Customer Reviews:
The best farming-as-a-business handbook I've read to date.......2007-08-20
This is the best farming-as-a-business handbook I've read to date. You Can Farm is informative and empowering. Joel Salatin provides examples of how to and how not to farm. Running a farm like a hobby instead of a business is a sure way to fail. Farm enterprises and equipment should also pay for themselves--this includes big trucks and big tractors. Salatin also encourages potential farmers to get their families involved and see if it is something they really want to do.
This book is filled with stories of successes and failures of many people and various farm enterprises. While the book is almost ten years old, it still reflects the current state of farming, a quasi feudal system relegating farmers and food (not to be confused with nutrition or health) to mere inputs and outputs. Salatin also points out that we have very little, if any, knowledge about the materials we ingest many times each day. Many of us (yours truly included) do not know where our "food" came from or what it took to make it.
Once you get beyond Salatin's lamentations on how industrial farming has destroyed food, the environment, and people and his extensive use of modifiers ("Don't let anyone kid you into thinking amalgamated, extruded, irradiated, genetically engineered, adulterated fecal particulate pseudo- food from...), you will experience the valuable insight and encouragement he provides.
For years I asked myself if farming is really possible. It took me a while to get serious about it and then I read You Can Farm. Now, I believe it is possible. I've not only read this book, but as a result, I have read many other farm business-related literature, attended farming conferences, association meetings, and agricultural field-days in order to get more information on what will be the best approach for me to take in my move to the farm. I've also visited with farmers running successful and unsuccessful operations. Farming is possible for me because it provides an opportunity for me to exploit my zeal for innovation, build a successful environmentally friendly business, and healthfully feed and build my family and community.
Brilliant, Funny, Important.......2007-07-22
This book is the key to a better future for humanity.
Moreover, it was so well written and funny; it was just a joy to read.
Not for the faint of heart.......2007-06-03
If you don't like reality checks, don't read this book. With his no-nonsense attitude, Salatin walks you through several opportunities in farming that show tremendous potential as profitable enterprises, and he also tells you what to stay away from and why (e.g. starting a horse or alpaca farm is NOT the best way to break into farming and turn a real profit, no matter how pretty or cuddly they may be).
Yes, occasionally he does break into a radical conservative rant--but who cares what he thinks about healthcare and New York City? What matters to me is that I come away from the book equipped with knowledge that will help me make wiser decisions. For someone like me who's starting from scratch, what I want to know is how I will do things differently after reading this book, and in that regard, this book was EXCELLENT.
The most important message that Salatin drilled through my head with "You Can Farm" is this: Carve your niche first, start the farm later. Most of us have it backwards. Perhaps too many people have seen "Field of Dreams" and assume "Build it, and they will come." It simply doesn't work that way with farming. That's why so many agricultural operations depend on off-farm income and/or go out business completely.
Then there's the little fantasy of having a patch of land to call your own. I'm no stranger to it; I want to own the land I farm, too, for no reason other than I just want to. But it comes at a high cost, and Salatin won't let you forget it: "Land should only be acquired when you know what to do with it, and the size should be less important than location. Be patient and let your farming enterprise drive the land base, rather than the land base driving the farm." If you latch onto a piece of land too early on, you'll probably end up painting yourself into a corner--a tight, unprofitable corner.
And that brings me to Salatin's next major point: Stay flexible. In order to succeed in farming, you've got to be an opportunist. That means you've got to have an eye for chances to fill a niche, and be adaptive enough to fill them. If you invest in a specific type of farming, if you weigh yourself down with unnecessary expenses, or if you're too hung up on waiting for the "perfect" opportunity, then the REAL opportunities will pass you by.
This book is for farming ENTREPRENEURS: people who need to turn a solid profit from farming in order to pursue it at all. If you're interested in having a farm more for a lifestyle than for a living, or if you don't mind working an outside job, or if you're at all squeamish about livestock and everything it entails (including "processing" and "culling"), then you may prefer titles by Eliot Coleman and the like. But if you want to learn how to approach farming as a business, this is a must-have.
