Book Description

Customer Reviews (12)

Surprizingly good
The book follows a family that has chosen a career to be farmers.Organic is their niche, but farming is the topic overall.There are a few great pictures in the book, that add value to it.I enjoyed the book and if you are interested in organic farming this book gives light to the details.

An excellent read about the struggles that family farms face
Please note that this book doesn't attempt to be a How-to farm book. Other reviewers seemed to have been searching for 'Farming for dummies'.

I never would of imagined that reading about farming would be so enjoyable. The author's literary style is refreshing and nicely paced. Throughout the book, the author describes settings in such descriptive passages that it places the reader in the middle of the farm's activities. A couple of sections within the book were touching for me to read.Please keep in mind that or modern live is quiet different now than from our ancestors a few generations ago. Not to go into details, people back then viewed animals differently than the majority of us do now. The majority of us have grown accustomed to not think about or question where our food comes from.

Equally as enjoyable, the book contains hundreds of vivid photographs of sights around the farm.

It was OK but not great
The pictures in this book are beautiful but this should have been an educational experience and it just wasn't.I agree with the other reviewer that so much of the book was about logistics that it would have been wonderful to have a map or clear pictures of the property so we would be able to tell what the author was talking about.The other issue I had was how oddly these farmers seemed to deal with animal deaths.For example she slits a sheep's throat during a difficult labor and says she regrets not doing it earlier that day because of the "look" the sheep gave her but didn't because she was in her work clothes.I cannot imagine being pyschic enough to know an animal should be put down based on a look.In addition, they lose approximately half their calves because of the simple fact that they aren't cleaning the enclosed barn stalls during the winter.First of all, why are the cattle in the barn?Secondly, any farmer knows you must muck out stalls for health reasons *especially* if you have calves and you've enclosed them in the barn.It's NOT common practice to do this, at least where I come from and we get temps below zero with serious wind chill factors.The chicken predator was unsettling for me as well.If something's getting my chickens and I really need that income to survive for the year, you can bet all holes will be blocked, the chicks will be moved, anything and everything will be done to stop the killing.

They just seemed to cause themselves so much of their own misery and work.Another examply, they seem to always be chasing down the sheep from where they're not supposed to be and then being frustrated or late.Well.... put up fences.Good fences make for good neighbors and also lazy farming where your animals stay in the pasture you want them - with an occasional excape artist.They seem to take on more than they bargain for at every turn.Like, they want to do tasks that require a tractor but don't have one. So they work out a borrow arrangement with the neighbor but then complain about the neighbor's attitude.If you don't have a tractor, either don't do it, or understand you're at the mercy of others.The old saying "beggers can't be choosers" comes to mind.The entire fiasco with the syrup harvest was baffling.You cannot integrate people into your business like that and not expect some difficulties.If you don't want to deal with them, DON'T include them!It's very simple.These types of issues seemed to bog them down in negativity and made me, frankly, not like them much.Their marriage is in SERIOUS trouble and I cannot believe how often divorce is mentioned.Not that any marriage is always happy, but these people are definitely overworked, struggling, miserable, and stressed.*Something* should give.

After reading the book, I was just... sad.Sad for them.Sad for their animals.Sad for their child.Just sad.

Just sit back and enjoy...
A cordial narrative about a year in the life.Not meant to be overly academic, but intended to provide a peek into the day-to-day happenings on a small, family farm.A pleasant read - great for the nightstand.

Not worth the money, very little useful information.
This is supposed to be a feely book and not a textbook.That said, the brushstrokes are far too broad to even provide that feel for the farm.Too anecdotal, and difficult to piece together.Flashbacks are one thing, but only if they provide literary value.Here, straying from chronological order subtracts from an already shaky narrative.And the writing style itself is poor.Did the publisher even assign an editor?

It would not have hurt to include a map of the place, a small chart of how much of each vegetable or animal was grown, and a rough idea of how the finances added up.The authors instead sprinkle the numbers throughout the book: $79 in beets, $4000 for interns or whatever.I kept turning to the only useful photograph in the whole book: the bird-eye view of the 20-acre farm.

