What do you think?
Rate this book
Harvest: A Year in the Life of an Organic Farm
It was a dream of Jennifer Megyesi's to run a farm, and when she and husband Kyle Jones founded Fat Rooster Farm, it became a dream come true. By tapping into the public's desire for organic and artisanal food--and with lucky breaks such as selling their milk-fed pigs to celebrated chefs such as Mario Batali--they are finding some success.
The farm embodies both the newer and more traditional faces of farming. Megyesi and Jones are in their early 40s, college educated with advanced degrees, well traveled, influenced by the environmental and social movements of the 1960s and 70s, and savvy in their use of marketing and Internet skills. But in the scale and management of their operation, they revert to an older, more pastoral ideal: sheep out at pasture, chickens that roam free, cows trailed by their calves, hand-gathered honey and maple syrup, their four-year-old son helping with the chores. They're big enough to grow and sell their own meats, eggs, and vegetables at a modest profit, and small enough to have strong ties to the community.
It's a life worth living--and learning about
The farm embodies both the newer and more traditional faces of farming. Megyesi and Jones are in their early 40s, college educated with advanced degrees, well traveled, influenced by the environmental and social movements of the 1960s and 70s, and savvy in their use of marketing and Internet skills. But in the scale and management of their operation, they revert to an older, more pastoral ideal: sheep out at pasture, chickens that roam free, cows trailed by their calves, hand-gathered honey and maple syrup, their four-year-old son helping with the chores. They're big enough to grow and sell their own meats, eggs, and vegetables at a modest profit, and small enough to have strong ties to the community.
It's a life worth living--and learning about
274 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
43 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 26, 2008
I enjoyed the photographs included in this coffee table book a bit more than the story they were intended to depict. The tale of "one year in the life of an organic farm" is told through the eyes of a third party journalist, and thus lacks the intimacy that others in the genre contain (Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal Vegetable Miracle is a great example of a very personal moving story I would highly recommend). Some points of the story are just flat out awkward perhaps due entirely to the fact that you are put in the middle of a couple's marital dispute and would just rather leave the room. The best you can do in this case, is skip ahead a few pages and hope the next chapter focus on somethings else, like farming perhaps?
The other mild disappointment I found in HARVEST was the overemphasis on the meat production side of farming, while the cover image (which I have to admit is part of the reason I bought the book in the first place) prominently displays a woman sorting through freshly harvested vegetables scattered in baskets arranged at her feet. No animal in sight, yet I found myself absorbed in entire chapters devoted to the slaughtering of livestock. Now, raising animals for meat is a reality many farmers contend with, but I felt slightly misguided by the marketing of this book, for I couldn't find a single chapter dedicated exclusively to the care and cultivation of vegetables, while more than half of the book chronicled the lives and care of the animals that strode alongside that produce.
All in all, a great depiction of the "reality" of farm life, as many of the glowing reviews on the back cover indicate. I just expected more about, well, actually farming.
The other mild disappointment I found in HARVEST was the overemphasis on the meat production side of farming, while the cover image (which I have to admit is part of the reason I bought the book in the first place) prominently displays a woman sorting through freshly harvested vegetables scattered in baskets arranged at her feet. No animal in sight, yet I found myself absorbed in entire chapters devoted to the slaughtering of livestock. Now, raising animals for meat is a reality many farmers contend with, but I felt slightly misguided by the marketing of this book, for I couldn't find a single chapter dedicated exclusively to the care and cultivation of vegetables, while more than half of the book chronicled the lives and care of the animals that strode alongside that produce.
All in all, a great depiction of the "reality" of farm life, as many of the glowing reviews on the back cover indicate. I just expected more about, well, actually farming.
January 18, 2021
MY TOP TEN
1. I got this book for Christmas because we live and garden (with chickens) on an acreage and I fancy adding some livestock one day. This was my "comfort food" for several weeks at bedtime. It is a compelling portrait of a real-life organic farm, and it did a great job of dispelling any romantic notions I had about obtaining a few goats or lambs.
2. This family was very generous in allowing their story to be told. They're real. They fight. In fact, the hours of labor they undertake (with a toddler underfoot) is breathtaking. Most of us couldn't image it. And it's very hard on a marriage. At the end of the book, it wasn't clear they'd make it. I wonder if they did.