Love this guy!.......2007-05-12
Though Joel has some strong opinions that some may struggle with, when I finished this book I believed him--I CAN farm! He gives great advice about pitfalls to avoid and issues to consider.
Great resource........2007-03-09
Not only a good read on farming, but I'd recommend to any entrepreneur-minded person. You might not agree with every social stance that the author takes, but he does offer thought provoking insights into the food system and the American consumer. I appreciate his take on living below your means, working hard and striving for innovation.
Book Description
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, with explanations of organic farming techniques and reliable advice on other topics, including irrigation, livestock, crops, greenhouses, fertilizers, much more. 95 figures.
Customer Reviews:
Logsdon is Amazing.......2007-09-24
Mr. Logsdon is a real farmer. Really! I say that without the sarcastic pun that he assigns to it. I am so thirsty for a knowledge of farming, and while I like the Extension Agency employees (they are dedicated and anxious to help), it is essential to read the truth about farming -- without the influence of the large agriculture bastards who have taken the nutrition out of our food and reingineered seeds to withstand extremely toxic Roundup sprayed over the fields! We eat that stuff! Anyone who wants live a productive life and touch the earth should Logsdon, Kingsolver, and other experienced small farmers. Thank you, Mr. Logsdon for documenting the experiences of farming and land/water stewardship. You are a gem!
Old School Wisdom.......2007-05-26
Do not buy this book to find the latest and greatest information on farming or living independently. But if you want "Old School" wisdom etc on farming and independent living get this book. Many of the principles in the book are timeless and apply as much today as they did when the book was written.
Classic.......2007-05-12
I've owned this book for over 30 years. I had a copy, loaned it out, didn't get it back, and bought another. It is essentially a compendium of articles. Though some are dated, most have at least one piece of useful information for those wishing to try pre-chemical farming.
Five acres..........2006-06-30
Interesting book for those who would like to be more self-sufficent and gain economic independence. It was written at a time when it was more feasible to be totally self-sufficent by going back to the land. Some of it is quite detailed and would require some skills that not everyone possesses. However it has good ideas and most of the projects are easy to follow.
Dissappointed- Not a Good Referance Book.......2005-07-06
I bought this book hoping I could find alot of information to start a small hobby farm on my 4 1/2 acres. The description of the book made it sound like it was very informative about raising animals, gardening, etc.
This book does cover all aspects. I wanted ideas on which animals are better to raise and such, particularly goats. I was very dissappointed on the section on farm animals. The writer wrote a bit about cows (probably because he raised them), he mentioned goats in about two sentences. All articles were so short and they were not helpful.
If you want to have a book just to read and not really use as a reference go ahead and purchase it. All the articles I wanted to know were all hard to find, had little information (really no information) and I felt that the writer just gave his own personal opinions and not facts.
For me I was dissappointed and now looking to find another reference guide to help me on my way to have a lovely hobby farm. I needed informtion on gardening, making maple syrup, canning/freezing, raising goats, raising beef cows, raising ducks and so forth. This book was not helpful at all. :( :( :(
Book Description
Starting a small-scale livestock farm? First, you need this book! Yes, you can have a prosperous farm and achieve the lifestyle of your dreams ; and farming expert Carol Ekarius will show you how. Small farms can pay big dividends, Ekarius explains, but hard work alone isn't enough: Success demands knowledge and effective management. Ekarius's natural, organic approach to livestock management produces healthier animals, reduces feed and healthcare costs, and maximizes your profit. Through case studies of successful farmers, nitty-gritty details on every facet of livestock farming, and fascinating insights for working with nature instead of against it, you'll learn to make your farm thrive. Small-Scale Livestock Farming will help you: * Determine what you want from your farming life (even if your farm is simply a few backyard animals) * Choose suitable livestock * Understand housing, fencing, and feeding needs of livestock * Learn about reproducing stock and caring for your animals' hea
Customer Reviews:
I loved this book.......2007-05-10
Small Scale LivestockFarming:... is a simple easy to read text containing a broad overview of many more topics with more depth than expected and providing numerous references for areas which the text is not indepth enough for your needs. This book had to be the best money spent on a starting source for related knowledge. It is highly recomended to anyone intested in this subject.
lots of frosting very little cake. .......2007-04-18
I was put off by the author so I had a difficult time finishing this book.