I was lucky enough to borrow this from the library.It is well-printed in a nice binding, but the text pages are padded generously with white space. I got the impression that the hoo-hah binding and glossy paper were there only to distract from the low-quality text, and to justify charging coffee-table price for the book.I believe one should buy books only if you're going to look at them more than once.I have no desire to read this book again, and the content of the pictures isn't worth it either.This book would have been worth it if it were a mass-market paperback, but as it is, IT IS NOT WORTH BUYING.

I am giving this three stars only because I must give credit to the authors for at least addressing the issue.Although poorly organized, I did learn enough to think about the situation of these people.Even with no debt, Jennifer and Kyle are on the edge of going completely under.If their car dies for good, or if somebody breaks a leg, they are in trouble.It made me think twice about finances of the vendors at the farmer's market. ... Read more

Book Description
Joey Robinson is a thirty-five-year-old advertising consultant working in the urban jungle of Manhattan. One day, Joey decides to return to the farm where he grew up, and where his mother still lives. Accompanied by his newly acquired second wife and an eleven-year-old stepson, he begins to reassess and evaluate the course his life has taken. For three days, a quartet of voices explores the country air, relates stories, makes confessions, seeks solace, and hopes for love. But all of their emotional musings and reflections pale when tragedy strikes— one that threatens to separate the family, even as it draws them closer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Tiny & Terrific
A must have for fans of Updike and new readers. This small novel is amazingly detailed and shockingly deep. The ideas touched in this story will have your brain kicking you. Updike has that ability to trap you in small menial suburban problems and make them glorious.

Not his best, but still worth reading
This book is not John Updike's best work. However, it is still an enjoyable read. His skill as a writer goes unparalleled as usual, and his writing in this rural drama is quite good.

Praise for Updike's terse psycho-drama
"Of the Farm" commands one's intuition, piques one's curiosity for the following line, and is nonetheless 'beach' appropriate.This is a great casual thriller.

Disappointing
Not Updike's best effort ... Read more

Book Description
Smack in the middle of Kansas, Section 27 in McPherson County has been occupied by the Penner family since 1874. Although few of the area's residents have direct ties to the past, Mil Penner still farms the land that his family has worked for over 125 years. His account of daily life on a Mennonite family farm near Inman, Kansas, retells a universal story of the American heartland sharpened by personal accounts of one family's enduring relationship to the land.

In this collection of brief, evocative vignettes, Penner traces the influence of pioneer roots on the present generation as he chronicles the transformation of the land from untouched prairie to productive farm. As a boy, young Mil rubbed shoulders with the very pioneers who tamed the prairies and he now draws on those recollections and memories passed on by his father to make the past come alive.

Through Penner's accounts, readers will discover a miniature universe through descriptions of breaking sod and harvesting, Mennonite customs and religion, education in a one-room school, and the evolution of farm equipment from horse-drawn to engine-powered plows. The story he tells is virtually a history of the settling of the West as seen from a farm, where getting through the hardships of the Dust Bowl and Depression needed faith as much as fortitude.

Told in a straightforward fashion befitting his family traditions, Section 27 tracks Penner's development of ecological awareness and growing commitment to recapturing a simpler way of life. He has an innate gift for storytelling and a sharp memory for detail, and as one of the last generation to have experienced harvesting with a binder and threshing machine, he shows how the experience of family farming rewards with simple pleasures and joys. Through his expressive prose, even new-mown hay takes on remarkable dimensions.

In this journey of introspection, Penner reflects on how, when his great-grandfather first broke the sod on Section 27, it altered the land profoundly. Today, he takes an old tractor out to a small plot he's set aside and drops the plow, feeling a deep satisfaction in seeing the black soil roll and the birds swoop in for the insects he's stirred up. Although he sees the value in new agricultural methods, he can't help but ponder the direction in which progress is taking us. As our country moves away from its rural roots at an ever-accelerating pace, Section 27 is a signpost that makes us pause and reconsider that fading heritage before it is gone forever. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (2)

a little book about a small farm written with unusual poetry and love
I am a city person, and the closest I have been to a small farm is buying apples in the autumn at a roadside stand. I have no idea how I chose to buy this book and Jane's two other ones, but I did buy it and fell in love with it. The poetry is deep; she tells the story of her aging father who in his eighties tries to keep his beloved farm going, her brother who has stayed to help but is angry and sometimes dysfunctional, her mother, and her own return after many years. These are wound around and blended with tales of seasons of growth -- of apples, berries, all sorts of corn and the customers who show up decade after decade to buy what they loved last year. It is truly a spiritual book, and gives this city girl a sense of the enduring earth and its gifts and the people who are closest to it.

