resources

Well, first, our own bookon low-input, grass-based sustainable food production, The Independent Farmstead.  We look at family-scale food independence and sustainability, from choosing a small and affordable piece of land, to animals, water systems, fencing, the home dairy, and butchering large animals.  Foreword by Joel Salatin.

Check out these reviews:

Library Journal starred review:
” A solid choice for those embarking on a serious animal-based hobby or enterprise, aspiring homesteaders, and sustainable farmers who already have basic knowledge of animal husbandry and agriculture. The authors’ blog provides a nice supplement.”—Amanda ­Avery, Marywood Univ. Lib., Scranton, PA

Modern Farmer Magazine:
“Expect clear-eyed advice on rotational grazing methods, improving soil fertility, and much more.”
Booklist: 

“As mortifying and implausible as creating one’s own self-sustaining farmstead might sound to most city folk, the Doughertys, who embarked on their own farmstead 20 years ago, make the venture entirely feasible—even ennobling in the face of climate change—on as little as a half-acre of land. In a conversational style that is both welcoming and reality-based, the authors offer a big-picture plan—selecting property, sourcing water, building soil, choosing ruminants (chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, or cattle)—that is fully supported by a level of detail both practical and comforting to anyone new to the idea. Some examples: milking techniques for cows and goats, what grasses or fencing to consider for which animals, slaughtering techniques, watering tanks, and using paddocks for livestock. Highly recommended for libraries where such farmsteads are even remotely possible.”

Then, in no sort of order, a partial list of books we find essential:

A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold

The Unsettling of America, by Wendell Berry

Home Economics, by Wendell Berry

Salad Bar Beef, by Joel Salatin

Pastured Poultry Profits,by  Joel Salatin

You Can Farm, by Joel Salatin

Comeback Farms, by Greg Judy

Feeding Farm Animals, by Thomas Shaw

The Winter Harvest Handbook, by Eliot Coleman

Four Season Harvest, by Eliot Coleman

Will Bonsall’s Essential Guide to Radical, Self-Reliant Gardening, by Will Bonsall, of course

The Art of Natural Cheesemaking, by David Asher

The Nourishing Homestead, by Ben Hewitt

 

other things:

Horn O Plenty, a farm-to-table in PA:  www.myhornoplenty.com