The section on biology was nothing more than an eighth grade biology course and really unnecessary.
It appears that information that would be easily gleaned from other sources was abundant but firsthand knowledge was seriously lacking.
I didn't like her double standards. She advises readers to "Feel free to mark up" (page 116). She prices her meat to rural buyers slightly higher than the local butcher but she would have raised her prices even higher if she had lived closer to urban buyers. I can understand pricing higher if you have to drive farther to get to the city but that's not the advice. Then, in a story on fighting a factory farm on pages 124 & 125 she dubs a local man "Joe Greed". According to the story he sued because he had planned to sell his land to the factory farm envisioning lots of dollars in his pockets but with the new zoning laws he wasn't able to. If he's Joe Greed then she's "Carol Greed" for wanting urbanites to pay more simply because they live in the city. I don't agree with either of them.
I wonder if she's taken to writing books on farming intended to sell to city folks who only dream of country living and will never know her advice is of little help.
It was the little things that made this book bothersome such as her advice to have a silage pile but according to the author a farmer needs lots of specialized equipment for this. In the book The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It Seymour describes how to harvest by hand. For those modern small scale farms an electric weed whacker makes it a little easier. Cut it, turn it, stack it right in the fields and cover it with a tarp, voila, a silage pile. Fence it in order to control feeding and your done, nothing special needed.
One other point that I found difficult was her statement that she followed all the guidelines to be organic but wasn't certified, but mostly she advises to call a vet. I would have excepted that advice if the author would have included some information on how to get the vet to help without the use of antibiotics. According to the author antibiotics negate an organic animal standing and it must be sold as conventional. She gives 3 or 4 treatments for ailing animals and acknowledges successes with alternative treatments even names a few but that's it. I would expect someone that was farming organically to have a wealth of knowledge and include it when writing on the subject.
Excellent Resource.......2003-10-22
My brother gave this book to me for my birthday, and it has been great. We are new to farming, and it has helped us determine how to move forward, and to plan for our operation. We're retired, but we need this to pay some income, and that is what this book is all about, making money, but doing it so you don't screw up the land. The author has lots of excellent advice not only on caring for your animals, but also on direct marketing to get a bigger share of the consumer's dollar. She writes with a down to earth style that I really appreciate.
Is This High School Biology???.......2003-08-02
I was looking for a substantial book about small-scale livestock farming, and instead I was treated to a very basic introduction to agriculture. This book would make a great high school agriculture text, but beyond that it falls short of providing any real, useful, institutional knowledge that I was looking for. For example, in the book the author reviews basic high biology concepts such as the water cycle, the food chain, and the energy pyramid. She also reminds readers how to round up or round down. And if that were not insulting enough, she then informs readers that to be a successful farmer, you must dress like a farmer; "clean bib overalls and a straw hat, or a plaid shirt, jeans, and a cowboy hat." Give me a break. Again, if you want a simplistic, new age, farming book of little practical use by an author who has less than a decade of farming experience, this book is for you. If you want a no-frills, no-fluff, useful, dirt under your nails, John Deere farmer kind of a book, I would look elsewhere and I would suggest Gene Logsdon's The Contrary Farmer.
Inspiring ............2003-05-30
I got this book only a few months ago and I must say it has been a wealth of information. I learned about toxic plants, diseases, grazing management, budgeting your opperation effiecently, and also info on different feeding scales of species. Not to mention everything on this book but it has been an eye opening experience to learn from this knowledge and then apply it to my life.
