Twenty years ago, when authors Shawn and Beth Dougherty purchased the land they would come to name the Sow's Ear, the state of Ohio designated it "not suitable for agriculture." Today, their family raises and grows 90% of their own food. Such self-sufficiency is largely the result of basing their farming practices around intensive pasture management. Pioneered by such luminaries as Allan Savory, Greg Judy, and Joel Salatin, the tenets of holistic grazing -- employed mostly by larger-scale commercial operations -- have been adapted by the Doughertys to fit their family's needs. In The Independent Farmstead, The Sow's Ear model for regenerating the land and growing food --“the best you ever tasted” -- is elucidated for others to use and build upon. In witty and welcoming style, The Independent Farmstead covers everything from choosing a species of ruminant and incorporating it into a grass-based system to innovative electric fencing and watering systems, to what to do with all of the milk, meat, and, yes, manure that the self-sustaining farm produces.--COVER.

This classic of the back-to-the-land movement is packed with solid, timeless information. Written by a renowned horticulturist, it has taught generations how to make their land self-sufficient. 95 figures.

Getting Your FREE Bonus Download this book, read it to the end and see "BONUS: Your FREE Gift" chapter after the conclusion. Independent Homesteader: Produce On Your Homestead Vegetables, Meat And Honey For Personal Use And For Money (FREE Bonus Included) Book#1: Backyard Homestead: 46 Simple Steps To Producing Own Food And Reach Self-Sufficiency This book "Backyard Homestead: 46 Simple Steps to Producing Own Food and Reach Self-Sufficiency" is a great guide for you if you are looking forward to do gardening at your own house. Gardening does not only involved growing flowers but it involves all the natural growth of vegetables, fruits, herbs and much more. You will be able to learn various techniques and steps in this book which will help you get a hold of the garden in no time. Book#2: How To Make Compost: 10 Ways To Make Gold From Your Wastes Are you interested in having the best soil in your house? Have you been looking for ways to grow the best foods from your soil? Are you looking for ways to learn the process of composting? Then this book right here will answer all your questions and solve all your problems. This book is written to make you understand what composting is. The book gives you a clear understanding of every little and important detail that you should be aware of. Book#3: Find Answers On Any Questions You Have Planning Your Perfect Chicken Coops This is an easy to follow beginners guide based on creative ideas to help you to plan and build the perfect chicken coop to suit your needs. Raising chickens is becoming a very popular trend right across the country. People are becoming more concerned about the incorporation of steroids and other chemicals that are being put in our foods. People are seeking more natural food sources, that are not only a healthier choice, but are also more cost effective. Book#4: Quail Keeping For Money: Read This Book Before Starting Your Quail Keeping Career In this book, you will find some great tips and advice on how to get your own quail farm up and running. You will discover that raising quails can be a very lucrative business in the poultry farming industry. It is a very popular source of income. Learn how you only need a little capital, to get your quail farm up and running. Find out how you can make high returns on your small amount of capital. Book# 5: Backyard Beekeeping: Essentials You Need To Know To Enlarge Your Bees Colony And Get Even More Honey This book Backyard beekeeping: essentials you need to know to enlarge your Bees colony and get even more honey is an excellent guide to those who are interested in beekeeping for all their honey. Download your E book "Independent Homesteader: Produce On Your Homestead Vegetables, Meat And Honey For Personal Use And For Money" by scrolling up and clicking "Buy Now with 1-Click" button!

With in-depth information on electric fencing, watering, and husbandry for ruminants, poultry, and pigs, plus butchering, dairying, and more “If we work hard, we sleep well.” Twenty years ago, when authors Shawn and Beth Dougherty purchased the land they would come to name the Sow’s Ear, the state of Ohio designated it “not suitable for agriculture.” Today, their family raises and grows 90% of their own food. Such self-sufficiency is largely the result of basing their farming practices around intensive pasture management. Pioneered by such luminaries as Allan Savory, Greg Judy, and Joel Salatin, the tenets of holistic grazing—employed mostly by larger-scale commercial operations—have been adapted by the Doughertys to fit their family’s needs. In The Independent Farmstead, The Sow’s Ear model for regenerating the land and growing food—“the best you ever tasted”—is elucidated for others to use and build upon. In witty and welcoming style, The Independent Farmstead covers everything from choosing a species of ruminant and incorporating it into a grass-based system to innovative electric fencing and watering systems, to what to do with all of the milk, meat, and, yes, manure that the self-sustaining farm produces. Within these pages, the Doughertys discuss how to: Find and improve poor, waste, or abused land and develop its natural water resources; Select and purchase the appropriate ruminant for regenerating your farmstead; Apply fencing strategies and pasture management basics; Implement basic, uncomplicated food processing, including large and small animal butchering and cheese making; and Integrate grass, gardens, and livestock to minimize or eliminate the need for off-farm inputs. As the Doughertys write, more and more people today are feeling “the desire for clean, affordable food, unmodified, unprocessed, and unmedicated and the security of local food sourcing for ourselves and our children.” The Independent Farmstead is a must-have resource for those who count themselves as part of this movement: both new and prospective farmers and homesteaders, and those who are interested in switching to grass-based systems. Best of all it’s the kind of rare how-to book that the authors themselves view not as a compendium of one-size-fits-all instructions but as “the beginning of a conversation,” one that is utterly informative, sincere, and inspiring.

At Clay Bottom Farm, author Ben Hartman and staff practice kaizen, or continuous improvement, cutting out more waste--of time, labor, space, money, and more--every year and aligning their organic production more tightly with customer demand. Applied alongside other lean principles originally developed by the Japanese auto industry, the end result has been increased profits and less work. In this field-guide companion to his award-winning first book, The Lean Farm, Hartman shows market vegetable growers in even more detail how Clay Bottom Farm implements lean thinking in every area of their work, including using kanbans, or replacement signals, to maximize land use; germination chambers to reduce defect waste; and right-sized machinery to save money and labor and increase efficiency. From finding land and assessing infrastructure needs to selling perfect produce at the farmers market, The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables digs deeper into specific, tested methods for waste-free farming that not only help farmers become more successful but make the work more enjoyable. These methods include: Using Japanese paper pot transplanters Building your own germinating chambers Leaning up your greenhouse Making and applying simple composts Using lean techniques for pest and weed control Creating Heijunka, or load-leveling calendars for efficient planning Farming is not static, and improvement requires constant change. The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables offers strategies for farmers to stay flexible and profitable even in the face of changing weather and markets. Much more than a simple exercise in cost-cutting, lean farming is about growing better, not cheaper, food--the food your customers want.

Farming in the ruins of the twentieth century -- A short, unhappy history of business advice for farmers -- Subsistence first! -- Land for the tiller -- Soil, civilization, and resilient farmers through the centuries -- Resourceful farmers -- Woodlands and wastes -- It takes a village: leisure, community, and resilience -- Getting a living, forging a livelihood -- Farmer, citizen, survivor: politics and resilience