Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Rebirth of the Small Family Farm:

A Handbook for Starting a Successful Organic Farm Based on the Community Supported Agriculture Concept by Bob & Bonnie Gregson
This booklet contains the "true tale" of two 40 somethings who went through a mid-life crisis and decided to quit their jobs as corporateers and become organic farmers instead. They explain how they began with virtually no experience as farmers and over the course of a few years were able to turn a two acre area of land into a profitable endeavor. By sharing their story and revealing their trials and errors, they hope to motivate and assist others in doing the same thing with the utopic vision of small farms popping up all over the place and surrounding urban areas in an effort to make food local again. In order to turn a profit, they eliminated the middle man for the most part and sold their produce directly to consumers through a subscription-based system and at an on-site produce stand. This is a very informative and helpful booklet for anyone considering a career as a small farmer. It could also be inspiring to those that don't already know that they want to be a small farmer. I really appreciated their reasoning behind farming organically and selling locally, and I liked how they referred to the farmer as a "junior partner" with the earth. We must work together with nature in order to live in harmony, but we also must realize that we are only second in command for without nature and her miraculous processes, we are nothing.
This booklet costs $12 plus shipping from Acres U.S.A., PO Box 91299, Austin TX 78709, 1-800-355-5313, www.acresusa.com
Oh, and expect to see many quotes from this booklet in future issues of The Juniper.

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