Book Description
This practical, step-by-step guide to operating a small farm in the new millennium examines 20 alternative farming enterprises. Readers will learn how to target niche markets and sustain a farm's biological and economic health.
Customer Reviews:
Good advice for serious beginners.......2007-06-15
There are lots of books written about how to grow things, how to raise animals, organics, etc. However, this is one of few on the subject of small farming that actually puts the whole picture together in terms of creating/sustaining a business and a lifestyle. The author expects that the reader is serious about surviving and thriving from his/her farming activities and shares information specific to the "business" of farming in a sensitive and ethical manner. It shouldn't be a secret that the small farmer needs to take advantage of every asset on the property year round, in addition to wearing every hat in a small business: Planning, marketing, sales, accounting, production, maintnenance, networking, etc. Excellent general information and many specifics, too. Well worth the read if you are serious about learnting to farm for profit.
It's about business, the business of farming. .......2007-03-01
This book is about the business of farming. It is not about how to produce a specific crop or livestock. There are many other books out there that cover these subjects. Some people rated this book poorly because their expectations for the book conflicted with what the book's subject is.
If you want to know about the buying equipment, how many hours of your time and how much capital you'll need to expend on various livestock or crops and how much you can expect to profit by those efforts, this is the book that will help you.
A Wise Investment for the Inquisitive, Curious Beginner.......2004-03-21
First, let me begin by saying what this book is not. This book gives zero advice to practicing small or large farmers on how to turn a profit. This book is not a how-to guide for those starting out. Nor is it a step-by-step method on how to get rich by working the land. If that were the case, then every small farmer in America would have read the book and gotten wealthy, instead of banks and other creditors foreclosing on family farms and putting them on the auctioning block.
Now, let me elaborate on what this book really is. This book is a very polite warning by two very seasoned, jaded individuals who are aware of the escapist notions and romantic fantasies many people have about farming. They have been around long enough to have become intimately familiar with the Back to the Land Movement, a Return to Simplicity, and Environmental Sustainability/Sustainable Agriculture- aka The New Improved Agriculture. It took me a while to realize this (three readings in fact!) and understand the dangers associated with one pernicious stereotype about farming.
Many of us on the sidelines believe that anyone can farm, and all it takes is a willingness to work hard (the trite saying about hard-working ditch diggers getting rich comes readily to mind). When we think of the farmer, we often have one (malicious) stereotype in mind- that of the dumb country boy with a 'gee aw shucks' outlook on farming and life. Basically, we really do not think it takes brains in order to farm successfully. I mean, after all, you take some seeds, toss in a little fertilizer of your choice, water them and come back in a few months to collect your crop and get your pesos (almost literally)- just how hard could that be?
Well, speaking as someone who is thoroughly new to farming, never once has farmed, and is inquisitive about the practice of agriculture, after considerable investigation I can tell you the prospective reader that no matter how hard they work, dumb people will not be able to stay on the farm for long. We on the sidelines do not think farming is difficult because we do not think about the Practice of Farming and the Business of Farming. If your experience of farming up to this point is shopping at your local natural foods co-op, perusing the stalls at the local weekly farmer's market, or wandering the aisles at some trendy, eco-hip retailer like Whole Foods or Wilds Oats (who have skillfully co-opted environmentalism as a path to insane riches), and you are considering going into farming as a vocation, then I do not think you will hear the polite warning contained in this book. If you are someone stuck in a dead-end or high-paying but otherwise unfulfilling career (like this reviewer), and you are seeking an out, a means of escape (what we politely but laughingly call a 'transition'), then you just might catch the polite warning consistently stated throughout this book.
