Best agriculture industry books according to redditors
We found 196 Reddit comments discussing the best agriculture industry books. We ranked the 73 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 196 Reddit comments discussing the best agriculture industry books. We ranked the 73 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
If you move the decimal over. This is about 1,000 in books...
(If I had to pick a few for 100 bucks: encyclopedia of country living, survival medicine, wilderness medicine, ball preservation, art of fermentation, a few mushroom and foraging books.)
Medical:
Where there is no doctor
Where there is no dentist
Emergency War Surgery
The survival medicine handbook
Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine
Special Operations Medical Handbook
Food Production
Mini Farming
encyclopedia of country living
square foot gardening
Seed Saving
Storey’s Raising Rabbits
Meat Rabbits
Aquaponics Gardening: Step By Step
Storey’s Chicken Book
Storey Dairy Goat
Storey Meat Goat
Storey Ducks
Storey’s Bees
Beekeepers Bible
bio-integrated farm
soil and water engineering
Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation
Food Preservation and Cooking
Steve Rinella’s Large Game Processing
Steve Rinella’s Small Game
Ball Home Preservation
Charcuterie
Root Cellaring
Art of Natural Cheesemaking
Mastering Artesian Cheese Making
American Farmstead Cheesemaking
Joe Beef: Surviving Apocalypse
Wild Fermentation
Art of Fermentation
Nose to Tail
Artisan Sourdough
Designing Great Beers
The Joy of Home Distilling
Foraging
Southeast Foraging
Boletes
Mushrooms of Carolinas
Mushrooms of Southeastern United States
Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast
Tech
farm and workshop Welding
ultimate guide: plumbing
ultimate guide: wiring
ultimate guide: home repair
off grid solar
Woodworking
Timberframe Construction
Basic Lathework
How to Run A Lathe
Backyard Foundry
Sand Casting
Practical Casting
The Complete Metalsmith
Gears and Cutting Gears
Hardening Tempering and Heat Treatment
Machinery’s Handbook
How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic
Electronics For Inventors
Basic Science
Chemistry
Organic Chem
Understanding Basic Chemistry Through Problem Solving
Ham Radio
AARL Antenna Book
General Class Manual
Tech Class Manual
MISC
Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft
Contact!
Nuclear War Survival Skills
The Knowledge: How to rebuild civilization in the aftermath of a cataclysm
More people have died over the cultivation and export of Bananas than oil.
The phrase "Banana Republic" comes from the bloody history of Central America and the Caribbean where, for the majority of the 19th and 20th century (with remnants well in to the 21st) major multinational fruit companies like "United Fruit" and "Dole" mercilessly controlled the governments of whole countries in order to set up favorable conditions for the growth, harvesting, and export of bananas.
Most of the strife that Central America experienced in the last 50-60 years is related to the Banana trade in one way or another, and the fact the Caribbean Islands are inhabited by predominantly dark-skinned people with African roots is due to the HUGE influx of slave labor imported to grow and harvest Bananas.
NUMEROUS coups have been held, backed by the US CIA, to overthrow democratically elected governments that threatened the Banana industry (not conspiracy theory - verified fact: see Guatemala 1954).
See Bananas: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World for a very readable history of the Banana
I agree with /u/maxmackie. It's not that there's anything inherently wrong with OJ, there's just a lot of carbs and it's easy to pour yourself 12-16 oz of OJ because it's 'healthy' and then have slammed a lot of carbs. I was probably consuming almost as much sugar, even though it's not added sugar, as I was drinking soda. OJ is a treat drink for brunches and the like.
Also, you might find the book Squeezed to be interesting. It's a fascinating study of the history of OJ and the OJ industry. The discussion on 'addback' is the stuff of crazy chemistry. The OJ you're drinking has an insane amount of stuff done to it to make it taste like the 'OJ' you expect. But, because all the items are derived from oranges they don't have to list anything but oranges on the label.
Actually, it's not.
> More than 170 volatile aromatic compounds have been identified in Madagascar beans.
Taste is a sense that mostly works in the back of your nasal cavity -- your olfactory (smelling) senses actually play a bigger role in how you perceive taste than your tongue does. Therefore, the number of volatile aromatic compounds is directly linked to how complex the taste profile is.
If you're interested in vanilla's complexity and history, check out The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker. One of the chapters discusses how artificial vanilla was invented, and how it doesn't rival the real stuff.
You rang?
I haven't read the book, but I've heard a couple interviews with the author through my various foodie podcasts. He seems cool, and he made bananas seem downright fascinating the entire time he was speaking.
Edit: I have read and would heartily recommend The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan if you're even a little interested in the genetic, behavioral, and political! manipulation of our food. Corn, in particular, as it's the backbone of the American food industry, but he covers a lot of ground. It's really eye-opening. Do recommend. (And any half-decent American library will have it, so awesome and free.)
I mean its just the nature of capitalism Id recommend checking this book out https://www.amazon.com/Dorito-Effect-Surprising-Truth-Flavor/dp/1476724237
Hi there!
My wife and I just got 10 ducks about 6 weeks ago, its our first time with this sort of thing and our situation is really similar to yours. We have two large dogs, a garden, and 0.25 acres.
People warned us how messy the ducks are, but they're actually not bad at all. When they were inside growing up we kept them in a pool and used an old puppy pen to surround it so they couldn't get out. When it came time to clean out their pool each day we used an old dust pan to scoop out all the gross pine shavings into a trash bag. We also used a large backing tray and wire rack so we could lift their water and food off their shavings, to try and keep everything a little drier. It took us maybe 10 minutes each day and was super easy. We kept them in the garage and the smell wasn't bad.
We moved ours outside at 3 weeks old. They'd grown up a bit and we ran an extension cord out to their house and pen, that way we could still keep their brooder out there. They free range during the day and walk themselves into their house at dark, each night just after sunset we close them up. We've also removed the brooder now since they're bigger.
I would highly suggest you buy a book, I'll go ahead and link one below for you. It's the most popular one and I found it SUPER helpful. I'd been researching online and such, but the book was by far the most helpful. I'll also go ahead and link you the other equipment we got, some of it has made a HUGE difference in keeping our yard tidy and water free. Its been great.
The Book. I highly suggest this. The guy who wrote it is considered the leading authority on ducks. He is the duck superhero. Get the paper copy though, I had thought about audible and I'm glad I didn't go that route.
Our feeder. We started using this feeder when we moved them outside. At 3 weeks old our breed was big enough to use it and its cut down on a lot of waste and hassle. We bring it in each night and have only needed this one unit to feed all 10 of our ducks. We refill it maybe once a week or so.
The Baking Tray Pretty self explanatory, but just in case... We got ours used for free.
Our Waterer Man oh man, has this thing been a game changer. Its expensive, but its great. We have almost zero mess and the water stays full and relatively clean at all times. We turn it on in the morning and off at night, and that's it. Every 3-4 days I also move its position so the duck's feet don't overly trample the grass around it. I highly highly suggest this. That being said, be prepared to mess with it a little when first setting it up to ensure its working properly and not leaking. Once its good though, its great.
Lastly, our brooder We went with this because they're much safer and cheaper to operate than the lamps. Its also much easier, all you have to do is move it up a notch each week. It was also great to put outside so we could get the ducks out there at 3 weeks. I'm really happy with it, and we used just 1 for all 10 ducks. More than that and I think we'd need a 2nd though...
