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First Generation Farming: A blueprint for coordinated, cooperative agribusiness that will keep you on the land for generations
A blueprint for coordinated, cooperative agribusiness that will get you on the land and keep you there for generations. This book is a culmination and synthesis of everything I've learned in my ten years as a first-generation farmer.
This book discusses all the things I wish I knew when I got into the business as a first generation
The order in which to develop the different elements of your farm and agribusiness.
How conventional agriculture and agribusiness operate
How high a mountain we have to climb to compete with incumbent agribusiness; how to find partners to set up an agribusiness with better ethics
How agribusinesses and cooperatives leverage economies of scale
Where and how these organizations are plugged into the local vs. global economy
How career paths are frustrated in both conventional and alternative agriculture
The difficulties posed by everything from volunteer farm labor to agricultural non-profits
It also helps you unlearn some of the bad ideas that may have already found their way into your head from the farm-to-table influencer
The supremacy of small-scale farming
The locavore principle
The idea that treating your farm like any other business is a bad thing
Euphoric ideas about regenerative agriculture’s potential to solve all the world’s problems
That farming is a spiritual salve for trauma and a substitute for therapy
The idealization of farming as a family inheritance
The obsession with landownership
The idea that every single thing about “big agriculture” is irredeemably corrupt and useless.
Above all, First Generation Farming aims to save you from years of mistakes, fortunes lost, relationships frayed and, in so doing, to save us all from a continued want of real, rather than imagined, progress on the food sovereignty front.
This book discusses all the things I wish I knew when I got into the business as a first generation
The order in which to develop the different elements of your farm and agribusiness.
How conventional agriculture and agribusiness operate
How high a mountain we have to climb to compete with incumbent agribusiness; how to find partners to set up an agribusiness with better ethics
How agribusinesses and cooperatives leverage economies of scale
Where and how these organizations are plugged into the local vs. global economy
How career paths are frustrated in both conventional and alternative agriculture
The difficulties posed by everything from volunteer farm labor to agricultural non-profits
It also helps you unlearn some of the bad ideas that may have already found their way into your head from the farm-to-table influencer
The supremacy of small-scale farming
The locavore principle
The idea that treating your farm like any other business is a bad thing
Euphoric ideas about regenerative agriculture’s potential to solve all the world’s problems
That farming is a spiritual salve for trauma and a substitute for therapy
The idealization of farming as a family inheritance
The obsession with landownership
The idea that every single thing about “big agriculture” is irredeemably corrupt and useless.
Above all, First Generation Farming aims to save you from years of mistakes, fortunes lost, relationships frayed and, in so doing, to save us all from a continued want of real, rather than imagined, progress on the food sovereignty front.
- GenresNonfiction
171 pages, Paperback
Published December 19, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 14, 2026
This is the book to ingest before you read Salad Bar Beef or You Can Farm and end up all starry-eyed. An excellent blueprint to developing a cooperative approach to small farming and working out the nuts and bolts of demand before going all in supply. Mr. Newman also delves into structure, roles and responsibilities and the idea of co-ops bringing in new farmers, getting them experience in the system and then incorporating them into the business through possible funding and collaboration.
Really well done.
Really well done.
April 23, 2026
Cautiously optimistic but realistic guide for understanding how to plan for success in creating an agribusiness.
Thoughtful and detailed structure considering many common pitfalls without the nostalgia or idealism that is commonly promoted by farmer-author practitioners who only want to sell you a book only to give up after struggling for a handful of years.
Strong recommend for anyone interested in starting or enhancing the viability of a farm or food business operation.
Thoughtful and detailed structure considering many common pitfalls without the nostalgia or idealism that is commonly promoted by farmer-author practitioners who only want to sell you a book only to give up after struggling for a handful of years.
Strong recommend for anyone interested in starting or enhancing the viability of a farm or food business operation.
September 14, 2026
Great for farmers, people in food business, people interested in food sovereignty, or just where their food comes from. Lots of good practical advice for starting a farm business that won't just collapde immediately. Sometimes it felt like it was dispelling instagram myths or just a response to internet drama that I am completely removed from, and others might appreciate that but I found it unnecessary.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews