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.