To answer some of your questions directly. To get everything setup we spent about $1000 initially. This includes the cost of all equipment, the ducks, and the mansion we built them. My wife jokes she thinks about kicking me out to the duck house, its big. It took the majority of our costs, even though I built it myself. Keep this in mind. Also, in addition to the house costs we purchased an electric fence and solar charger. Total that cost us about $200, but we're really happy with the purchase. I've moved the ducks to a different part of grass just once now and its nice to be able to do this. I'll continue to rotate them so my grass can recover and stay nice. Regarding monthly costs, we spend about $75 per month on feed, fresh bedding, and diatomaceous earth. Pro tip: mix a little diatomaceous earth in with their bedding to reduce the change of molds, bacteria, bugs, and smell. Get the food grade stuff only though. We've not seen an increase in water usage or power, at least with the setup we're using. They also do not need a heated coop during winter, or at least in my area. The winters get down to about 15-20 degrees here and I'm confident they'll be fine. We'll over-stuff their house with extra bedding though, they're quite hardy birds. More importantly than heated / insulated coops though, is an extremely well ventilated on. They're wet birds and are prone to respiratory issues if left with poor ventilation.
Cons: I haven't experienced any yet. They're awesome.
Pros: Webbed feet are soft on plants and grass. They can be larger birds and therefore more predator resistant. Their eggs are healthier than chicken eggs, their meat is very tasty too. They're super funny and entertaining. The neighbors seem to enjoy them more than chickens. Their quacks are fun. On and on we can go...
Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or thoughts. I'm happy to help where I can. I'd also suggest you get more than 3-4, how about 5?
Not exactly...
>A banana plant takes about 9 months to grow up and produce a bunch of bananas. Then the mother plant dies. But around the base of it are many suckers, little baby plants.
>At the base of a banana plant, under the ground, is a big rhizome, called the corm.
>The corm has growing points and they turn into new suckers. These suckers can be taken off and transplanted, and one or two can be left in position to replace the mother plant.
See: http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-bananas.html
Also, this book was fun to read: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452290082?pldnSite=1
Except for the parts where US fruit companies treated central America like garbage... those parts were pretty poops-mcgee.
This is a book by Joel Salatin and he is absolutely the man.
Excellent film.
As a companion piece for libertarians, I would recommend Everything I Want to Do is Illegal by libertarian/organic farmer Joel Salatin who is featured in the film. (Here is the essay that inspired the book.)
I've got some on my counter right now (waiting for it to separate, so I can use the whey to ferment some veggies). This stuff is not easy to come by. It's ironic that our supposed right to privacy allows abortion but we can't consume milk.
The supposed dangers of milk (and necessity of pasteurization) are largely a result of feeding grain to cattle in crowded conditions instead of allowing them to eat grass on pasture. As a result, the cow's digestive system (naturally pH neutral) become acidified, leading to bacteria that can survive in that environment, such as our digestive systems, making us sick.
For a great read on how deeply government intervenes/interferes in the food system (with all sorts of negative consequences for the environment, animals and human health), read Everything I Want to Do is Illegal. Made a bit of a libertarian out of me.
It's generally not fresh-squeezed here: fruit juices are left to basically ferment for months and months in barrels and then "re-flavored" before packaging. The book Squeezed is a fascinating look into the orange juice industry, if you're interested.
These seem the most relevant and future proof:
https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Goat-Introductory-Keeping-Enjoying/dp/1603427902
https://www.amazon.com/How-Raise-Goats-Carol-Amundson/dp/076033157X
One Google Search Later Holy shit, it's actually a real book. I thought it was photoshopped.
http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Want-To-Do-Illegal/dp/0963810952
The video description has three 1 2 3
Amazon Link for those interested
Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World
Touches on everything from agricultural science to the entanglement of the fruit industry with the upper echelons of US government. It boggles the mind.
>Female dairy calves may be reared as replacements for the “culled” cows who get sent to slaughter. Although the natural lifespan of a cow is around 20 years, dairy cows are usually killed at between five and seven years of age, because they cannot sustain the unnaturally high rate of milk production. Male calves who survive are sent to auction at an age when they can barely walk. Temple Grandin has strong views about that, too: “Worst thing you can do is put a bawling baby on a trailer. It’s just an awful thing to do.” The usual options for these male dairy calves are, as already mentioned, to be slaughtered immediately or to be raised for “milk-fed” veal. From the calf’s point of view, immediate slaughter is the better fate, for it spares him 16 weeks of confinement in semi-darkness, in a bare wooden crate too narrow to turn around. He will be tied at the neck, further restricting his movements. Already stressed by separation from his mother and unable to mingle with others of his kind, he will be fed only “milk replacer,” a liquid mixture of dried milk products, starch, fats, sugar, antibiotics, and other additives. This diet is deliberately so low in iron that he will develop subclinical anemia. That’s what the veal producer wants, because it means that the calf’s flesh, instead of becoming the normal healthy red color of a 16-week-old calf on pasture, will retain the pale pink color and soft texture of “prime veal.” Bought mostly by expensive restaurants catering to gourmet tastes, that kind of veal fetches the highest price. For the same reason, the calf will be denied hay or straw for bedding—if he had it, his desire for roughage and something to chew on would cause him to eat it, and since it contains iron, that too would change the color of his flesh. The wooden stalls and neck tether are part of the same plan. If the stall had iron fittings, he would lick them, and if he were able to turn around, he would lick his own urine—again, in order to satisfy his craving for iron.
The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter
Basically. For storage, everything that makes it juice is removed. Then concentrated flavor and sweetening compounds are added back in. Here's a good article explaining more..
I still enjoy food very very much. So i tried to convert that love into a love for cooking fast meals instead - i made it into a hobby to try different things on /r/1200isplenty and see what kinds of food I enjoy, can prepare fast and can eat a lot of. (Involves a lot of frozen veg, frozen dumplings, tofu, miso soup and other clear soups.)
I used to be addicted to potato chips (all kinds of chips tbh) and what helped me a ton was someone posting the amazon link to “The Dorito Effect”(scroll down for the excerpt: https://www.amazon.com/Dorito-Effect-Surprising-Truth-Flavor/dp/1476724237). There’s a super long excerpt on that link and I read it all and I FINALLY realized and understood that I was addicted to food (the food literally is designed to be addictive) and using it to cope.
I still do look forward to my meals and plan in advance a lot because it’s fun. It’s just different food from what I used to eat, and I try out different ways to eat smaller portions (so portions like a normal person) and still feel satisfied and full.
some things are having an apple after or even during every meal. Don’t feel full yet? Have an apple after. I drink a glass water during meals, before, during and after. (That’s 2-3 glasses.)
I really want to understand myself more, know WHEN I’m full vs. when I should drink water and pace myself when I’m eating so I can behave more like a normal person who’s not hoovering up the food due to its deliciousness (I do that sometimes sure, and my husband does that 100% of the time, but I want to take time to understand when I’m full even when there’s stuff on my plate and remind myself to drink water and also eat slower and enjoy the food).
I think really understanding the problem, acknowledging that it is a problem and not typical of the way other people look at food (I observe all my friends obsessively and long-term to really try and emulate a normal person’s long-term attitude towards food. They don’t mind cause they know I have a problem and I ask them a lot about what they eat in 24 hours etc.)
And also having the knowledge and hacks and strategies (you can search all of those on the loseit sub e.g. “volume eating”) and DOING all of those hacks e.g. water through a straw, apple after every meal, always having 100000 carrot sticks ready to crunch on in the fridge (give yourself ready fast options after a work day). All of these help me because I’m lazy with zero willpower, so instant, in-front-of-me options are what works for me. Basically I’m always prepared to fail.
And finally, REALLY understanding that the hunger that comes, viciously, when you start, is a complete illusion. The hunger will go away eventually after you’re solidly on your new portion size. But the hunger drives the majority of “starters” crazy and they give up cos hunger really hurts. So understanding that your body takes time to adjust to new portions, and also having ready low-cal food whenever you’re hungry (for me it’s a HUGE pot of miso soup w tofu and frozen peas whenever I’m hungry). Doing cheat meals stretches your stomach too so you’ll be horribly hungry again the next day. That’s fine - you just need to understand and really believe that your body WILL adapt to normal-person-portions.
I know your joking, but it's actually written by a farmer in the US.
Here's a list of some good General Books on beer.