3. Some of the photos seemed more like illustration or filler but the best ones reveal the character underneath the surface of these people, or they give a sense of the beauty or starkness of that part of the country (and the prose helps fill in my sense that this is a tough place to live in). The writer really sees these people in the portraits she creates with words.
4. My god, owning lambs is way more difficult than I ever would have imagined. I don't think I could do it--although I'd love to be talked out of my position.
5. The butchering of the calf in front of his mother was stunning to me. I also never knew about traveling butchers. I confess great surprise that not one of those men involved gave a single thought to the fact that the mother watched this happen. But I was equally taken aback that the mother's response was...not motherly. I tell this story because it brings up a question I had never thought about, and that is the human relationship to animals who are livestock (meant to be eaten or used for human consumption in some way). The portrayal itself prompted this thinking. The book did not ASK me to have moral thoughts about it. I appreciate that.
6. I couldn't discern the organization of the chapters very well. On one hand, it is divided into seasons. But the section on Family, for example, didn't really center the family any more than any other section did. Also, it started with the traveling butcher, and I wondered why.
7. The book does make you wonder why someone would commit to 18 hour days, every single day, for decades. They really very consciously chose this, unlike some traditional farmers, in a sense, where it's a way of life. And the woman said that she would never ever stop farming.
8. I would have liked more of a sense of the particulars of their day. There's almost nothing about their actually eating the food, save for the Thanksgiving meal. Do they stuff raw veggies into their mouth on the run between crops? Or do they sit down to a well-prepared and healthy meal 3 times a day? I doubt the latter, which makes you wonder what it's all for.
9. For any doubters, there is just no way they are exaggerating about the 18 hours a day. I know this from just managing 3 acres with a garden and orchard. Plus, they both half outside jobs. It's astounding how they managed it.
10. We are members of a CSA. Our farmer has a lot of trouble finding and keeping help. Most younger people just aren't willing to work that hard. And the older people wouldn't have the stamina for it. I admire the dedication of people who do. I never really noticed farming, livestock, or even veggie gardens (although I've had them on and off) until much later in life.
1. I got this book for Christmas because we live and garden (with chickens) on an acreage and I fancy adding some livestock one day. This was my "comfort food" for several weeks at bedtime. It is a compelling portrait of a real-life organic farm, and it did a great job of dispelling any romantic notions I had about obtaining a few goats or lambs.
2. This family was very generous in allowing their story to be told. They're real. They fight. In fact, the hours of labor they undertake (with a toddler underfoot) is breathtaking. Most of us couldn't image it. And it's very hard on a marriage. At the end of the book, it wasn't clear they'd make it. I wonder if they did.
3. Some of the photos seemed more like illustration or filler but the best ones reveal the character underneath the surface of these people, or they give a sense of the beauty or starkness of that part of the country (and the prose helps fill in my sense that this is a tough place to live in). The writer really sees these people in the portraits she creates with words.
4. My god, owning lambs is way more difficult than I ever would have imagined. I don't think I could do it--although I'd love to be talked out of my position.
5. The butchering of the calf in front of his mother was stunning to me. I also never knew about traveling butchers. I confess great surprise that not one of those men involved gave a single thought to the fact that the mother watched this happen. But I was equally taken aback that the mother's response was...not motherly. I tell this story because it brings up a question I had never thought about, and that is the human relationship to animals who are livestock (meant to be eaten or used for human consumption in some way). The portrayal itself prompted this thinking. The book did not ASK me to have moral thoughts about it. I appreciate that.
6. I couldn't discern the organization of the chapters very well. On one hand, it is divided into seasons. But the section on Family, for example, didn't really center the family any more than any other section did. Also, it started with the traveling butcher, and I wondered why.
7. The book does make you wonder why someone would commit to 18 hour days, every single day, for decades. They really very consciously chose this, unlike some traditional farmers, in a sense, where it's a way of life. And the woman said that she would never ever stop farming.