Farming attracts many people not because of its business or financial aspects but because of the lifestyle many people associate with farming. If you are an MD, then you are in the business of healthcare. Your business and your lifestyle are completely different. In fact, whether your business is highly successful or modestly successful, your lifestyle could be lavish, it could be modest, or it could be parsimonious- it's up to you and your personal preferences. If you don't like your current situation, from where you work, to who you work for (read HMOs) to your clientele base, you can make a change without changing your lifestyle- too much that is.
Now here is the polite warning: if you are drawn to farming because of the lifestyle, and you turn this lifestyle into a business, then it behooves you to make damn certain that your business can pay for itself, because after all, your business is your lifestyle and your lifestyle is your business. The lifestyle will not work out if the business end does not pay. In fact, the business end may place quite severe limitations on the lifestyle you can reasonably expect to achieve, which in many cases will be well below what you are currently accustomed to. Unlike a 9 to 5 gig with some godless multinational, you can not simply just pack up and leave (this assumes implicitly that the heartless .......... have not fired you in the latest round of restructurings), and if the business end does not work out, you lose not only your lifestyle, but also your home.
For me, the true heart of the book and the real message of the text were contained in the Foreword by Budd Kerr Jr and Part I- Getting Started. In terms of content, the book contains little on the techniques of farming, and has eleven chapters divided into four parts- Getting Started, Farming, Planning and Marketing, and Management, with a handy appendix chock full of useful resources on the Business and Practice of Farming. The text is specifically pitched at a level that almost anyone can understand, and there is a noticeable bias towards the environmentally minded reader.
That said, the true purpose of this book is to get you, the prospective reader who may be thinking of getting into farming, to start thinking about the Practice of Farming and the Business of Farming, all romanticism and eco-hip verbiage aside. This book is of no use to someone who is already farming, and in need of help. The best time to read this book is before you get into farming whole hog as they say down on the farm.
Even though it took me three passes to finally get the message, I am glad that I did read it before taking any action.
Read this book several times BEFORE you venture into farming, not during or after.
Where's the beef?.......2004-02-19
I kept reading and reading looking for the exciting practical information promised by all these reviews. Then the book ended. Then I looked back at the reviews to see what I'd missed that (mis)lead me to believe there was practical information in it. They use words like 'overview' to indicate that there ain't much in the way of real meat in this book. I can sum it up in one sentence: Find yourself a niche market locally and grow what they want. If you need details about producing the product, this is not the book you're looking for.
For extensive, detailed, practical information about making money by pasturing mixed species of livestock, look at books by Joel Salatin. But even he could still bring in more complementary planting for winter forage. Greg Judy has a detailed book about making money with livestock without owning the land or the livestock.
Being a Farmer does not mean living in Poverty.......2004-01-07
I enjoyed Mr. Macher book. His realistic examples and stories on how to get started have convinced me to leave writing software and become a business man who's products are farm products.
The appendicies are great with current information about where to get more information.
His true stories boxes let you know that he understands what beginging farms needed in the way of encouragement and information to help them make the decision to farm.
He is correct when he writes "to survive as a farmer you must have a market before you start to grow and you must provide a quality product with even better customer service."
Worth the money and a pleasant read for anyone thinking about starting a business or farming.
Average customer rating:
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Introduction To Agribusiness Marketing
George J. Seperich ,
Michael W. Woolverton , and
James Beierlein
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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ASIN: 0134863828 |
Book Description
This inspiring handbook contains everything small-farm owners need to know, from buying land to organic growing methods and selling cash crops.
Customer Reviews:
Successful Small-Scale Farming: An Organic Approach.......2007-07-15
This book is chock full of great advice! Add it to your library and refer to it often.
So, you think you wanna be a farmer?.......2007-01-06
Written in the late '70s, this book will scare you off the idealistic vision of farming and tune you into some of the economic and other realities. It's dry. It's nuts-and-bolts. It's not groovy. It's about dirt and tractors and seed.
The book attempts to give you a complete how-to, but instead you walk away realizing there is a lot to learn.