I'm fond of Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher. It does a great job of introducing the history of beer, the different styles, and other great info. I recommend it to everybody who wants to learn about beer. http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894
If you're interested in the history of American beer, Ambitious Brew is a great read. It's limited in scope to just the history of American beer, but that proves to be a rich subject. http://www.amazon.com/Ambitious-Brew-Story-American-Beer/dp/0156033593
Beer is Proof That God Loves Us, It's not the greatest book, but for free on Kindle, it's worth checking out. The guy knows his beer, he just is a big time Macro brewing apologist, and his constant praise for the big brewers, and his disdain for hops make it not my favorite book. There are some good anecdotes, and history of beer. http://www.amazon.com/Beer-Is-Proof-God-Loves/dp/0137065078
And I've heard good things about the Oxford Companion to Beer, though I haven't read it myself. http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Beer-Garrett-Oliver/dp/0195367138/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_z
I looked up the book https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Want-Do-Illegal-Stories/dp/0963810952
Adam Leith Gollner's book, "The Fruit Hunters," has a whole chapter dedicated to this 'miracle fruit,' and why it hasn't taken off in the marketplace yet as a sweetener. Gollner's book also talks about his adventures travelling around the world to try fruits right off the tree that you can't get in North America (or that taste totally different, i.e. worse by the time they arrive here), that weird Grapple thing, and why it is that we only see the same handful of fruits in supermarkets all across the country. There's also a related documentary; I've never seen it, but there you go.
I highly recommend reading Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett
While it may seem like a "natural" way to go, the health risks are simply not worth it especially if you're breeding for meat. The current breeding generations are so far removed from their "free range" ancestry that they don't care about the freedom and don't have any instincts to survive outside of confinement. All you have to give them is proper individual space for their breed. Provide adequate ventilation, isolate the bucks from the rest of your stock, and give the does a break between breedings (especially during the summer) and they'll live longer. Bucks will fight each other to the point of castration, so they should absolutely be separated.
https://orangebook.tetrapak.com/chapter/processing-juice-packer
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/ask-an-academic-orange-juice
https://www.amazon.com/Squeezed-About-Orange-Agrarian-Studies/dp/0300164556/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312826335&sr=8-1
Since you don't eat meat, unless these are Angora rabbits they'd just be pets.
If they're not useful, you should probably find somewhere else for them to live. While their poop is nutrient rich, so is hen poop.
Do you eat eggs?
Highly recommend you get this book if you're going to keep them. Best time to read up on livestock is before you get any, but we have to deal with the situation at hand.
But first - do you want two pet rabbits?
Do you have housing for them? Will it protect them from the elements and predators? Can you keep them separated? (they usually don't do well sharing one hutch) What are their genders?
Also, why would someone just give up two rabbits? Were they Easter Presents or what?
Nope. Nope. Nope.
first things first, the article says they could be extinct "within a decade," and it was written in 2003...so there's that.
now, let me elaborate. The type of banana grown in most of central america is called a "cavendish," it is vulnerable to panama disease race 4, which is not present in central america (but it is pretty much everywhere else). when people say that the cavendish will be going extinct, its because of the inevitability of that strain reaching central america, which it surely will at some point.
now let me discuss that. Bananas are very big business. i believe its somewhere along the lines of 90%+ of American households have bought bananas in the past month. that's huge. Now, do you think that the big fruit companies will allow them to go extinct? that is their cash cow, their core business. they learned a lot from the Big Mikes. For example, in the Philippines, i heard that when panama disease was found on a farm, they burned the whole thing to the ground and didn't use it again for like 30 years. Also, everything that went into the farms and came out of the farms was disinfected...people, vehicles, tools, everything. With the Big Mikes, none of this was done and that why it spread so quickly.
black sigatoka is different, and definitely an issue, but not a huge one and is controllable on farm level to a very effective extent (as far as i know).
To put it in perspective, everyone i know that had anything to do with bananas in central america was never worried about Panama Disease, or sigatoka, or pests. they were more worried about the weather or volcano eruptions or some issue with logistics. believe me, a hurricane will have a much greater impact on a farm than some sigatoka.
Now, if something does happen, and the cavendish is in danger, there are literally thousands of different types of bananas. They would be a little more expensive, as the infrastructure for shipping bananas is based around the cavendish, but i'm sure they would get to you. Also, there is a lab (i forget where or who its owned by) that is dedicated to cultivating new bananas. They have had some success, but i don't believe anything commercially viable...yet.
so relax everyone, your cornflakes will have plenty of bananas for a long time.
source: i work for Chiquita.
TL;DR: Low level Chiquita employee explains why this article isn't entirely accurate.
EDIT: a good read
Salatin is an unconventional farmer who raises grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, and pastured pork. He is very innovative and has a lot of things to say about the relatively recent pitfalls of American culture. He probably is most recognized for his appearance in Food Inc. and he has done multiple Ted talks. Check him out- this is the the future of farming! He's also authored multiple books
Peter Singer. He's a great modern philosopher. Writes on a lot of practical issues and his arguments are just brilliant but his focus is animal rights. Try this one.
A great way to start is to grab a book. I read Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens.
http://www.amazon.com/Storeys-Guide-Raising-Chickens-3rd/dp/1603424695?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Not quite. The banana in the supermarket is known as the Cavendish banana, a sterile cultivar. It has no seeds, which is much more appetizing than the alternative. The species Musa acuminata is the progenitor of sweet bananas. The edible bananas we know and love are triploid hybrids. The ones with mostly Musa balbisiana genes are plantains, essentially.
As Wikipedia notes, when the two species were introduced into the same range, they started hybridizing, giving us our delicious banana without all the seeds. When people noticed this, they started growing those more and more. It was a happy accident, and humans started growing them, just like any other crop.
Note that this is just a quick summary, and I encourage you to read more about it. The banana has a pretty fascinating history, and Wikipedia's articles are great places to start.
EDIT: Wow, thanks for the gold! For more information about bananas, check out the book Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World by Dan Koeppel. To get an idea of what the book covers, here's a podcast between Steve Mirsky of Scientific American and the author. It will blow your mind.
A great book is Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits
https://www.amazon.com/Storeys-Guide-Raising-Rabbits-4th/dp/1603424563
Read Joel Salatin's Everything I Want to Do is Illegal, and you won't even want to eat "USDA Organic".
It is amazing how much humans have altered the wild, ancestral versions of plants to reach the staple crop version that we are familiar with. Here is a recently published book that covers the sad history of the banana. It covers not only the biology of this sterile mutant that may go extinct, but also the terrible, sad history of it's cultivation with much blood on the hands of the United States government and commercial parties.
Don't grow feed. You might think it's expensive, but you'll never break even compared to the cost of buying the feed. The reality is that the corn growing industry is HIGHLY efficient, and the perceived "high cost" of the feed is actually much lower than the real cost of the industry producing that corn, due to various subsidies in crop insurance and an overall approach to keeping prices low and stable.
In my opinion, with the very very small amount of acreage you have, you have very few options for turning the land into a legitimate profit.
Your two options that are high enough in density/intensity to make the work, organization and logistics worth the effort are hogs for meat, and chickens for meat and or eggs, and even in this case, I'd suggest a focus on meat chickens, as broilers are much more intensive, and a good layer operation (if you're looking at the premium, affective market) is much more extensive.
You can pick up a book by Joel Salatin, "Pastured Poltry Profits" if you haven't already read this.
If you want to do this, your acreage is a bit under the amount that he suggests for a full time vocation (20 acres), but enough that you could make a substantial operation, and depending on your location, you might get a longer/larger season. My weather is a bit harsh, and in many ways it makes poultry production a pain. If you live somewhere with very mild weather, or somewhere relatively hot and dry, but with access to irrigation that keeps your grass growing for a much longer season, you might be able to approach the volume that Salatin is suggesting on smaller acreage, but you should include more info so we can help you better.
