Best of
Agriculture

1998

You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start and Succeed in a Farm Enterprise


Joel Salatin - 1998
    It's like thinking the unthinkable.After all, the farm population is dwindling. It takes too much capital to start. The pay is too low. The working conditions are dusty, smelly and noisy: not the place to raise a family. This is all true, and more, for most farmers.But for farm entrepreneurs, the opportunities for a farm family business have never been greater. The aging farm population is creating cavernous niches begging to be filled by creative visionaries who will go in dynamic new directions. As the industrial agriculture complex crumbles and our culture clambers for clean food, the countryside beckons anew with profitable farming opportunities.While this book can be helpful to all farmers, it targets the wannabes, the folks who actually entertain notions of living, loving and learning on a piece of land. Anyone willing to dance with such a dream should be able to assess its assets and liabilities; its fantasies and realities. "Is it really possible for me?" is the burning question this book addresses.

The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist


Michael Phillips - 1998
    Yet it is possible to grow apples responsibly, by applying the intuitive knowledge of our great-grandparents with the fruits of modern scientific research and innovation.Since The Apple Grower first appeared in 1998, orchardist Michael Phillips has continued his research with apples, which have been called "organic's final frontier." In this new edition of his widely acclaimed work, Phillips delves even deeper into the mysteries of growing good fruit with minimal inputs. Some of the cuttingedge topics he explores include:The use of kaolin clay as an effective strategy against curculio and borers, as well as its limitationsCreating a diverse, healthy orchard ecosystem through understory management of plants, nutrients, and beneficial microorganismsHow to make a small apple business viable by focusing on heritage and regional varieties, value-added products, and the "community orchard" modelThe author's personal voice and clear-eyed advice have already made The Apple Grower a classic among small-scale growers and home orchardists. In fact, anyone serious about succeeding with apples needs to have this updated edition on their bookshelf.

Great Garden Companions: A Companion-Planting System for a Beautiful, Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden


Sally Jean Cunningham - 1998
    Let master gardener Sally Jean Cunningham show you how to keep pests and diseases at bay with her unique companion-gardening system. By planting special combinations of vegetables, flowers, and herbs, you can minimize pest and disease problems and create a high-yielding, beautiful garden!

Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision Making


Allan Savory - 1998
    This work shows that on the most fundamental level, environmental problems are cuased by human management decisions rather than the commonly blamed culprits of environmental degradation, overpopulation, poor farming practices and lack of financial support.

Solviva: How to Grow $500,000 on One Acre and Peace on Earth: Learning the Art of Living with Solar-Dynamic, Bio-Benign Design


Anna Edey - 1998
    Includes 155 color illustrations and detailed instructions to help readers towards a model of sustainability.

Country Life: A Handbook for Realists and Dreamers


Paul Heiney - 1998
    This practical guide details how to achieve real country living, offering real-life options to people who yearn to be self-sufficient or who simply want a more fulfilling life as an "armchair farmer".

Bees:


Rudolf Steiner - 1998
    He stated that, within fifty to eighty years, we would see the consequences of mechanizing the forces that had previously operated organically in the beehive. Such practices include breeding queen bees artificially.The fact that over sixty percent of the American honeybee population has died during the past ten years, and that this trend is continuing around the world, should make us aware of the importance of the issues discussed in these lectures. Steiner began this series of lectures on bees in response to a question from an audience of workers at the Goetheanum.From physical depictions of the daily activities of bees to the most elevated esoteric insights, these lectures describe the unconscious wisdom of the beehive and its connection to our experience of health, culture, and the cosmos.Bees is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the true nature of the honeybee, as well as those who wish to heal the contemporary crisis of the beehive. Bees includes an essay by David Adams, "From Queen Bee to Social Sculpture: The Artistic Alchemy of Joseph Beuys."The art and social philosophy of Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) is among the most influential of the twentieth century. He was strongly influenced by Rudolf Steiner's lectures on bees. The elemental imagery and its relationship to human society played an important role in Beuys's sculptures, drawings, installations, and performance art. Adams' essay on Beuys adds a whole new dimension to these lectures, generally considered to be directed more specifically to biodynamic methods and beekeeping.C O N T E N T SIntroduction by Gunther HaukEight Lectures by Rudolf SteinerBlackboard DrawingsAppendix" Extracts from Various LecturesAfterword by David Adams: "From Queen Bee to Social Sculpture: The Artistic Alchemy of Joseph Beuys"IndexThis volume consists of 8 lectures (of 15) from Mensch und Welt. Das Wirken des Geistes in der Natur. �ber das Wesen der Bienen (GA 351).

Understanding Equine Nutrition: Your Guide to Horse Health Care and Management


Karen Briggs - 1998
    At least that's not what Mother Nature intended. All horses in the wild really needed was a good source of grass and water and a natural salt lick of some kind. But as man began using horses for specific purposes, such as working fields, riding for pleasure or performance, or for breeding, so too did the kinds and amount of feeds owners gave to their animals. In Understanding Equine Nutrition, Karen Briggs, a horsewoman and equine nutritionist, sets out to make feeding horses simple again. Whether your horse is a growing yearling, a high-performance athlete, a mom-to-be, or a favorite pasture horse, this important guide will help you make sense of the jargon, sort out the ingredients, and make a feeding plan and menu that is best for your horse.

Secrets to Great Soil: A Grower's Guide to Composting, Mulching, and Creating Healthy, Fertile Soil for Your Garden and Lawn


Elizabeth Stell - 1998
    She provides all the information you need to give your garden a healthy foundation of rich, nutrient-filled soil that will ensure bountiful harvests and beautiful plants.

A Florida Cattle Ranch


Alfo "Bud" Adams - 1998
    bought several hundred head of scrub cows native to Florida. Today, Adams Ranch produces nearly 7,000 calves annually on 50,000 acres in Osceola, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie Counties. Divided into five main sections, A Florida Cattle Ranch tells the story of one cattle ranch, and also the story of one state, one way of life, and one family's stewardship. It provides readers with a brief history of Florida, recounting how early Spanish, English, and Scottish settlers brought plants and animals with them to the "Land of Flowers" and how they learned to live with the flora and fauna that already thrived here. It describes Florida's terrain and some of the fascinating and beautiful creatures that live in Florida and specifically on the Adams Ranch. It gives a history and description of Adams Ranch: how it began, how it has improved, and how it has stayed the same. And, finally, it issues a plea to all the citizens of Florida to care for this unique land and its inhabitants. Throughout, full-color photographs by Alto Adams Jr. punctuate descriptions of wildlife, terrain, and cattle--fluid shots of sandhill cranes and swallow-tailed kites in flight, an alligator showing her maternal instinct, a snowy egret's mating dance, an Osceola wild turkey roosting in a tree, and does with their fawns.A beautiful coffee table book to add to your collection.

Agroforestry in Sustainable Agricultural Systems


Louise E. Buck - 1998
    Various types of ecological settings for agroforestry are analyzed within temperate and tropical regions. The roles of soil, water, light, nutrient and pest management in mixed, annual, woody perennial and livestock systems are discussed. Important new case studies from around the world offer innovative strategies that have been used successfully in raising forests and tree products on a sustainable basis for commercial harvesting and for providing other environmental services in land conservation and watershed management.

Growing and Using Garlic: Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletin A-183


Glenn Andrews - 1998
    There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.