A dreamers book with few details.......2002-08-20
The book started off getting me real excited about sustainable farming. I was eager to turn the page and learn more, but as i turned the page, nothing materialized. I learned a lot about soil health and management, but when it got around to details about specific vegetables, growing seasons, and pest prevention, the book was lacking.
No b.s, uh....manure!.......2000-07-16
This book is for people who either live and farm in the country already, or have some realastic experience about what it is to work for a living. Anyone who has ever tried to bring in a crop, will appreciate the down-to-earth basic information provided. If you are looking for information about how to make a pretty garden, look elsewhere. this is a not to be missed reference, right up there with your county extension agent's telephone number.
A Classic!.......1999-02-09
Anyone owning or planning to own a small farm will find this handbook an invaluable guide to both the real potential and the harsh realities in making a full or part-time living on the land - buying land, growing and marketing your crops. Concise how-to. 134 pages.
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Water for Every Farm
Manufacturer: Keyline Designs,Australia
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ASIN: 0646129546 |
Book Description
The Farm Bill is perhaps the single most significant land use legislation enacted in the United States, yet many citizens remain unaware of its power and scope. With subsidies ballooning toward $25 billion dollars per year, the Farm Bill largely dictates who grows what crops, on what acreage, and under what conditions--all with major impacts on the country's rural economies, health and nutrition, national security, and biodiversity. As debate and wrangling over the 2007 Farm Bill intensifies, Food Fight offers a highly informative and visually engaging overview of legislation that literally shapes our food system, our bodies, and our future.
Customer Reviews:
Food- a political opportunity.......2007-06-11
No one goes to the grocery store thinking that the government legislates what they buy or eat. But in fact, the government plays an enormously influential role on what products and foods are grown and produced, as well as distributed in your local grocery. The legislation known as the Farm Bill (some call it the Food Bill) has greatly altered the way that farms operate, thereby changing the landscape of food choice, nutrition, biodiversity in our country as well as other poorer countries, quality of life for farmers and eaters, as well as a multitude of other issues. Interestingly, this is legislation that not many citizens know about or realize has such far-reaching implications. This book is simple to read but clearly lays out many of the prominent issues that the Bill deals with and why the allocation of money and priorities in the Bill are so important for us to confront and influence, as eaters and as citizens.
Here is an example of an outcome of the Farm Bill's mismanagement and where we are now: (with some knowledge also gleaned from Michael Pollan's excellent book The Omnivore's Dilemma)
You may think that the US grows a lot of corn and that's a good thing- did you know that most of the corn is not edible by humans and b/c of subsidies by the government to grow it big and cheap, most corn actually gets processed into byproducts: animal feed (forcing cows, who are physically designed to eat grass, to eat corn), processed sugars (corn syrup replaced sugar in many foods simply b/c it is cheaper and it's subsidized) or gets dumped onto poorer countries, driving those country's economics beserk b/c of our subsidization policy?
CHeck this book out if only so that you can be better informed about how the government has their hands in your meal. The Bill is up for re-legislation this year in 2007 so we have to get involved fast!
Farm Policy for Dummies (Like Me).......2007-06-07
Word of the day: "cornification." Cornification, in a nutshell, is the takeover of a diverse landscape by one mighty plant: corn. The "Effects of Cornification" graphic on page 17 of Dan Imhoff's new book shows the results: the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone, factory livestock farms, obesity, immigration problems, food deserts (that's "deserts" not desserts"), the emptying of our rural communities, etc., etc. One look at the "cornification" graphic and a message comes through loud and clear: what the government tells farmers to raise has ramifications far beyond Renville County, Minnesota. Imhoff's book, Food Fight: The Citizen's Guide to a Food and Farm Bill, is full of these kinds of eye-opening, mind-expanding graphics. His message isn't new, but the way he presents it is fresh and important. The phrase "must-read" is much abused (I've thought that ever since someone used "must-read" and the book The Bridges of Madison County in the same sentence). But if you are interested in how U.S. farm policy affects our environment, our communities and what we eat, and you want to do something about reforming the system, then Food Fight, is, yes, a must-read.