I'd suggest you work on primarily:
Curb Appeal - the small space you have, which is really just a big yard, hardly even worthy of being called a homestead traditionally, let alone a production farm, means that you need to squeeze every bit you can out of each square foot to make production profitable. Making your hole operation pretty means that you can get customers to irrationally associate the visual appeal of your operation with a host of other assumptions about the happiness of the animals, the quality of care you provide them etc. This isn't immoral. People WANT this out of their farms, because they are neat city folk, and they want to feel comfortable and not have their standards questioned. Pigs want a muddy pit and gross slop. They don't care how it looks, but people will be happier eating pork that came from a pretty farm, so play to that, not to what the animals need. Having a pig hut that you move around from small pig pasture to small pig pasture that looks like a miniature red barn might seem dumb, and the pigs wont care, but many customers will LOVE it, especially if the visual appeal of your property creates photo ops. Play to that market demand.
Overlapping systems of production - Salatin raises rabbits, which produce potent manure, and he stacks his rabbit operation literally vertically on top of a laying hen operation. The hens scratch through the bedding below the rabbits, and they help turn the manure into useful fertilizer, and keep the operation smelling relatively mild. He also grazes cattle on the same fields he runs chickens on, and turkeys on. This vertical stacking increases the economic activity per acre, and your small parcel demands this kind of stacking. Think about ways you can use the same space for multiple things throughout the year.
Affective Experiences - Customers want emotional value in the things they buy from small farms. Cutesy bullshit to a farmer is gold to a non-farmer customer. Silly signs, heart warming blurbs and product descriptions, chances to get their hands minorly dirty in some of the production work in a non challenging way. People want a narrative about the farm their products come from, and they want to make memories/come away with stories about the experience. Since you don't have a large property, you can focus on combining the visual appeal with things that help create these opportunities. Consider teaching classes on things like making pickles/jam, harvesting honey, making cheese. You might even be able to teach them about a thing you don't even have space to do on your farm. Maybe you pair with a local farm that does have a large number of apiaries, and you do a class that involves a "field trip," to the neighbor and a meeting with a bee keeper.
People want these experiences, and a shockingly low amount of information and expertise is needed to impress them. You already know a huge amount more than most city folks, and they will pay what seems like a ludicrous amount of money to get a taste of the things that you consider mundane.
Good luck!
Also, remember, share some more info about zones, what your neighbors are up to, how far away you are from a major city/town that gets a lot of seasonal tourism, etc if you want us to be able to help you more.
I'll also point out that a lot of the guys here are "real farmers," in the sense that they are row croppers, growing corn, soy, wheat, rape, rice, etc. They are working hundreds to thousands of acres, and what they are doing is very different from what you're trying to do. You might get more applicable expertise in like a homesteading/backyard chickens/permaculture forum than you will here.
The Fruit Hunters by Adam Leith Gollner.
The business of food is my #1 favorite thing to read about, and this book didn't disappoint. I had no idea there were so many varieties of fruit, or that nearly every fruit you find in a typical supermarket is selectively-bred pale imitation of what the fruit is like in nature.
There was a book that came out about the secret life of orange juice a year or two ago; I've been on a backlist to get it from the library for a long time but I understand it to be a quality piece of work on the subject.
Squeezed: What You Don't Know about Orange Juice
there's a pretty good book on this called the dorito effect
we're unequipped to fight against the chemical and technological effects of modern foods. especially sense lifelong taste in food is formed by culture at a very young age
The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming https://www.amazon.com/dp/0865717656
I love this book on intensive small scale gardening. You probably don't want to follow their path to organic vegetable sales, but maybe you do.
Water is a big issue. You can use a large tank to help extend your water access after your well dries up, and if you build a larger shed, you can capture rainwater. You can also find a water delivery service that can fill up your tank as needed. It won't save your garden if all diesel delivery is stopped permanently, but that's an absolute worst case (and one that might stop so much pulling from those deep wells too).
You know if you have animals, you'll have to live there or at least visit twice a day, right? That's not a hard rule, but livestock require a lot of attention. If you were thinking about leaving them for a once a week visit, something will probably kill them, from falling into a hole to predators, to some downed tree blocking access to water. Whatever.
I currently have the following books open:
Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks - Dave Holderread
Everyday Saints and Other Stories - Archimandrite Tikhon
Revolt Against The Modern World - Julius Evola
I'd recommend reading The Market Gardner by JM Fortier because I'd imagine your climate is similar to theirs. It's a micro garden on 1.5 acres on a 10 acre property. They generate about 80k a year through CSA farm shares and farmers markets. If you have a local market that is not saturated you could definitely generate income with your short growing season and become fully self sufficient.
The "bible" for raising chickens is Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow. I bet you could get a copy from the public library.
Well, this is a good book to start with and has a bunch of useful information in it. I would be willing to answer any specific questions you may come up with as well.
As far as coops, you need decent wire (chicken wire is too weak to keep some predators out) and at least one solid wall and a roof (I'm in Texas, so one wall to block wind is enough to keep them warm. The rest of the walls are just wire). You also need to sink the wire into the ground a few inches so animals can't dig under. I actually dug 6" trenches around mine and filled them with concrete.
For health concerns I recommend this book, it has a lot of good info in it and is not too technical.
Interestingly enough, I just read some of this story that was included in another book, The Ethics of What We Eat which I'm not enjoying as much as I did the Omnivore's Dilemma.
The part I read was about the treatment of dairy cows & their calves, and though I have to commend the farm owners for allowing access to their farm, I was still slightly disturbed that they probably represent the best types of dairy cow people.
However, I realize this discussion isn't about the treatment of the animals, so: does the book go into detail on the corn-feeding and its impacts?
Anyone who liked this interview should read Joel Salatin's book: "Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front"
I highly recommend this book. It will make you want to tear your hair out with concrete examples one after another of the evil banality of the food police.
i would prefer more consumer choice. while food regulations may have started with safety and the public good in mind, now they are used as a way to keep competitors out of the market
for example its easy for Tyson and Perdue to comply with regulations that cost millions, but if someone wanted to get into the meat market those regulations which aren't really scalable to small setups would bar market entry and often they are written by the established companies to do just that.
I think we need to have informed consumers making intelligent decisions and where and who they buy from. If i trust the local farm and want to buy unpasteurized milk from him because i value its health benefits then the FDA shouldn't have the ability to send in a SWAT team to shut him down
Its sad that feedlot meat, Twinkies and Mt Dew are "Safe" and approved but the food from our gardens represents "Public Health Threat" if we were to sell it.
for more on the ugly side of US Food Regulations i refer you to Joel Salatin https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Want-Do-Illegal-Stories/dp/0963810952
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=war7BsnrPLY
Get this book. I picked it up before I got my first chick and it taught me everything I needed to know from egg to old hen.
My first chicken was a Speckled Sussex and she was the best girl I ever had, friendly, smart and not flighty at all. Other breeds that have been easy for me: Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, Easter Eggers, Brahmas, Welsummers, and Barnevelders. Silkies are cute, but they are always the dumbest chickens of the flock it seems like. I would say the variation isn't so bad that you can't just get the breed of chicken you like best for whatever reason: egg color, egg production, feather pattern, etc.
Chickens can tolerate quite a bit of heat (with basic shade and lots of water), and quite a bit of cold (with shelter from the wind and friends to huddle next to). I would think you probably don't need anything special in SW Missouri, but if it looks like your mom's chickens are in extreme discomfort, there are ways to help them out then.
The most important thing is to make sure the coop is completely secure and protected against predators. The #1 cause of death for my chickens has been raccoons.
Good luck to your mom!
Schenker's dissertation, Coffee: Growing Processing, Sustainable Production and the roasting forums at home-barista are all usefull. The best thing you can do is just jump in, though. Start roasting on your own, volunteer with a local roastery, invite some local roasters out for beers.
They want to quash small, local agriculture. Read "everything I want to do is illegal" by Joel Salatin for a whole lot more of what you just described.
No joke, all brands of orange juice are a scam.
