resources

Well, first, our own book on 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.

Chelsea Green Publishing foreword by Joel Salatin

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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

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Modern Farmer Magazine

“Expect clear-eyed advice on rotational grazing methods, improving soil fertility, and much more.”

 

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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.”

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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
• The Art of Natural Cheesemaking, by David Asher
• The Nourishing Homestead, by Ben Hewitt
• Horn O Plenty, a farm-to-table in PA