Start Your Farm: The Authoritative Guide to Becoming a Sustainable 21st-Century Farmer

by Ellen Polishuk, Ellen Polishuk

A totally modern, all-purpose handbook for today’s agricultural dreamers—covering the challenges and triumphs of launching any successful farm—from two leading lights in sustainable farming

Do you dream of starting your own farm but wonder where to begin? Or do you already have a farm but wish to become more sustainable to compete in today's market? Start Your Farm, the first comprehensive business guide of its kind, covers these essential questions and More than a practical guide, Start Your Farm is a hopeful call to action for anyone who aspires to grow wholesome, environmentally sustainable food for a living. Take it from Forrest Pritchard and Ellen Making this dream a reality is not for the faint of heart, but it's well within reach—and there's no greater satisfaction under the sun!

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Business, Agriculture, Food, Audiobook, Ecology

272 pages, Paperback

Published September 10, 2018

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent handbook on many of the things to consider when starting a farm. I first listened to it as an audio and then ordered my own copy to have on hand for reference. It covers a lot of things from learning to farm sustainably to planning for a steadier income. I’ll definitely be rereading it.

[Gladimore]

Briefly skipped. Wonderful information. I will definitely refer back to this.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Start Your Farm is an interesting new volume aimed at people looking to become farmers or who want to re-evaluate their business philosophy and direction for their farming work. Released 10th Sept 2018 by The Experiment, it's 272 pages and available in paperback, ebook, and audio formats. Authors Forrest Pritchard and Ellen Polishuk are well known business farming experts.

There are a lot of people who are keen gardeners (and some pure dreamers) who want to increase their connection to the land and either be or become more self-reliant and sustainable. This book aims to speak to that wish and help the dreamers and wishers seriously evaluate whether they're capable physically and mentally to become farmers and for those who are committed, how to get from dreaming to planning and finally to fulfilling those dreams.

This could have been a very depressing book. Farming is a physically and mentally demanding job. The realities of dealing with weather uncertainty, mechanical equipment failure and repair, costs, bookkeeping, regulations, to name just a few, are daunting at best. This book manages to be quite realistic whilst also being supportive and encouraging. There's a lot of experience detailed in the authors' narrative. I was impressed with the level of detail included about realistic expectations, problem solving, finding motivation, navigating uncertainty and unexpected costs and a lot more.

There's an old chestnut of a farming joke. How do you make a small fortune farming? Start with a large fortune! Seriously though, the authors manage to encompass satisfaction and lifestyle change as a tangible reward. It doesn't have a monetary value but living the life that suits you certainly has value (huge value).

This is a very personal book. It's not full of photographs of lush countryside and fluffy ducklings and lambs. It might be that some readers' takeaway from the book will be that farming is not in their future, and that's a good and valuable thing to know before staking said future on becoming a farmer.

This fills a vacant niche in the farming library. Think of it as philosophy of farming and a good in-depth job description.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Sunshine Biskaps · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was overall a very informative, detailed book about everything you need to consider when you are thinking of starting a farm. I’m intrigued with the obtaining land and marketing veggies/ fruit part. I loved the advice on the business aspects of running a farm. I also enjoyed reading about learning about farming by offering to help out at an existing farm. There’s so much to know that an agriculture degree would not be able to teach you, but experience and having great mentors will! Learn from the mistakes of others. There will be thousands of mistakes made in this journey!

The book is a good read and I’d recommended it to anyone interested in farms.

[Marc Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Lots of good info and engaging writing. But it’s difficult for me to understand how some proponents of alternative agriculture aren’t also anti-capitalist. It’s transparent to me that the worst excesses of industrial agriculture—which the authors to their credit despise—are part and parcel of capitalism, a political economy and economic logic that the authors are completely sold on. In short, I think their vision is a losing battle unless it is part of a socialist transition.

[Carolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating book!
Incredibly well written, Forrest Pritchard and Ellen Polishuk, both excel on creating this smooth dynamic between providing technical insights, sharing real personal stories and (cherry on top!) an engaging sense of humour!

For anyone interested in farming, this is a must read! From basic soil chemistry, crop management, financial planning or marketing strategies, you will have a rough start on all variables you must consider to have a successful farm strategy!

Thanks so much to the authors for providing me with such an enjoyable reading!

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We hold our own neighborhood Farm Olympics every four years, where events include hay bale tosses, squash throwing, and reverse tractor driving with a trailer in tow."

The Martens - Lakeview Organic Grain
J M Fortier - The Market Gardener
Andrew Mefferd - The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower's Handbook

-individual crop budgets (enterprise budgets)
-Veggie Compass

-resources list

[Jala · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've entertained the notion of farming or even homesteading, this book covers the gamut of considerations from how to acquire access to land to balancing your personal relationships with work. It's a thorough, practical guide for the whys and wherefores of what a startup farmer needs to consider, prepare for, and keep in mind as the years go by.

[Nick Harriss · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book, albeit one that is totally US focussed, so certain elements are unsuited for persons in other countries. Much of it is a series of anecdotes by two experienced operators, but that is frequently the best advice.

[Karen Mahtin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't like this book as much as a lot of other reviewers did. I felt like Ms Polishuk used a language that I didn't quite understand to explain some of her ways of seeing things.

[Entropic Pedro]

Awesome book....put agribusiness into the right context

[Lafillemorpho · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems like sound advice, but I haven't talked to any farmers lately so it's hard to say. Fun read though, the authors inject humor and down to earth anecdotes throughout.

[Kacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just skimmed this because it was an ILL due back soon. However, it's an excellent resource I want to remember for the future

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Convinced me I'm not gonna start a farm anytime soon

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books provides some of the basics for starting a farm. From ways of acquiring the land to where to go to get help farming and how to determine what will grow best. A good read.

[Roan Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely phenomenal guide for people serious about becoming farmers. Accessible, engaging, and deeply practical, these two know what they're talking about. Farming is about balancing the often spiritual and emotional act of land husbandry with the cold hard realities of money and business, and these authors acknowledge and lead the readers through both with grace.