You think squeeze a bunch of oranges -> put in bottles, but no.
They squeeze oranges, heat it up to remove all the flavor, let them sit in giant vats for a year(!), add water and then add 'flavor packs' to them to make them taste the way you think it should.
It's been a while since I read it, but here's a book called 'Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice'
The big news here is that this particular strain of Panama disease has gotten out of Asia. It's not going to wipe out banana production overnight, but now that it's in Africa it could very well lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths due to starvation. There are a number of countries in Africa where families rely on a banana tree for an enormous amount of their daily caloric intake. While most of those countries don't use the Cavendish cultivar I believe a few of the most popular varietals are susceptible to this fungus. There are some that are resistant. I'm trying to remember which ones. I want to say the Brazilians have one that's tart and almost crunchy like an apple but the big companies don't want to switch to it because it's "too different".
There are also varietals that have a significantly higher quantity of vitamins and are all around more nutritious than the Cavendish, but again the major corporations, Dole and Chiquita, think the consumer is too unwilling to stomach a change in flavor or they themselves are unwilling to adjust their supply chain to accommodate more delicate fruit. My uncle actually grows the old Gros Michel or "Big Mike" that everyone used to eat. It's SIGNIFICANTLY better. It's got a thicker peel so it transports more easily and oh my god it's so creamy. There's actually a line of thought that the banana is the fruit referenced in the garden of Eden description which seems more plausible when you try the better varietals and lines up with where bananas were historically grown and eaten.
The sky-is-falling style rhetoric that accompanies this issue is a result of the frank inevitability of Panama disease shutting down industrial Cavendish operations. There is no way to stop it, currently they use incredibly harsh pesticides to slow it. The banana is uniquely difficult to genetically modify or even cross breed because any of the common edible versions deliver something absurd like 1 seed per 1 million fruit so the researchers are forced to either sift through that many bananas or more commonly they use current wild bananas which have massive seeds and then try to slowly breed the seeds out. It's a huge pain. Anyway the Cavendish is almost guaranteed to die unless there are some major breakthroughs in mycology. At the current rate, they're looking at 10-20 years max assuming no huge advances.
I recently read that book they referenced which gives a lot of fascinating detail about the history behind the banana industry and this particular fungus and where I got most of this detail. It's a fantastic read especially if you want to hear about the United States explicit backing of two major corporations as they effectively cripple central america in order to better control their labor. This book: http://www.amazon.com/Banana-Fate-Fruit-Changed-World/dp/0452290082/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394076091&sr=1-1&keywords=banana
If you want to do some further reading into it, here is a book detailing the research into A1 vs A2 beta-casein strains.
The first thing I encourage you to do is differentiate homesteading from farm business.
 
Homesteading means different things to everyone, but in my opinion what it really comes down to is increasing your self-sufficiency.
Farm-business on the other-hand is about making profit from your land and resources.
 
Therefore, if you want to monetize your land you need to put on your farmer hat and put aside your homesteading hat.
To your questions - first of all I haven't purchased my property yet, therefore I don't have any yet. However, I do intend to make it a business when I do.
As for the biggest return - it is the enterprise that will provide you the greatest difference between sales and costs. Everyone's answer to this will differ however due to market demand. This is a good thing however. It is near impossible to compete on the conventional farm market. You can compete on the local market.
 
To determine what will have the greatest return, determine what your local market demands and is not being adequately supplied. For example, demand for local food (within X miles) is growing in many parts of North America and perhaps your region does not have many local producers outside the conventional space. If this is the case you can begin producing local produce. Then determine the best way to sell it (CSA, farmer's market, or farm-gate).
 
The above sounds easy, but finding your niche is especially difficult. Do your research, visit farmer's markets, and most importantly talk to your prospective customers.
 
As for your last question, what is the next best thing? No clue, and I doubt anyone else knows either. In my opinion, I think local and organic agriculture will continue to grow. In addition, I think consumers want to know more about how their food is produced and build a relationship with the parties producing it. Conventional farmers are getting older and their is little interest from the younger demographic to take over as the business is high risk / low return. This I think will be the opportunity local small-scale growers can take advantage of.
 
Finally, I encourage you to take a look at what Jean Martin-Fortier has accomplished (I think this is the third time I mentioned him in this subreddit, I may be a fan...). There is a youtube series about his work and he also wrote a book.
But he is a farmer, not a homesteader.
I'll just leave this here: Squeezed.
That reminded me of a book I read recently. The Dorito Effect., pretty interesting read, made me value certain types of food much more than before.
Yea you could have a good amount on that space. You might look in to raising broilers, or even specialty eggs for market, check out Joel Salatines Pastured Poultry Profits. I am on about a 10th of a acre and have 7 layers and 15 broilers, I will probably do 25 broilers in the next batch. Plus I have a feeling you can get cheaper feed than the Seattle metro area.
PM me if you have any questions and maybe I can point you in the right direction
I've been trying to get through The Fruit Hunters but I keep getting stuck. I think it's partly the frustration of knowing I'll never taste a lot of the fruits he writes about. At least not without spending a lot of money.
Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World
There are some food-related book suggestions on that page, but none seem to be about fruit.
What makes you think they wouldn't have started selling it without regulations? if there was no need for licensing they could have literally walked into any liquor store or bar and said "Hey im George Clooney can you do a test run of some of my tequila" without ever needing to go through government.
Someone like Clooney is an outlier because he is rich and famous but there are tons of stories of people doing things they love and are good at, but are prevented from monetizing it because of regulations. Like that guy in LA making bread in his kitchen, he was fined thousands of dollars for selling bread because he didn't have a commercial kitchen and correct licenses. This despite the fact that he ran a tight ship and his customers loved him. IIRC he had to pay like $20k+ out of pocket, then a couple years later California legalized selling homemade food.
There is a popular green/sustainable farmer called Joel Salatin who wrote a book about how regulations are killing small farms and food businesses and how they make it too onerous for small operations and local food growers to serve people.
Something something Polyface Farms, something something Joel Salatin.
Also, I had no idea that there was a huge, amazing world of fruit out there until I tried raw vegan & then fruitarian (currently omnivore, for the record, but still enjoy all types of good ingredients & recipes!) & started digging into varieties & sources a little bit deeper. I pretty much had stuff like apples, oranges, and bananas growing up. Fruit was good, but nothing to get overly excited about...maybe you got a really delicious orange once in awhile, but that was pretty much it, haha! But thanks to international shipping & market demand & places like Whole Foods & Trader Joe's trying to introduce more options to consumers, we have access to more global foods than ever before!
On a tangent, on a fruitarian diet, avocados & tomatoes are actually both included because they are fruits. They kind of fall into the sub-category of "fruit vegetables", along with zucchini, peppers, eggplants, pumpkins (yup), olives, pickles, and paprika (...berries). We eat a lot of Haas avocados in the United States, but they're not even the best ones - there's Reed, Fuerte, etc. But Haas makes more sense for market purposes (the smaller size fits more to a box, they ship better due to thicker skin, etc.), so that's what we get!
That's not a bad thing, however - it's really nice to have avocados available year-round, and even though they're kind of pricey (upwards of $2 each now, where I live), you can use them for so many things... chocolate pudding, Sinh tố bơ (Vietnamese avocado shakes), homemade ice cream (sounds weird, tastes good! I make it with coconut milk & cocoa powder sometimes). My buddy has an epic guacamole recipe available here:
Also, there's a whole crazy world of crime, wars, and corruption that goes on to support the fruit industry. Check out Season 2, Episode 1 of "Rotten" on Netflix ("The Avocado War", 56 minutes long), for example. There are a bunch of great books on the banana as well, , such as "Banana Wars" & "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World". But enough tangents for one thread, haha!
Artic Apples. Genetically modified to remove the chemical that makes them spoil after being cut.
or
Market any of the different types of banana that are possible replacements for the currently available Cavendish Banana; Apple Banana (aka Manzano Banana), Lacatan Banana (Red Banana), or Baby Banana. Could also market the old Gros Michel Banana, because so few people remember it.
