more concerned about the incorporation of steroids and other chemicals that are being put in our foods. People are seeking more natural food sources, that are not only a healthier choice, but are also more cost effective. Book#4: Quail Keeping For Money: Read This Book Before Starting Your Quail Keeping Career In this book, you will find some great tips and advice on how to get your own quail farm up and running. You will discover that raising quails can be a very lucrative business in the poultry farming industry. It is a very popular source of income. Learn how you only need a little capital, to get your quail farm up and running. Find out how you can make high returns on your small amount of capital. Book# 5: Backyard Beekeeping: Essentials You Need To Know To Enlarge Your Bees Colony And Get Even More Honey This book Backyard beekeeping: essentials you need to know to enlarge your Bees colony and get even more honey is an excellent guide to those who are interested in beekeeping for all their honey. Download your E book "Independent Homesteader: Produce On Your Homestead Vegetables, Meat And Honey For Personal Use And For Money" by scrolling up and clicking "Buy Now with 1-Click" button!
Download or read book The Urban Farmer written by Curtis Allen Stone and published by New Society Publishers. This book was released on 2015-12-14 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are twenty million acres of lawns in North America. In their current form, these unproductive expanses of grass represent a significant financial and environmental cost. However, viewed through a different lens, they can also be seen as a tremendous source of opportunity. Access to land is a major barrier for many people who want to enter the agricultural sector, and urban and suburban yards have huge potential for would-be farmers wanting to become part of this growing movement. The Urban Farmer is a comprehensive, hands-on, practical manual to help you learn the techniques and business strategies you need to make a good living growing high-yield, high-value crops right in your own backyard (or someone else's). Major benefits include: Low capital investment and overhead costs Reduced need for expensive infrastructure Easy access to markets Growing food in the city means that fresh crops may travel only a few blocks from field to table, making this innovative approach the next logical step in the local food movement. Based on a scalable, easily reproduced business model, The Urban Farmer is your complete guide to minimizing risk and maximizing profit by using intensive production in small leased or borrowed spaces. Curtis Stone is the owner/operator of Green City Acres, a commercial urban farm growing vegetables for farmers markets, restaurants, and retail outlets. During his slower months, Curtis works as a public speaker, teacher, and consultant, sharing his story to inspire a new generation of farmers.
Download or read book Small Scale Pig Raising written by Dirk Van Loon and published by Echo Point Books & Media. This book was released on 2016-05-31 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you dream of raising a feeder animal but have limited land, time, and money? Dirk van Loon has a solution for you! Covering everything from buying your pig to smoking your own bacon, "Small-Scale Pig Raising" will show you how to produce the most meat for the smallest investment of time and money in a healthy and stress-free environment. This volume covers the essentials, including: Housing & equipment Penning & handling Commercial feeds Alternative feeds Pig digestion & physiology Breeding & farrowing Management techniques Butchering "Small-Scale Pig Raising" includes in-depth detail on home butchering with step-by-step instructions and photos that break down the entire process from slaughtering to portioning meat for the freezer. This book covers everything a beginner needs to know.
Download or read book The Resilient Farm and Homestead written by Ben Falk and published by Chelsea Green Publishing Company. This book was released on 2013 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Resilient Farm and Homestead is a manual for developing durable, beautiful, and highly functional human habitat systems fit to handle an age of rapid transition. Ben Falk is a land designer and site developer whose permaculture-research farm has drawn national attention. The site is a terraced paradise on a hillside in Vermont that would otherwise be overlooked by conventional farmers as unworthy farmland. Falk's wide array of fruit trees, rice paddies (relatively unheard of in the Northeast), ducks, nuts, and earth-inspired buildings is a hopeful image for the future of regenerative agriculture and modern homesteading. The book covers nearly every strategy Falk and his team have been testing at the Whole Systems Research Farm over the past decade, as well as experiments from other sites Falk has designed through his off-farm consulting business. The book includes detailed information on earthworks; gravity-fed water systems; species composition; the site-design process; site management; fuelwood hedge production and processing; human health and nutrient-dense production strategies; rapid topsoil formation and remineralization; agroforestry/silvopasture/grazing; ecosystem services, especially regarding flood mitigation; fertility management; human labor and social-systems aspects; tools/equipment/appropriate technology; and much more, complete with gorgeous photography and detailed design drawings. The Resilient Farm and Homestead is more than just a book of tricks and techniques for regenerative site development, but offers actual working results in living within complex farm-ecosystems based on research from the "great thinkers" in permaculture, and presents a viable home-scale model for an intentional food-producing ecosystem in cold climates, and beyond. Inspiring to would-be homesteaders everywhere, but especially for those who find themselves with "unlikely" farming land, Falk is an inspiration in what can be done by imitating natural systems, and making the most of what we have by re-imagining what's possible. A gorgeous case study for the homestead of the future.
