Growing A Farmer

A former basketball star, Farmer Will Allen is an innovator, educator, and community builder. When he looked at an abandoned city lot he saw a huge table, big enough to feed the whole world. This is the inspiring story of his determination to bring good food to every table.

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 While Black is the first comprehensive "how to" guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture. At Soul Fire Farm, author Leah Penniman co-created the Black and Latino Farmers Immersion (BLFI) program as a container for new farmers to share growing skills in a culturally relevant and supportive environment led by people of color. Farming While Black organizes and expands upon the curriculum of the BLFI to provide readers with a concise guide to all aspects of small-scale farming, from business planning to preserving the harvest. Throughout the chapters Penniman uplifts the wisdom of the African diasporic farmers and activists whose work informs the techniques described--from whole farm planning, soil fertility, seed selection, and agroecology, to using whole foods in culturally appropriate recipes, sharing stories of ancestors, and tools for healing from the trauma associated with slavery and economic exploitation on the land. Woven throughout the book is the story of Soul Fire Farm, a national leader in the food justice movement.--AMAZON.

There are twenty million acres of lawns in North America. In their current form, these unproductive expanses of grass represent a significant financial and environmental cost. However, viewed through a different lens, they can also be seen as a tremendous source of opportunity. Access to land is a major barrier for many people who want to enter the agricultural sector, and urban and suburban yards have huge potential for would-be farmers wanting to become part of this growing movement. The Urban Farmer is a comprehensive, hands-on, practical manual to help you learn the techniques and business strategies you need to make a good living growing high-yield, high-value crops right in your own backyard (or someone else's). Major benefits include: Low capital investment and overhead costs Reduced need for expensive infrastructure Easy access to markets Growing food in the city means that fresh crops may travel only a few blocks from field to table, making this innovative approach the next logical step in the local food movement. Based on a scalable, easily reproduced business model, The Urban Farmer is your complete guide to minimizing risk and maximizing profit by using intensive production in small leased or borrowed spaces. Curtis Stone is the owner/operator of Green City Acres, a commercial urban farm growing vegetables for farmers markets, restaurants, and retail outlets. During his slower months, Curtis works as a public speaker, teacher, and consultant, sharing his story to inspire a new generation of farmers.

"Eloquent and detailed...It's hard to have hope, but the organized observations and plans of Hoffman and people like her give me some. Read her book -- and listen." -- Jane Smiley, The Washington Post In her late 40s, Beth Hoffman decided to upend her comfortable life as a professor and journalist to move to her husband's family ranch in Iowa--all for the dream of becoming a farmer. There was just one problem: money. Half of America's two million farms made less than $300 in 2019, and many struggle just to stay afloat. Bet the Farm chronicles this struggle through Beth's eyes. She must contend with her father-in-law, who is reluctant to hand over control of the land. Growing oats is good for the environment but ends up being very bad for the wallet. And finding somewhere, in the midst of COVID-19, to slaughter grass finished beef is a nightmare. If Beth can't make it, how can farmers who confront racism, lack access to land, or don't have other jobs to fall back on hack it? Bet the Farm is a first-hand account of the perils of farming today and a personal exploration of more just and sustainable ways of producing food.

Former urbanite Timmermeister offers an intimate look at the life and livelihood of a modern-day farmer.

Excerpt from Farming for Profit: A Handbook for the American Farmer, a Practical Work, Devoted to Agriculture and Mechanics, Fruit-Growing and Gardening, Live-Stock, Business Principles, Home Life, and Showing How to Make Money, Preserve Health and Secure Happiness on the Farm The farmer should keep himself and his family supplied with reading of the best quality, and plenty of time in which to use it should be taken. Like the men in all other callings the farmer needs books and papers which are devoted to his special pursuit. The attempt to get along without them is ruinous. In these days of close competition the man who is to succeed must be well informed. Ignorance cannot successfully compete with knowledge. The boys, too, need these books and papers in order to give them an intelligent comprehension of the methods which should be pursued, and to lead them. To take an active interest in the farm work. But they should not be restricted to this class of reading. The best papers for the young should be furnished, and the newspapers should also be supplied so that they and their sisters may know what is going on in the world. The wife and mother should not be forgotten, but some good home magazine should be taken for her especial benefit. She needs something of this kind still more than the other members of the family. She is tied more closely to the home, her duties are very exacting, and her health is often poor. The monotonous drudgery of isolated farm life has a terribly destructive effect if it is not counteracted by the rest and recreation which is always needed but seldom taken. When the ceaseless round has been too long followed the health of body or mind, or both, will give way. The asylums for the insane contain a very large proportion of farmers' wives brought theic by the combined effects of overwork and a monotonous life. The magazine and newspaper lead the thoughts into new channels, occupy the mind with subjects outside of its ordinary routine, and thus refresh the body while preserving the health of the mind. The farmer and his family all need periods of rest and recreation. An occasional day spent in visiting friends will be positively beneficial to the health, and will give an increased efficiency to the labor which is performed as well as properly develop the social feelings. The grange has proved an immense aid to farmers and their families in these as well as in other directions. There was a great need of something which should lead them out of themselves, and break up the isolation and routine in which their lives were involved. Lectures and occasional concerts should also be attended, but all low shows, and even the ordinary grade of the circus, should be carefully avoided. A good managerie is an excellent thing for children and grown people to see, but many of the shows which travel around the country are of little value, and in some respects are extremely harmful. It is a good plan to give the last half of each Saturday afternoon to the boys and girls for their own enjoy ment. Instead of trying, as too many do, to crowd about a third more work into Saturday than they perform any other day of the week, the farmers should make its labor lighter, and finish it early. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com