Imhoff's book provides a valuable service in a year when a new federal Farm Bill is being written up. It's time to take the development of ag policy out of the hands of large agribusiness and narrowly-focused commodity groups. But creating a Farm Bill that's accountable to society requires an informed public.
That's where Food Fight comes in--it makes a dense topic quite accessible. In a succinct, clear, USA Today-type format, Imhoff's chapters relate information that anyone who reads newspaper investigative pieces or watches PBS regularly probably has an inkling of: federal farm policy in this country is dysfunctional and expensive, as well as harmful to the environment, human health and our communities.
Imhoff, who is the writing/publishing force behind such books as Farming and the Fate of Wild Nature and Farming with the Wild, knows the power of images. He's summarized studies, media reports and sleep-inducing statistics in brief, easy to digest graphics. He's read the think-tank white papers and plowed through the USDA data, so you don't have to. And then he's put it all in context.
Don't let the readability of this book fool you into thinking this is lightweight material; these are some heavy topics Imhoff is addressing: "...nearly 40 million Americans, 12 percent of all households, confront food insecurity, meaning that they often experience hunger or need to skip meals to get by. Many are children," reads one sentence above a heartbreaking photo of a homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk.
This isn't all graphics, charts and photos. Imhoff also uses clearly-written text to explain complicated issues like the history of U.S. farm programs, how New Zealand reformed its system and what can be done here, now, to reform ours. With chapter titles like, "Why the Farm Bill Matters," "What Is The Farm Bill?" and "Where It All Started," this book lives up to its "Citizen's Guide" claim.
Glancing over Food Fight's facts and figures, I was surprised at how many of them I was familiar with. But the sheer weight of their overall impact had not struck me before. Having all of this information put together into one cohesive piece provides a powerful tool for action. As I was reading the book, I was also chagrined at how I've become numbed to the ludicrousness of federal ag policy. Over the years, I've read about the major corporations that receive the lion's share of crop subsidies, but it wasn't until I saw Imhoff's top 20 "Subsidy Recipients" list that the sheer criminality of it struck home.
For example, J.G. Boswell Company received over $17 million in USDA ag subsidies between 1994 and 2004. Boswell grows cotton in the bottom of what was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. Sixty percent of U.S. cotton is dumped on the world market at cut-rate prices, threatening the livelihood of farmers all over the planet. I've met a few of those Third-World farmers and they don't want a handout. All they want is to be able to sell their crop at a fair price. But they can't because our tax money is subsidizing behemoths like Boswell. Free market agriculture? Give me a break. I know a West African farmer (Ear to the Ground No. 20) that could teach us a thing or two about the free market.
Food Fight is a quick read and that's good; the 2007 Farm Bill deliberations are upon us and may be wrapped up as early as this fall. Read this book and call your Senators and Representatives armed with facts, figures...and a lot of righteous citizen anger.
Book Description
* History of working dogs * Standards for a good dog * Selecting, training and basic obedience for a pup * Introduction to stock * Working with sheep and cattle * Behavioural problems and caring for your dog. This book is written with profound knowledge and long experience in training working dogs. Colin Seis has been breeding Kelpies at his Winona Stud for many years. His dogs are sought after all over Australia and for some years now Colin has been breeding and training working Kelpies in California where their ability and intelligence is rapidly being realised for work with cattle.
Customer Reviews:
Top Dog in Dog Training.......2003-07-27
This book is written with a great sense of humor and a great sense of reality. Starting with a brief discription of various cattle/sheep working breeds, Mr. Seis goes on to clearly describe how to train a working dog for sheep or cattle. He covers not only the very basics, but also includes information on dog health and housing. A must for anyone training an intelligent dog for ranch work. (the Australian vernacular is interesting also. Know what a dunny is?)
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Books Index
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