Download or read book The Art and Science of Grazing written by Sarah Flack and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2016 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grazing management might seem simple: just put livestock in a pasture and let them eat their fill. However, as Sarah Flack explains in The Art and Science of Grazing, the pasture/livestock relationship is incredibly complex. If a farmer doesn't pay close attention to how the animals are grazing, the resulting poorly managed grazing system can be harmful to the health of the livestock, pasture plants, and soils. Well-managed pastures can instead create healthier animals, a diverse and resilient pasture ecosystem, and other benefits. Flack delves deeply below the surface of "let the cows eat grass," demonstrating that grazing management is a sophisticated science that requires mastery of plant and animal physiology, animal behavior, and ecology. She also shows readers that applying grazing management science on a working farm is an art form that calls on grass farmers to be careful observers, excellent planners and record-keepers, skillful interpreters of their observations, and creative troubleshooters. The Art and Science of Grazing will allow farmers to gain a solid understanding of the key principles of grazing management so they can both design and manage successful grazing systems. The book's unique approach presents information first from the perspective of pasture plants, and then from the livestock perspective--helping farmers understand both plant and animal needs before setting up a grazing system. This book is an essential guide for ruminant farmers who want to be able to create grazing systems that meet the needs of their livestock, pasture plants, soils, and the larger ecosystem. The book discusses all the practical details that are critical for sustained success: how to set up a new system or improve existing systems; acreage calculations; paddock layout; fence and drinking water access; lanes and other grazing infrastructure; managing livestock movement and flow; soil fertility; seeding and reseeding pastures; and more. The author includes descriptions of real grazing systems working well on dairy, beef, goat, and sheep farms in different regions of North America. The book covers pasture requirements specific to organic farming, but will be of use to both organic and non-organic farms.
Download or read book Folks This Ain t Normal written by Joel Salatin and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2011-10-10 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From farmer Joel Salatin's point of view, life in the 21st century just ain't normal. In FOLKS, THIS AIN'T NORMAL, he discusses how far removed we are from the simple, sustainable joy that comes from living close to the land and the people we love. Salatin has many thoughts on what normal is and shares practical and philosophical ideas for changing our lives in small ways that have big impact. Salatin, hailed by the New York Times as "Virginia's most multifaceted agrarian since Thomas Jefferson [and] the high priest of the pasture" and profiled in the Academy Award nominated documentary Food, Inc. and the bestselling book The Omnivore's Dilemma, understands what food should be: Wholesome, seasonal, raised naturally, procured locally, prepared lovingly, and eaten with a profound reverence for the circle of life. And his message doesn't stop there. From child-rearing, to creating quality family time, to respecting the environment, Salatin writes with a wicked sense of humor and true storyteller's knack for the revealing anecdote. Salatin's crucial message and distinctive voice--practical, provocative, scientific, and down-home philosophical in equal measure--make FOLKS, THIS AIN'T NORMAL a must-read book.
Download or read book Ten Acres Enough written by Edmund Morris and published by . This book was released on 1905 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Rooted Life written by Justin Rhodes and published by Worthy Books. This book was released on 2022-03-15 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A permaculture expert and popular YouTube Homesteader shares the skills and the delights of becoming a part of your own food story in this inspiring, accessible, and beautiful invitation to a more abundant, healthy, and connected life. Have you ever wanted to experiment with growing your own food but didn’t think you had the space, the time, or the knowledge? Justin Rhodes thought the same thing—until after years battling systemic illness and struggling to provide the kind of wholesome food he wanted for his family, he bought a seed packet at the grocery store and was hooked! Justin discovered the miraculous potential and empowerment of working with nature to grow food for his family, and since that discovery, he has shared his self-taught skills with hundreds of thousands of growers via his popular YouTube channel and website. Whether you're looking for greater food security, better health, tastier food, to save or earn money, connect with your food source, this book is for you. If you're looking for a different kind of life—a life focused on health and wellness—take a look down the road less traveled. Looking for every opportunity to pass his hard-earned knowledge onto others, Justin Rhodes created this inspiring and practical invitation to growing your own food and experiencing a more connected, sustainable lifestyle, no matter where you live or how much space you have. Filled with beautiful and inspiring photographs from the Rhodes’ homestead and chock full of resources, including gardening plans, everything you need to know about raising chickens, tips for how to get your kids involved, and even recipes for how to serve up your home-grown goodness, The Rooted Life provides you with the inspiration, the encouragement, and the practical wisdom that you need to begin the journey to a more rooted life.