This book by Dan Koeppel will give you some great background information about how Bananas became the fruit that we know and love. Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World
Definitely handle the breeders. Treat them like pets. Otherwise getting them in and our of the cages is very difficult. An adult feral rabbit is fierce. We got one as an adult, and she was so violent that we couldn't even reach in and get her nest set up without her attacking our hands. Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits was a big help when we started out.
After reading most of the comments here, I've been wondering the same. Another example is Jean-Martin Fortier, author of The Market Gardener who seems to be doing quite well for himself on only a few acres of land.
You should read Joel Salatin's Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal. There are so many bogus laws and codes in place for our "safety" you wouldn't believe.
Most orange juice is not what you think. Check out Squeezed.
I can't.
But the point is to re-examine laws after they are passed and see if they are having the intended effects. In the case of the drug laws, it hasn't worked, so it should be time to reconsider them.
http://www.amazon.ca/Squeezed-What-About-Orange-Juice/dp/0300124716
It is a little unusual for the whole flock to wait two weeks. But, Ive definitely had individual birds wait that long.
With the rain it sounds like they just arent getting enough sunlight. Like others have suggested you can put a light in and keep it on for 14 hours a stretch. I would leave the tarp up. Im in Texas so we dont get as much rain but even here if it rains it makes the hens....pissy...and they dont lay for me either those days :P To be honest unless you need the eggs right now I would just wait for the rain to pass and let them get used to the weather where they live.
But you know this is where animal husbandry kinda gets more into the art instead of the science. Everybody has to decide whats the best for their chickens in their yard given the information. Like, these are things that work for me but see in Florida you may never get a time when the rain lets up and so it would make sense to have a light in the coop. You can always try it. (of course be careful with electricity and rain)
If youre letting them into your yard, on top of feeding them chicken feed, they are most likely getting all the nutrients they need.
Yeah I would put some boxes in their coop. Ideally you want them so you can access them from the outside. The first coop I built I didnt do that and most of the hens figured out on like the second day where to lay so I had to crawl in to get the eggs.
It sounds like youre taking really good care of your chickens. Really I wouldnt worry too much right now.
One of the books that I got when I first got started is this one. It was just technical enough and just common sense enough to get me going. Of course this is a really good subreddit too!
Full disclosure, my wife is the rabbit boss. She started some years back with fancy breeds (like English lops, Mini Lops, English Angora...) but gradually moved away from that. She now raises a commercial breed exclusively; I'm just the hired help. I don't have much experience with raising chickens so I can't compare them for you, but rabbits are pretty easy (and they taste delicious). Jokes aside, they taste remarkably like chicken, but are a bit more versatile I think.
I asked her about online resources and she suggested a couple of these extension sites for some basic starter info:
Penn State Extension
and
MSU Rabbit Production
The Rabbit Talk forum is a decent place to learn and ask questions, she said.
The rabbit raising bible, however, is Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits. It's an excellent book, though maybe only if you've already made the decision to start.
Being able to use the pelts for blankets and clothes is an added bonus.
Thank you for posting that.
Also Joel wrote a whole book about it in 1996. Using his numbers he made $25,000 net profit on 20 acres. That's $1250 an acre in 1996, adjust for inflation and that's $1900 per acre now. Given /u/fonzietheman 5 acres that's $9500 in the first year. Since some of the costs are installation, the profit per acre in the following years would be higher. Also of note - the demand for pastured poultry in the US has gone up substantially since the 90's.
I hope that clears that up, /u/l0destone
Hi
Do you have any recommondations on books explaining, well, rocket science? I found this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1420075284/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1457949250&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65
on amazon. But it seems a bit heavy to carry around (I mostly read on the train). Is there something with similiar content split up into several smaller books?
I am a medical student so I have some basic knowledge of calculus and physics but no degree in the field.
Greetings,
Amazon
I really enjoyed Tobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization
It's a nice history of all things tobacco from pre-Columbian to modernish day. Full of hilarious fun stories like how tobacco went from poison to medicine to back again, or Duke trying to create a worldwide cigarette monopoly.
Lo leí en este libro, la cerveza tiene una cantidad limitada de aminoacidos que componen proteinas completas, pero esta cargada de todo tipo de amionacidos esenciales que junto con una dieta balanceada te rinden como mucho más proteína (know your aminoacids kids), ahora no es lo mismo una tecate light que una marzen o una dubbel.
Ahora el alcohol si inhibe el crecimiento muscular en grandes cantidades, pero estamos hablando de una o dos cervezas por día. 5% de alcohol max.
Muchos deportistas lo utilizan, es prácticamente una costumbre tomarte una cerveza después del rugby para los equipos profesionales, y ya hasta están promoviendo una cerveza baja en alcohol justo para después de entrenar.
If anyone's interested in learning more about the history of banana, I'd highly recommend this book. The author does a great job keeping you interested, such a fun read.
-Don't think you have to have 500 acres to turn a profit. People make a good living on 100, 40, 10, 2 acres...the extra money you make on such a humongous tract will likely go right back into the humongous equipment expenses required to keep it up. Don't be afraid to go smaller, especially since organic crops carry additional value.
-Look for niche crops in your area--once you've chosen one--by going to the nice restaurants and taking notes on the fancy vegetables they serve. Those are the ones you can get a premium for.
-Consider farming intensively rather than expansively...A guy named Jean-Martin Fortier up in Quebec grosses 100,000/year on 1 1/2 acres with no tractor (and a shorter growing season than the U.S.)
-For certification, check out this site: Help With Certification and scroll to the links at the bottom. Edit: formatting
What you buy in the store as "orange juice" probably isn't exactly what you think it is... so it can't really be compared to fresh squeezed.
http://www.amazon.com/Squeezed-About-Orange-Agrarian-Studies/dp/0300124716
"even “not from concentrate” orange juice is heated, stripped of flavor, stored for up to a year, and then reflavored before it is packaged and sold."
I have read so many books but I got most of them from the library years ago and they are probably all out of fashion. I think this one from Amazon is good despite the fact it's geared towards larger flocks. The length is right for a comprehensive guide (400+ pgs) and cage design and development is discussed.
One of the reviews links to a book geared towards smaller flocks which only gives one cage design and skips over things like slaughter. That's not necessarily bad but I have always found more information to be better, which is why the library is awesome.
The tone is more lightweight in backyard or urban chicken books. Which can be good depending on the audience. Again, my only complaint is that this tends to lead to skipping information which may be valuable. I have no problem with people keeping their chickens as pets but I am not a fan of books which skip over the less pleasant details to appeal to that audience. While they may sell like hotcakes, the readers are just sticking their heads in the sand because they find certain authors distasteful.
No matter what design you choose here are some ways to keep your flock safe:
I hope that helps :)
Food Inc. contained interviews with (farmer) Joel Salatin. Look up some of his books, and/or search for more footage of his on Youtube.
TL;DR: Don't care about regulations as long as you (and your local farmer) can opt out of them.
http://www.amazon.com/Squeezed-Orange-Agrarian-Studies-Series/dp/0300164556/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1409076975&sr=8-2&keywords=book+orange+juice
Explosions are cool, man. What better justification do you need than that?
PS: happy independence day! Here's some light reading until boomtime. http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Want-To-Do-Illegal/dp/0963810952
Singer's The Ethics of What We Eat: Why our Food Choices Matter covers the fishing industry along with the rest of the meat industry (and dairy and eggs). It was very eye opening.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ethics-What-We-Eat/dp/1594866872
I haven't seen listed yet:
also upvote:
Everyone changes their diet for different reasons, but for me, after reading up on the health/environmental/ethical benefits if veg*nism it was hard to justify continuing to eat meat. If I had to choose, I'd say the unsustainability of modern agribusiness was the main reason behind it. If you want to learn more, The Ethics of What We Eat is a pretty comprehensive overview of how animal products are produced, and it's not as judgmental or sensationalist as other books on the topic.
Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal
Try reading https://www.amazon.com/Dorito-Effect-Surprising-Truth-Flavor/dp/1476724237 for a good explanation of why food may taste bland
At first I thought you implied that this book is about bestiality.
Then the Amazon page reconfirmed that it's about big-business laws.
I don't ever want to be shocked like that again
You can always buy a copy
Pastured Poultry for Profits is where I started with broilers.
As far as I know these birds won't produce very viable offspring unfortunately. There's four breeding steps involved to get the birds to the point where they are now. Not as many steps as a Cornish X but you're not going to get the same type of bird if you can actually get them to mate naturally. I'd just prepare to slaughter them all around 50-55 days old. I read here that others have gone as far as 12-13 weeks but I'll tell you the cockerels are huge at that point, have really big gonads and honestly don't taste as good as they do if they are slaughtered under 8 weeks of age. I sometimes will allow the hens another week depending on their size. 4.5-6 pound dressed birds is what I like. They fit into Vacmaster 8x12 bags well at that size.
These birds may be too big and cumbersome to actually help protect the hens. Well, I guess they'd really just be a sacrificial lamb.
As far as a fair price. I'd say $10 would be fair but most people I know can't even give away their extra roosters. I've got two that were dumped off at my local feed store. I took them in thinking I could re-home them but no luck so far. I'll most likely cull them in the next few days. I have the first batch of Red Rangers coming the second week of April and I need to clean the area in the barn where the rooster currently are to make space for the brooders.
Do you have any photos of these Red Ranger you could share with me?
If you’re growing the right crops and doing high efficiency things like potato towers, yeah, that’s about what you need. Here’s a great book. A bit more focused on farming vs homesteading, but the methods carry over.
https://www.amazon.com/Market-Gardener-Successful-Handbook-Small-scale/dp/0865717656
The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-scale Organic Farming https://www.amazon.com/dp/0865717656/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fzm-ybSPDRHKH
I think that article oversimplified things and that it is very misleading - cows are raised on grass to a certain point, but then the vast majority are switched to grain (corn, soy) on feedlots. Much of the soy and corn grown in the world is fed to cows.
>I get really weighed down by all the information. What do you think about the argument about all the small mammals and insects that get killed during harvesting?
I totally understand - you get met with so many arguments that you suspect are not good but you have to know your stuff!! If I understand the question correctly, the number of small animals killed during harvesting of crops for plant diets is much smaller than what is killed to support the diets of omnivores. (Remember, it's not only the animals raised for food but the animals/insects killed to produce the crops that the animals raised for food eat.) So even if we all switched to a plant-based diet, the numbers would be in the vegetarian's favor. I don't remember the exact statistics, but a great book for this is The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer and Jim Mason I know they address that argument specifically, as well as many others. It's a great book.
I don't know how anyone could quantify the number of insects killed either way, but with factory farming and conventional farming more broadly, there is likely to be a lot of harm to organisms due to chemicals, monocrops, pollution, etc. I'm not an expert on this but I would like to learn more.
That all said, personally I think that the issue of killing/death is not the one to focus on, but rather suffering. Insects may be sentient, but their capacity to suffer at the hands of humans is a lot less than livestock. The amount of suffering that occurs as a result of an omnivore's diet is much greater than the suffering that occurs as a result of a vegetarian or vegan diet. Factory farms also harm human beings in many ways. Those who live near them bear the brunt of it, but also ffs are harming us and future generations through their contribution to environmental degradation and climate change.
Great book about the history of tobacco here:
http://www.amazon.com/Tobacco-Cultural-History-Seduced-Civilization-ebook/dp/B008UX3T7A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418814650&sr=1-1&keywords=Tobacco
Hit the public library and get a book. They'll no doubt have a bunch, especially if you live in a hipster backyard chicken area. Once you go through several, purchase the one you like best. Storey's is excellent, IMHO, as it is more "realistic" and less hobbyist. http://www.amazon.com/Storeys-Guide-Raising-Chickens-Edition/dp/1603424695
Over a website or blog, you might find a hard copy more convenient, as you can put post-its in it, take it to the store more easily, bring it out into the yard while working on the coop, etc.
Read this for some additional history.
It may be this one
Sounds like you're well along the path to becoming a crazy chicken lady--welcome aboard :)
Honestly, you don't need most of the stuff on your list. Chickens need an off-the-ground roost in a predator-proof space to sleep, access to water and food, a safe place to lay eggs, and that's about it. Feel free to go crazy with extra perches in the run, toys, mirrors, swings, etc. but don't feel like they are necessary. My chickens have far more fun digging through a big leaf pile than any other amusement I've devised.
Your chickens may have issues learning to use the treadle feeder. Mine have yet to manage it, so I changed to using a hanging feeder for the rodent resistance.
Sand as litter is controversial, with some bloggers claiming it's the best and easiest and others claiming it's unhealthful. You probably want to switch to what's sold in the USA as "builder's sand" rather than "play sand". It's coarser and much cheaper, and less likely to cause respiratory distress.
On constructing a dust bath: I'd only recommend this if they don't have access to dirt in their run. I meticulously created a beautiful dust bath in a sawed-off wine barrel, with the so-called perfect mix of sand and dirt, but my hens literally never used it. They preferred to dig their own dust baths in their run's litter or in my yard.
One optional addition is Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens; I'm not sure how much overlap there is with the book you already have, but Storey's is excellent.
I'd also consider buying nest pads, though you can just use wood shavings.
I personally find sweet PDZ to be helpful, and if you're using sand as litter (I use deep litter) you'll probably find it even more so. It absorbs ammonia, odors, and moisture.
These are recommendations from my friends:
The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter
Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition
Cowspiracy which is a documentary available on Netflix.
I haven't read or watched any of these but my friends are smart people and this is what they recommend. I'm also going to read these and watch Cowspiracy so I'm more current with my information. Also this website (click on Food Justice: Know The Issues): http://www.foodispower.org/
I highly recommend reading the book The Dorito Effect if you are interested in learning about how flavors in most of our foods came to be, how they were made, and how they are progressing.
When importation of bananas originally began in the 19th century- they were quite expensive (10 cents or $2 per banana in today's currency). However by the late 19th century Andrew Preston and Lorenzo Dow Baker developed such a successful system for growing and transporting the fruit that they were able to drop the price so that bananas cost half as much as apples. There's a good book on the history of the banana by Dan Koeppel.
> I gotta look at some orbital mechanics books
If you really want to go through with that I highly recommend "Introduction to rocket science and engineering". It goes reasonably into depth but is still accessible with a decent highschool math and physics background. Besides orbital mechanics it covers the basics of pretty much all aspects of rocket science (history, thermodynamics, orbital mechanics, propulsion elements etc.) It is a bit pricey though, you probably want to find it somewhere cheaper.
If you're a bit more advanced (primarily in math) you could also checkout "Fundementals of astrodynamics" which is nice and cheap or "Orbital Mechanics for engineering students" if you really want to make it your job.
I am a mechanical engineer by trade but I am really interested in spaceflight and orbital mechanics so in the past months I have been catching up with those books.
>If you believe it's possible to allow wealth to concentrate into the hands of a very small minority
This happens under government. Government props up monopolies and creates barriers to entry into the market, hampering competition.
Corporations love regulations, because it helps them. Small businesses don't have armies of lawyers to sift through the tax code for them.
Here is a good source:
http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Want-To-Do-Illegal/dp/0963810952/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380744203&sr=8-1&keywords=why+everything+i+want+to+do+is+illegal
I can provide alternatives if you'd like. Name an area and let's see how regulations could effect competition.
For those who found this interesting, I implore you to read Dan Koeppel's book Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World. It is a well-researched and entertaining look at how a single fruit dramatically changed human history. I highly recommend it, it will change the way you look at the world.
Just because it's done that way doesn't make it the most efficient.
"Rice is grown in California, under irrigation, but it takes a lot of energy to grow it there - about 15 to 25 times as much energy as it takes to grow rice by low-energy input methods in Bangladesh. The energy used in shipping a ton of rice from Bangladesh to San Francisco is less than the difference between the amount of energy it takes to grow it in California and in Bangladesh, so you would save energy by buying rice that has traveled thousands of miles by sea, rather than locally grown rice." - The Ethics of What We Eat by Peter Singer and Jim Mason
I can't find a direct pdf of that section to show you, but I pulled the quote directly from the hard copy in my hand.
I have 0 experience with incarceration, but I have loads of experience with books. Not sure his interests, but here are a few books I adore:
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Basically an Ocean's 11 heist story set in a world similar to Game of Thrones.
The Name of the Wind - (from the Amazon description) The riveting first-person narrative of a young man who grows to be the most notorious magician his world has ever seen.
Cosmos - Carl Sagan saw the best in our species. This book is what the TV series was based on.
I would encourage your friend to read text books as well while he is inside as well. Pick a topic they have an interest in, and find an older textbook on the subject. For me that would be this book. Not a topic I was educated on, but something I have an interest in.
Thank you for supporting your friend!
Ok first off what do you want to do?
Here is one for a general garden.
http://gardenplanner.almanac.com/
It also has an app for it.
If your looking at high production stuff or maybe some different ways of doing things. I highly recommend you get this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Market-Gardener-Successful-Handbook-Small-scale-ebook/dp/B00I2FYZJC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1425851563&sr=1-1&keywords=market+gardener
Its about making high production beds for growing. It is about making a profit but it shows you the easiest things to grow. I like how he explains things. He does most of his gardening with low cost and simple methods. Now the down side is the immense amount of resources it takes for this style of system to work. The cool thing is you can scale systems to your needs.
I would highly recommend you look into Spin Farming methods. I will try to post some links later.
Meat goats require little maintenance once you get the fence set up, and there's a book you should read to do it, it's well worth its cost. Click [here] (http://www.amazon.com/How-Raise-Goats-Carol-Amundson/dp/076033157X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346642680&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+raise+goats).
I use that book a lot. Make sure to get them in a fence that they can't get out of, and that book willl tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about it. The only other advice I can give you is not to get emotionally attached to the animals you are selling, because then you get sad when selling them to the meat market.
Seriously, that book will be a great investment because it covers anything from goats giving birth to what to do when they're sick to the type of goats you'd want. PM me for more info, it's way too much to put in a comment.
I don't know if anyone mentioned this book, but it explains it all.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0452290082?cache=6db4832a0fc64ca7b7e8ec0d2320c537&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&qid=1404189491&sr=8-13#ref=mp_s_a_1_13
You will never regret buying this book. Your library may have it also.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1603424695?pc_redir=1398414170&robot_redir=1
I found this book. I'm going to get myself a copy.
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1603581022/optimalwellnessc
-All of Scott Rao's books, including the Espresso e-book.
-Uncommon Grounds by Mark Pendergrast
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/046501836X?pc_redir=1412274560&robot_redir=1
-Coffee: A Comprehensive guide to the Bean, the Beverage, and the Industry
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1442214406?pc_redir=1411853065&robot_redir=1
-The World Atlas of Coffee by James Hoffman
http://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/products/the-world-atlas-of-coffee
-Coffee: Growing, Processing, Sustainable Production by Jean Nicolas Wintgens
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/3527332537?pc_redir=1413970300&robot_redir=1
This is a common problem with modern food. I highly recommend reading The Dorito Effect (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476724210) for more information - easy/fast read, and quite entertaining.
어? 아닙니다. ㅋㅋ 제가 만든 표현은 아니고, 사실 "hands"가 바나나 전문 용어일 거예요.
Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World 보시면:
> [...] A typical flowering Cavendish produces about a dozen hands, each with as many as twenty individual fingers (fruits). [...]
This story would fit right in with countless stories provided by Joel Salatin in his book "Everything I want to do is Illegal"
https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Want-Do-Illegal-Stories/dp/0963810952/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493743855&sr=8-1&keywords=everything+I+want+to+do+is+illegal
Wow.
OK, so I'm not used to such reasonable and cogent responses on reddit. Especially since I was being all ass-holey. You'll just have to give me a moment or two.
...
OK, yes I read what you posted. To be honest, it struck me as being a bit defensive (not by you, but by those who have a chip on their shoulder concerning foie gras). I'll be even more honest... I don't like pate, so even if there was a "humane/free-range" variety of foie gras (and in fact, there is ), I still wouldn't eat it. I just listed it because, along with sow-stalls and battery farms, it's considered a poster-child example of the "evils" of modern industrial farming.
I'm an omnivore. I eat meat. I actually often consider going vegetarian for both health reasons (our guts do not handle the huge amount of meat with which we stuff ourselves) and for ethical reasons (I don't really like the idea of killing other creatures). But then I smell the wonderful aroma of a lamb roast, or friend bacon and my resolve crumbles. Therefore, when I do decide to eat meat, I make a personal decision to only eat meat and meat products that I know come from producers that minimize (or at least reduce) the suffering of the animals concerned. I'm sorry, but in all that I have read and heard, foie gras is a product that is produced cruelly. I will concede there is an interesting article here on this argument.
These are the same reasons I don't eat veal (animals forced fed milk; their locomotion reduced; quite often the flesh is dyed etc). It just doesn't appeal to me.
When I eat chicken, I choose free-range. The same for eggs and, most definitely, the same for pork. It's a personal decision and it's not something I crusade about or indeed try to convince other of. As such, I think I'm perfectly entitled to hold such views.
I read The Ethics Of What We Eat and I would recommend it as a reasoned and reasonable approach to this problem. I have heard good things about The Omnivores Dilemma, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Thank you for restoring my faith in reddit a bit.
> innovate
https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Want-Do-Illegal-Stories/dp/0963810952
You sir need to read this
http://www.amazon.com/Beer-Proof-God-Loves-Us/dp/0137065078/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309570791&sr=8-1
I used to be like you then I learned about how mucnd how hard it is to make the beer taste h quality control goes into making thier beer asame every time. Don't hate Major Beer company's hate the bean counters behind them.
what difference does it make then? I mean if you're really just arguing over which detail gets implemented or not, why bother? Yes, there are obviously things that could be taken too far (e.g. the police can walk into your home anytime they want), but this bill is probably going to be reasonable to some extent.
Lets talk PATRIOT Act or FISA. Is there really anything really wrong with these bills in your mind? Personally I am against them because all they did was to increase the scope and power of government without making us safer. The same can likely be said for this s510 bill, that it will expand the scope of government, but you'll still be as likely as ever to get food poisoning. However if you think that every little bit of regulation helps make the world a better place, then this bill (along with the PATRIOT Act) will be a good thing in your mind.
just to argue one detail though:
> Section 105 -Sets forth provisions related to produce safety, including to require the Secretary to: (1) establish science-based minimum standards for the safe production and harvesting of those types of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities to minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death; and...
OK, this section will impose additional rules about sanitation and other safety provisions. This means that smaller producers will be forced to buy additional equipment to meet regulations. this will push up their costs and force them to compete less against larger producers (i.e. the ones that favor this bill).
If you ever read Joel Salatin, he describes how these little small requirements add up and push out small producers. For example, he described how a regulation to require a sink was necessary when slaughtering chickens. The sink would improve cleanliness, since the workers would obviously wash their hands and equipment more, right? Well in his case, he slaughtered chickens only every few months and did it out in a field. There simply isn't the bacteria buildup that is seen in large slaughterhouses, so why should he pay to have a plumbing out into the middle of a field? in addition, the local regulations would have required the plumbing to be in a walled facility and be a certain square footage. All this would have added up to be a huge expense to simply kill a couple hundred chickens every few months.