Here and Nowhere Else
Here and Nowhere Else captures with its perfect language the timeless undulations of rural living. It is not so much like reading a book as it is like walking the land with someone who respects both the comfort and thepain it can give. A truthful recording of enormous loss and a lyric epitaphfor a family farm. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Essays on Country Life
When I lived in Maryland, I loved reading Dee Hardie's columns about country life, keeping up a historic home, and the glimpses into her family life.I looked forward to her comments on everything from learning to tap dance or keeping closets tidy.She just had a gracious way about her.Many of her columns were saved for reading again later.
I'm glad to see this book that gathers her columns and will replace my yellowing clippings.It will be a treat to renew my acquaintance with her life and outlook after all these years. ... Read more

Book Description
A celebration of Farm Aids 20th anniversarya beautifully designed treasure documenting the struggles and contributions of family farmers in America and the more than 200 American artists who have played on the Farm Aid stage When Willie Nelson organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985, he hoped it would be a one-time event that would ensure the continued survival of the national treasure upon which our country was founded: the independent family farmer. But two decades later, the nation is still losing an average of 330 family farms per week. And the annual Farm Aid concert, which has helped to raise more than $26 million to keep family farmers on their land, is now the longest-running benefit concert in history. To commemorate this landmark and to call renewed attention to the importance of where, how, and by whom our food is produced, Farm Aid has put together this volume. Essays, interviews, poems, song lyrics, and fictional excerpts mix with more than 200 color and black-and-white photographs, including shots of farmland and farmers, as well as never-before-seen pictures of Farm Aid performers, from the late Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison to Bob Dylan and Bonnie Raitt. Among the many contributors are writers Eric Schlosser and Howard Zinn; performers Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris; photographers Paul Natkin and Ebet Roberts; and Farm Aid board members Neil Young, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, and Willie Nelson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A worthy but little known undertaking
Farmers seem to be a large community of loners, a trait that not only has limited their willingness to collaborate among themselves to control the prices of their products but may have led many to practice self-destructive self-reliance against overwhelming forces.Perhaps as valuable as the monetary help provided by Farm Aid is the morale-building it accomplishes through its concerts and its ability to provide spiritual support.This book is a valuable introduction to Farm Aid and to the crisis that faces American agriculture.

Helping the farmers is helping the heartland!
Really enjoyed all the great commentaries; this is a wonderful program that Willie and friends started and they are still carrying on with it.Too bad our leaders have allowed this situation to continue, and we should all take part is this program.

The Food you eat can change the world!!!
Willie Nelson once said, "I've always believed that the most important people on the planet are the ones who plant the seeds and care for the soil where they grow"
Willie is the founder of FARMAID, a grass-roots organization that is trying to keep family farms intact and move away from factory or industrialization of farming.

Farming is one of the hardest businesses to profit from, especially if you're out there all alone.A family can raise acres and acres of golden wheat and then have a natural disaster like a hail-storm or severe winds come in a week before harvest and wreck the whole operation.
Many families have held farms in their families for generations, only to loose them in a forclosure event due to some unfair farming laws.
WIllie and friends have gone in front of the US Congress to change those laws and try to protect the small,independant guys and their farms from the bank.

WIllie Nelson grew up pickin' cotton in the back rows of his family farm in Abbott, Texas.His backyard consisted of acre upon acre of waving fields of corn, hay and cotton fields.It was home to furry friends such as jackrabbits, deer, cattle, horses and hogs and chickens.Willie worked hard in those fields when he was just a squirt; he discovered first-hand the value of hard work.He also discovered that playing guitar and singing was a heck of alot easier to do than farming!
BUT farming is a cause he chose to go back to protect and preserve.......it's in his heart.

THis book goes on to explain the FARMAID concerts that have occurred over the past 20 years.Friends of Willie's that have lent a helping hand include - John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, John Fogerty and Kidd Rock along with hundreds of other artists.
THere are over 300 artists that have played live at a FARMAID concert, not even accepting payment for basic things such as transportation to the venue.
Emmy Lou Harris is another such artist, as is Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride, Axel Rose from Guns & Roses, Julio Iglaseis,
Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Paycheck, Carole King, Los Lonely Boys and many, many others have lent their voices to the cause.

This book goes on to explain in depth what Certified Organic foods means and it discusses the history of farming in America.
Understanding farm policy is an important legal overview of what has befallen the American Farmer.Consequences of Industrial Agriculture is explained in section 4 and finally, the GOOD FOOD movement is elaborated up in the 5th section of this book.

The book contains many beautiful color images of the farms of America and also the many famous stars who come out and perform at FARMAID concerts.

It is well thought out, and very well organized.

I loved this book so much because it is changing me and how I view my food selections.What I chose to eat and feed my family is very important to me in these days of stress and communicable diseases.I want to ensure the best possible nutrition for myself and my family.
They are the most important thing to me and their health and well-being is first-most in my mind and in my heart.

Read this book from cover to cover and you will begin to understand the message contained within.
It's a message of health, hope and compassion.

I wish I could buy every family in this nation this wonderful book....it is a true FIVE STAR reading!!!!

"What you choose to eat can helpl change the world, and as the chef Alice Waters likes to point out: THIS REVOLUTION TASTES GOOD!" Introduction paragraph, page xv FARMAID 2005 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

this is the best
I am going to reorder this book if it come back into print. I have used mine so much that it is falling apart. The recipes are excellent, easy to understand. I have never had a failure using any of the recipes. This bookgives you the alternative to eating fat filled foods. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
Between 1900 and 1940 American family farming gave way to what came to be called agribusiness. Government policies, consumer goods aimed at rural markets, and the increasing consolidation of agricultural industries all combined to bring about changes in farming strategies that had been in use since the frontier era. Because the Midwestern farm economy played an important part in the relations of family and community, new approaches to farm production meant new patterns in interpersonal relations as well. In Preserving the Family Farm Mary Neth focuses on these relations -- of gender and community -- to shed new light on the events of this crucial period. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great book for the 1920-1950 era.
I appreciate the writing style of this book published by The University
of Kentucky Press.It can be used in classrooms, I would think, and it
is also an enjoyable read for the casual reader who is interested in
Appalchian hill life in the first half of the 1900s.Van Willigen's
great narrative is well-complimented by some equally great black and
white photos.The author avoids using unnecessary, scholarly wording
and gets down to telling very interesting stories.Much use is made
of real wording from people he has interviewed.

For me, a Mid-westerner, this book is a must-have.I have an interest
in Appalachia and the Ozarks during the time period covered by this
book.It is a real "find" for me It will always have a place in my library.
Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a new hardcover copy with a very nice dust jacket...you'll want to keep this book, too. ... Read more

Book Description
During the early decades of the twentieth century, agricultural practice in America was transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial activity. In this book Deborah Fitzgerald argues that farms became modernized in the 1920s because they adopted not only new machinery but also the financial, cultural, and ideological apparatus of industrialism. Fitzgerald examines how bankers and emerging professionals in engineering and economics pushed for systematic, businesslike farming. She discusses how factory practices served as a template for the creation across the country of industrial or corporate farms. She looks at how farming was affected by this revolution and concludes by following several agricultural enthusiasts to the Soviet Union, where the lessons of industrial farming were studied. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (2)

A Down-to-Earth Guide for 'Subscription Farming'
The Gregson's passion for both organic farming and community supported agriculture is evident throughout the book. Best of all, they don't try to gloss over the less pleasant aspects of growing organically for a living.Anyone even dreaming about small scale farming will benefit from theirexperiences and examples.

Lots of information for the 1st-time, small acreage farmer
The Gregsons came from an urban life out to make a small farm. Through many trials and errors (which they humbly share) they have found a successful formula for earning a sustainable income from a few acres. Thisis a must read for anyone considering a CSA farm. ... Read more