I ’ve been readingThe Independent Farmsteadby Shawn and Beth Dougherty . It ’s a expert read ( I am about 2/3 of the mode through ) , with practical and utile information on make your homestead / farm less dependant on the outside world , and especially the toxic firmament of Big Ag .
Their focal point is to a great extent on beast food production , including eggs , sum and dairy , in a temperate climate .
Now that we own more country , we are also switch our focus to brute food product , and the grazing land - building techniques and simple systems in this book are quite worthwhile . The inwardness of the book is that they took a piece of very borderline ( and affordable ) realm and turned it into a productive homestead , and you’re able to too .
Publisher ’s verbal description :
With in - depth information on electric fence , lachrymation , and farming for ruminants , poultry , and pigs , plus slaughter , dairy farming , and more
“ If we put to work hard , we sleep well . ”
Twenty eld 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 get 90 % of their own nutrient .
Such ego - sufficiency is mostly the termination of basing their farming practice around intensive pasture direction . 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 adapt by the Doughertys to outfit their kinfolk ’s pauperism . InThe Independent Farmstead , The Sow ’s Ear framework for regenerate the soil and growing food―“the best you ever tasted”―is elucidated for others to employ and progress upon .
In witty and welcoming manner , The Independent Farmsteadcovers everything from select a species of ruminant and incorporating it into a smoke - found system to innovative electric fencing and lacrimation systems , to what to do with all of the milk , meat , and , yes , manure that the ego - sustain farm produces . Within these page , the Doughertys talk over how to :
As the Doughertys write , more and more people today are feeling “ the desire for sporting , low-priced food , unmodified , unprocessed , and unmedicated and the security department of local food source for ourselves and our baby . ”The Independent Farmsteadis a must - have resource for those who count themselves as part of this movement : both newfangled and prospective Fannie Farmer and homesteader , and those who are concerned in switch to weed - based arrangement . Best of all it ’s the kind of rare how - to book that the writer themselves view not as a compendium of one - size - fits - all instructions but as “ the beginning of a conversation , ” one that is dead instructive , solemn , and inspiring .
Youcan get a copy here .
