Farmbrarian

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With the wealth of new books on homesteading, creating a backyard farm has never been easier. Sue Weaver’s guide The Backyard Goat (2011) is a great addition to the mix. The book is a comprehensive yet approachable reference for anyone considering goats.

Goats are a great source of milk, fiber, labor and companionship, not to mention that they’ll mow the lawn for you. But they require more knowledge, preparation and care than the most common backyard livestock, the chicken. Weaver educated readers on every aspect of keeping goats. She discusses anatomy, breeds, training, milking and many, many more skills and considerations.

The Backyard Goat is definitely meant to be an introduction for hobby farmers. Anyone exploring the idea of keeping these fascinating creatures will benefit from this book.

Thanks to Storey Publishing for sharing this new resource with us!

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Right now, in forests across Canada and the Northeastern US, sweet sap is dripping out of maple trees and being boiled down to make our favorite pancake topping–maple syrup. Tim Herd celebrates this tradition in his new book Maple Sugar From Sap to Syrup: The History, Lore, and How-To Behind This Sweet Treat (2011).

The small resource is an enjoyable collage of images and text, history and how-to. Herd discusses Native American techniques for processing sap, advances and other uses, tips for tapping trees and an identification guide for different maple varieties. The book concludes with a wide mix of recipes.

For anyone interested in Slow Food and the concept of terroir, Maple Sugar a book worth browsing. The guide would also be a great additional to a grade school curriculum.

You might also like: American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields

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Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie written by Herman Parish and illustrated by Lynne Avril

Herman Parish features a younger Amelia in this colorful and humorous tale of Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie (2010). To gather apples for an Autumn favorite, Amelia and her grandpa visit the nearby farmer’s market. “Do we need to buy a farmer?” Amelia asks. Grandpa laughs and informs her that the farmer’s market sells fresher apples than the grocery store. Heirloom and more recognizable varieties of apples are beautifully drawn. Then Amelia and her grandma join Granny Smith in the kitchen to bake pie. Of course, a bit of chaos ensues. Recommended for preschool-grade 2.

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The Good Garden written by Katie Smith Milway and illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault

In The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough (2010), a rural Hondoran family struggles to grow enough food to survive until a local teacher introduced them to sustainable agriculture principles. Young readers will learn about the existence of global food insecurity in this tale of one family’s struggle to replenish infertile land by composting, building terraces and companion planting. Colored pencil drawings bring the story to life. Some basic Spanish vocabulary is also introduced. Recommended for grades 3-5.

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Compost Stew written by Mary McKenna Siddals and illustrated by Ashley Wolff

Practice the alphabet and learn how to make compost with this rhyming recipe! Mary McKenna Siddals has written a clever story that lists A-Z ingredients for making nature’s fertilizer. Children will love the lively illustrations that incorporate recycled items. Recommended for kindergarten-grade 2.

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In a recent Grist article, Michael Pollan named Farm Together Now: A Portrait of People, Places, and Ideas for a New Food Movement (2010) his “favorite book of the season.” This powerful and inspirational book deserves every bit of praise.

In the book, authors Amy Franceschini and Daniel Tucker give a voice to individuals working at the grassroots level to improve food throughout the United States. They specifically profile twenty projects of varying nature and, through interviews, highlight the diverse work being done by farmers, activists, social workers, and environmentalists.

The interview style allows you to interact with the featured individuals on an intimate level. You’ll directly learn about the hopes, fears and accomplishments of people such as the founders of Participation Park in Baltimore–where a vacant lot is now being used to grow food and revive the surrounding, impoverished community. Some of the people, like Myles Harston of AquaRanch, have created model systems or initiatives that are now being replicated. Others are working to foster the next generation of farmers through education and training. The portraits also demonstrate that although the rewards can be great, the challenges are many. Financial and policy barriers, for example, often impede efforts.

The growers also get to share their stories visually through Anne Hamersky‘s talented photojournalism. She beautifully captures the raw joy, determination and satisfaction of the people and places of Farm Together Now. The images that accompany each profile speak as loudly as the interviews.

Everyone needs to eat, and these stories illustrate how food issues permeate all aspects of society. Read Farm Together Now and get to know those who are making great strides towards improving access to clean, healthy food, achieving social and environmental justice, and preserving food and farming traditions. You’ll gain a greater understanding of the impact individual efforts can have on improving our food system. An even greater impact can be made if we work to farm together–now!

Buy this book instead of borrowing from your library, if you can. Fifty percent of the profits will help fund “new documentaries about food production in the United States” (189). Contest update: Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to our randomly selected winner Bonnie Schulz. Lookout for more giveaways in the future!

You might also like: Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat by Temra Costa

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“Point is, it feels good to get dirty, work hard, and slow down.”

And so begins Jenna Woginrich’s guide to living a simple life filled with homemade and homegrown pleasures. She shares stories and advice on how to become more self-sufficient, covering a range of topics like making your own clothes, providing your own entertainment, and of course growing your own food.

Nowadays, you can find lots of how-to books about raising backyard chickens (Woginrich herself has a new book out titled Chick Days) or about keeping bees. More and more people are rediscovering the satisfaction that comes with producing your own food. And many have begun doing so as an environmental effort. However, sourcing clean food is only one piece of the sustainable puzzle.

Most of us are burdened with unnecessary possessions; and consumerism constantly lures us in with false promises of fulfillment. Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life (2008) illustrates that greater happiness can come from less. Woginrich fills each chapter first with personal stories and ends with a how-to summary. The stories communicate her passion for the homesteading lifestyle. And readers will see that so much joy can come from gathering eggs right from under the hen or from knitting creations from fur you sheared yourself.

Made from Scratch will introduce you to new hobbies and illustrate how approachable they really are. You don’t need to be an expert or own lots of land to learn any of the skills discussed in this great, little resource.

Read more about Jenna Woginrich’s adventures in homesteading on her fabulous blog Cold Antler Farm.

You might also like: Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter

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Kristin Kimball, a New York based journalist, begins a whirlwind romance with a fervid farmer, and she quickly discovers that she’s also deeply in love with the agrarian lifestyle. The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love is yet another story of a city girl turned farmer. Most of the memoir is set on a farm in upstate New York, where Kimball and her soon-to-be husband struggle to make their dream—to provide a year-round CSA with only the use of horsepower—a reality. Although the plot is similar to many others, the personal journey woven throughout sets this book apart.

In addition to discussing the challenges of farming, nose-to-tail cooking, and working with horses, Kimball incorporates her story of love, life and new beginnings. Throughout the book, Kimball constantly grapples with her fear of commitment. And readers are left wondering if she’ll stay on the farm or run.

The concept of providing a year-round CSA that extends beyond just vegetables to include meats, cheeses, maple sugar, and even grains is extremely ambitious. Rarely today does a small, organic farm provide so much—and with only the use of horsepower! The implementation and execution of such a comprehensive program will intrigue many. But Kimball doesn’t spend too much time discussing logistics. Instead, as the subtitle mentions, her conversation equally discusses food, farming and love. The combination is perfectly executed for those interested in a romantic read about the satisfactions of an agrarian lifestyle.

You might also like: The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald

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As a result of the surge in urban homesteading efforts, more and more people are raising chickens and keeping bees right in their backyards. For anyone interested in learning about the intricacies of beekeeping, this book by C. Marina Marchese is worth reading. Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper (2009) is both a memoir and an instructional guide about bees.

Marchese was captivated by bees upon first being introduced to them by a neighbor. Before long, the post office was calling to notify Marchese of her delivery of live bees–more than 20,000 shipped in a wire box. Marchese’s enjoyment of bees and beekeeping increase exponentially as she becomes more experienced with the possibilities provided by the bees. She discusses every aspect of bees and beekeeping: their important role in pollination, establishing and caring for a hive, healing aspects of honey, how to taste the delicacy, and more.

Honeybee is a great book for those who love a story and who have yet to read about beekeeping. Unlike most educational texts, Marchese teaches readers about every aspect of bees through stories of her own experiences. Her storytelling is warm and inviting, and her fascination and respect for honeybees will surely captivate readers.

You might also like: Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Hearding, and the Art of Making Cheese by Brad Kessler

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The concept of terroir hasn’t been widely applied to American foods until now. In his newest book, James Beard Award-winning author Rowan Jacobsen discusses how climate, topography, soil and other factors shape the flavors of 12 different foods.

The French apply the concept of terroir most notably to wine varieties. Burgundy and Champagne for example are named after the regions in which they grow—and no others can be named so. The French recognize that place distinguishes taste, but the American landscape had been largely overlooked in this regard. We are known instead for mass produced, highly processed foodstuffs. In American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields (2010), Jacobsen demonstrates that the Americas have a great number of foods that showcase our unique lands.

How do the oysters of Totten Bay in the Puget Sound get their unique flavor? How many varieties of honey do we produce in the United States? What edibles can you find while foraging wild forests? And how does terrain effect coffee bean production? All of these stories and more illustrate that place is very much intertwined with taste.

Anyone interested in the ideals of Slow Food will find this book captivating and will envy the hands-on research Jacobsen did to prepare his newest book.

Thanks to Bloomsbury for providing a review copy of this text upon request.

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The notion of pastoral life is, for many, nonexistent. Modern conveniences have taught children that milk comes from a carton and bread comes in a bag. Farmland is quickly being gobbled up and regurgitated as suburban sprawl. Few take notice. But others feel a pull to return to a simpler lifestyle—one that has existed for millennia.

Brad Kessler recounts his return to the herding lifestyle of our ancestors in his poetic book Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese (2009). Just as the subtitle says, Kessler writes of his adventures raising goats with the ultimate goal of making fresh, raw cheeses. But the book’s scope extends way beyond livestock.

Humans domesticated animals thousands of years ago for a steady source of food. As a result, praise and reference to these animals is deeply integrated into our language. Kessler discusses the many idioms, modern words, and literary references rooted in pastoral life with goats. For those who have only known urban life, Kessler’s book is an important history lesson. No wonder so many feel a pull to connect with the land by raising livestock or growing their own food—intimately knowing what sustains them.

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Throughout time, humans have domesticated a few select animals to meet their tastes for meat and poultry. In both categories, four species dominate the market: cows, pigs, sheep, and goats for meat and chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese for poultry. In his new book Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food (2010), Paul Greenberg investigates the fish that most often occupy our plates.

Over time, salmon, sea bass, cod, and tuna have emerged as top choices for seafood. Greenberg discusses how the fish gained widespread popularity and the threats each now face as a result. He delves into how humans have attempted to develop aquaculture systems to supplement decreasing wild stocks. And he speculates on the future of the four species.

Our expansive oceans lead most to believe seafood supplies are endless. But fish populations are extremely fragile and cannot support the demand of an ever-increasing human population. More consumers need to be made aware of the complexities associated with seafood. Greenberg’s book gives readers just that.

For a detailed synopsis and excerpt read NPR’s coverage of the book here.

You might also like: Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood by Taras Grescoe