Download or read book The Nourishing Homestead written by Ben Hewitt and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2015-01-23 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A practiculture way to grow nutrient-dense food, produce healthy fats, and live the good life The Nourishing Homestead tells the story of how we can create truly satisfying, permanent, nourished relationships to the land, nature, and one another. The Hewitts offer practical ways to grow nutrient-dense food on a small plot of land, and think about your farm, homestead, or home as an ecosystem. Much of what the Hewitts have come to understand and embrace about their lives of deep nourishment is informed by their particular piece of land and local community in northern Vermont, but what they have gleaned is readily transferable to any place—whether you live on 4 acres, 40 acres, or in a 400-square-foot studio apartment. Ben and Penny (and their two sons) maintain copious gardens, dozens of fruit and nut trees and other perennial plantings, as well as a pick-your-own blueberry patch. In addition to these cultivated food crops, they also forage for wild edibles, process their own meat, make their own butter, and ferment, dry, and can their own vegetables. Their focus is to produce nutrient-dense foods from vibrant, mineralized soils for themselves and their immediate community. They are also committed to sharing the traditional skills that support their family, helping them be self-sufficient and thrive in these uncertain times. Much of what the Hewitts are attempting on their homestead is to close the gaps that economic separation has created in our health, spirit, and skills. Ben uses the term “practiculture” to describe his family’s work with the land—a term that encompasses the many practical life skills and philosophies they embody to create a thriving homestead, including raw-milk production, soil remediation, wildcrafting, Weston A. Price principles, bionutrient-dense farming, permaculture, agroforestry, traditional Vermont hill farming, and more. The Nourishing Homestead also includes information on deep nutrition, the importance of good fats, and integrating children into the work of a homestead. The Hewitts’ story is reminiscent of The Good Life, by Helen and Scott Nearing, and is sure to inspire a new generation of homesteaders, or anyone seeking a simpler way of life and a deeper connection to the world.
Download or read book Polyface Micro written by Joel Salatin and published by Polyface. This book was released on 2022-01-17 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I love your ideas, but I only have a few acres. How do I do this at my scale?" Success with domestic livestock does not require large land bases. Joel Salatin and his family's Polyface Farm in Virginia lead the world in animal-friendly and ecologically authentic, commercial, pasture-based livestock production. In Polyface Micro he adapts the ideas and protocols to small holdings (including apartments)! Homesteaders can increase production, enjoy healthy animals, and create aesthetically and aromatically pleasant livestock systems. Whether you're a new or seasoned homesteader, you'll find tips and inspiration as Joel coaches you toward success and abundance.
Download or read book The Farm Girl s Guide to Preserving the Harvest written by Ann Accetta-Scott and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-05-01 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Preserving food can be one of the most intimidating aspects of homesteading and cooking. Luckily, no one makes it as easy and as much fun as farm-girl-in-the-making Ann Acetta-Scott. For a beginner new to the world of preserving, the ideal tool is a detailed reference guide, and in The Farm Girl’s Guide to Preserving the Harvest, Ann covers all the basics on canning, dehydrating, freezing, fermenting, curing, and smoking, including how to select and use the right tools for each method. This guide takes home preservers through the beginning, moderate, and advanced stages of preserving. Newcomers can start with a simple jam and jelly recipe using a hot water bath canner, while others may be advanced enough to have mastered the pressure canner and are ready to move onto curing and smoking meat and fish. With more than 30 delicious and healthy recipesand Ann's expertise and encouragement, the home preserver will build confidence in the most common methods of preserving.
Download or read book The Prairie Homestead Cookbook written by Jill Winger and published by Flatiron Books. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jill Winger, creator of the award-winning blog The Prairie Homestead, introduces her debut The Prairie Homestead Cookbook, including 100+ delicious, wholesome recipes made with fresh ingredients to bring the flavors and spirit of homestead cooking to any kitchen table. With a foreword by bestselling author Joel Salatin The Pioneer Woman Cooks meets 100 Days of Real Food, on the Wyoming prairie. While Jill produces much of her own food on her Wyoming ranch, you don’t have to grow all—or even any—of your own food to cook and eat like a homesteader. Jill teaches people how to make delicious traditional American comfort food recipes with whole ingredients and shows that you don’t have to use obscure items to enjoy this lifestyle. And as a busy mother of three, Jill knows how to make recipes easy and delicious for all ages. "Jill takes you on an insightful and delicious journey of becoming a homesteader. This book is packed with so much easy to follow, practical, hands-on information about steps you can take towards integrating homesteading into your life. It is packed full of exciting and mouth-watering recipes and heartwarming stories of her unique adventure into homesteading. These recipes are ones I know I will be using regularly in my kitchen." - Eve Kilcher These 109 recipes include her family’s favorites, with maple-glazed pork chops, butternut Alfredo pasta, and browned butter skillet corn. Jill also shares 17 bonus recipes for homemade sauces, salt rubs, sour cream, and the like—staples that many people are surprised to learn you can make yourself. Beyond these recipes, The Prairie Homestead Cookbook shares the tools and tips Jill has learned from life on the homestead, like how to churn your own butter, feed a family on a budget, and experience all the fulfilling satisfaction of a DIY lifestyle.
Download or read book A Revolution Down on the Farm written by Paul K. Conkin and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2008-09-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time when food is becoming increasingly scarce in many parts of the world and food prices are skyrocketing, no industry is more important than agriculture. Humans have been farming for thousands of years, and yet agriculture has undergone more fundamental changes in the past 80 years than in the previous several centuries. In 1900, 30 million American farmers tilled the soil or tended livestock; today there are fewer than 4.5 million farmers who feed a population four times larger than it was at the beginning of the century. Fifty years ago, the planet could not have sustained a population of 6.5 billion; now, commercial and industrial agriculture ensure that millions will not die from starvation. Farmers are able to feed an exponentially growing planet because the greatest industrial revolution in history has occurred in agriculture since 1929, with U.S. farmers leading the way. Productivity on American farms has increased tenfold, even as most small farmers and tenants have been forced to find other work. Today, only 300,000 farms produce approximately ninety percent of the total output, and overproduction, largely subsidized by government programs and policies, has become the hallmark of modern agriculture. A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929 charts the profound changes in farming that have occurred during author Paul K. Conkin's lifetime. His personal experiences growing up on a small Tennessee farm complement compelling statistical data as he explores America's vast agricultural transformation and considers its social, political, and economic consequences. He examines the history of American agriculture, showing how New Deal innovations evolved into convoluted commodity programs following World War II. Conkin assesses the skills, new technologies, and government policies that helped transform farming in America and suggests how new legislation might affect farming in decades to come. Although the increased production and mechanization of farming has been an economic success story for Americans, the costs are becoming increasingly apparent. Small farmers are put out of business when they cannot compete with giant, non-diversified corporate farms. Caged chickens and hogs in factory-like facilities or confined dairy cattle require massive amounts of chemicals and hormones ultimately ingested by consumers. Fertilizers, new organic chemicals, manure disposal, and genetically modified seeds have introduced environmental problems that are still being discovered. A Revolution Down on the Farm concludes with an evaluation of farming in the twenty-first century and a distinctive meditation on alternatives to our present large scale, mechanized, subsidized, and fossil fuel and chemically dependent system.
Download or read book Born Again Dirt written by Noah Sanders and published by . This book was released on 2013-05 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you desire to glorify God through the way you farm? Are you tired of reading books on farming and food production that ignore God as Creator? Have you ever wondered what agriculture would look like if it was based on the Bible instead of on evolution, Mother Nature, or the latest manipulations of life by science? In Born Again Dirt, Noah Sanders encourages Christian farmers to evaluate their farming methods in light of Scripture. This book looks at various Biblical principles related to agriculture and provides examples of practical application. Topics covered include: -Designing farms as beautiful, fruitful homes. -Honoring God's design in farm production -Growing crops that honor the Lord -Marketing as ministry -The idolatry of modern agriculture -Advantages of the farming lifestyle -Starting a farm and making a living. Without claiming to have all the answers, Born Again Dirt seeks to inspire you to develop a vision for God-glorifying agriculture . This book is a must read for any Christian who is a full time farmer, backyard gardener, or for anyone who desires a more Biblical view of agriculture.
