I decided to post a few books that are my favorite small farm
books. The photos ended up a little blurry because I
enlarged them to get a good view. I'll put the title
and author(s) just in case you all want to look
at these on Amazon.com or some other book source.
The Year of the Goat
by
Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz
Margaret and Karl spent about a year and 40,000 miles
in search of the best goat cheese. And they were also
trying to decide if they wanted to follow their dream
of raising goats.
Living with Goats
by
Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz
This is kind of a sequel to The Year of the Goat.
It chronicles much of the couple's first year or so
running a goat dairy in Maine. But more than that
it is a good beginner's guide to the raising and management
of goats. There is basic information, but also a lot of
specific information that a lot of other general guides
do not have. And it is from first-hand experiences.
You can visit Margaret and Karl's blog to see what is going
on daily at their farm - Ten Apple Farm
and you can also follow them on Facebook - Ten Apple Farm
Living with Sheep
by
Geoff Hansen and Chuck Wooster
This is the "Living with" series that Living with Goats is
also included. It is a practical first-hand account guide to
raising a small flock of sheep. The neat thing I found is that
the author will write about mistakes that he's made so as to
save the reader and potential shepherd from making the same
kind of mistakes. Again, this is a basic guide, but as with
Living with Goats, it gets into some specifics and is very practical.
50 Acres and a Poodle
by
Jeanne Marie Laskas
This is more of a factual account of a couple's search for
a small farm in New England. It doesn't really go in to any
type of livestock management. It's more in the vein of
The Year of the Goat, where it tells the background of
how the couple realized their dream of living in the country.
I noticed when I was looking on Amazon.com for these books
to get photos, that there is a sequel to this book
by the same author, called
The Exact Same Moon: 50 Acres and a Family
You Can Farm
by
Joel Salatin
This is a nuts and bolts "motivational speaking" book by a farmer
who lives in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia. He is very
serious about letting you know how you can go about making
a living off of your small farm, but he pulls no punches at all.
He's almost "in-your-face" in my opinion, but he is so realistic
and truthful that I believe it is a great guide if you really
want to try and make a living off of your small farm
without having to work off the farm in another type of job.
You can find more information about Joel Salatin's farm
and his other writings at his farm website - Polyface Farms
I hope this has been a little informative for you all. I found all of
these books at the local library, and also through Inter-Library Loan.
That's it for this evening. Take care everyone. From KY.
6 comments:
Interesting Kathy, thanks. I have heard of Joel Salatin but I didn't know he had a how-to book about farming...looks like a nice one to get through inter-library loan. Although, perhaps I should try to make a dent in my to-read pile before I start adding to it. :)
I find him a little harsh, in that he talks about trapping and killing predators, and the dogs on his farm have to do a job, as well as the cats - I doubt he has any indoor pets. But he is really making a good go of it in farming, that's for sure. I enjoyed the book if I can just take away from it what fits my lifestyle, and go from there. I'm not really in the position to make a go of it full-time farming, but want something that can sustain me, and maybe sell a little on the side for extra income. But he definitely is a motivational speaker/writer. I took my copy out at the library, and it was older, so the binding ended up breaking, and they gave it to me for free - so that's how I got my copy. I think you can find it used on Amazon.com or at Half.com for a reasonable price. Thanks for your comments. Take care. And I know what you mean about making a dent in the already purchased books, I do the same thing when I hear about new (to me) books, especially ones on farming.
Kathy, I've never heard of any of these books but am always on the look out for informative yet also self-experience exploits of others who have ventured into the country before me. I will be checking my library to see which of these they can offer me, thanks so much for 'heads up'!
Be well ~Andrea~
Thanks for commenting Andrea - I usually do some type of search in my library's search engine or on Amazon.com and get info there for what books to look for. And also some books have references for guides/books that deal with the same subject. Or sometimes I've seen books referenced to in small farm magazines, like Grit and Countryside. Take care, from Kathy in KY.
Any book called Living With A Goat has got to be a good book. I would recommend it highly just on the basis of the title.
Ah, yes, Marigold - you need to get in touch with Margaret and Karl and tell them about the mystical appeal of peanuts. That is one word that is not mentioned in the book - I think they're missing something. Take care, from KY.
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