8. I would have liked more of a sense of the particulars of their day. There's almost nothing about their actually eating the food, save for the Thanksgiving meal. Do they stuff raw veggies into their mouth on the run between crops? Or do they sit down to a well-prepared and healthy meal 3 times a day? I doubt the latter, which makes you wonder what it's all for.
9. For any doubters, there is just no way they are exaggerating about the 18 hours a day. I know this from just managing 3 acres with a garden and orchard. Plus, they both half outside jobs. It's astounding how they managed it.
10. We are members of a CSA. Our farmer has a lot of trouble finding and keeping help. Most younger people just aren't willing to work that hard. And the older people wouldn't have the stamina for it. I admire the dedication of people who do. I never really noticed farming, livestock, or even veggie gardens (although I've had them on and off) until much later in life.
September 16, 2020
I didn't like this book. Part of it read like a census, a lot of it read like a screenplay where the couple just argues A LOT! This book was written about the couples life and farm in 2003, published in 2004. If they are still married today I'll be stunned. Farming is a massive amount of back breaking, soul crushing, exhausting hard work, no ifs, ands, or buts about that. The sad thing is, the "journalists" who recorded the story seemed to focus just on that. There's nothing hopeful. This was total disappointment to read.
Read
December 12, 2025Not rating because I’m using this as a placeholder for the book AVA at Fifty by Nicola Smith, ISBN 9798218247294 that doesn’t show on Goodreads.
September 23, 2009
Interesting look at one family's journey into organic farming. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of conflict between the spouses. I can see that the bone grinding unending work could be detrimental to a marriage. I prefer this type of book in the voice of the family, but Harvest was in the voice of an outsider/observer. I did finish reading it anyway. Special note: this book also mentioned searching for salamanders in the springtime (as did another farm book I read recently). I would love to do that!
September 7, 2010
A really honest book of how difficult farming is. I'm a complete romantic and have lofty dreams of farming, but this book really showed the truth about how financially hard it is, how tough and strenuous the work is, and how the stress of it takes a toll on your marriage. But, at the same time it showed how important organic farming is. Made me appreciate the food I eat more, have a lot more respect for farmers now, and made me want to rally to buy more food from farmers markets and farms to help sustain them and their wonderful work.
August 19, 2008
Contrary to what other reviewers said, this made me think, "Why would anyone do it?" The photos are beautiful and the writing is excellent -- you are a fly on the wall and get to witness the good, the bad & the ugly (fights between the couple). It definitely made me appreciate the farmers at our farmers market a lot more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2009
To me there are few things more riveting than someone who gives up a lucrative urban life in order to farm in the country. These are the adventures of one couple as they try to live The Dream. Not romanticized, and very gritty. This couple fights. I wish there had been more pictures, but aside from that I found it deeply engaging.
December 13, 2007
This book was interesting and thought provoking. True story of a couple who decides to try to make a living at an organic farm in Vermont(?). It tells of all their challenges and joys of truly farming organically. Fun to dream about, but also very realistic about the difficulties.
January 27, 2009
A nuts and bolts look at what it takes to run an organic farm. I really love how the book is laid out and that it gets into the details of all the work necessary, both good and bad. Definitely takes the romantic luster out of the picture of what it takes to farm!
October 14, 2010
This book made me not want to be an organic farmer, but made me appreciate much more the work that they do. Its a tough path to trek. I like the coffee-table format of the book and its filled with beautiful pictures and great stories of how one family manages their farm.
August 15, 2007
gives me a hankering for a few acres of my own
October 13, 2007
lovely inspiring pictures
so you can do it too
good companion to urban farming
add to the animal, vegetable, miracle lot.
November 6, 2007
Great book if you've ever thought about leaving the city and going out to the country to live off the land.
November 20, 2008
great book. really takes you into a family that is trying to make a small organic farm work.
October 23, 2011
This was taken place in Vermont, and I really want to try my hand at maple sugaring.
February 6, 2012
The stories were interesting, and the pictures beautiful, but the tone of the book was a couple on the edge of a divorce.
July 19, 2013
Interesting/pretty coffee table book. Liked the pictures more than the educational/diary aspect of it.
February 17, 2015
Wish this was first person, changes the voice to have someone else write about you & your farm. Still, lovely farm dream book.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews