Farmer Able: A fable about servant leadership transforming organizations and people from the inside out


Book Description

The pigs are running the farm. So begins the story of Farmer Able. Everyone on his farm -- people and animals alike – are downright downtrodden by him. He's overbearing and compulsively obsessed with profits and productivity. He's a typical top-down, power-based manager, forever tallying production numbers in his well-worn ledgers. But the more he pushes the hoofs and horns and humans, the more they dig in their heels. That is until one day when he hears a mysterious wind that whispers: "It's not all about me." Can he turn things around and begin attending to the needs of those on his farm, thus improving their attitudes and productivity? Farmer Able is an engaging parable that entertains as it enlightens. It reveals a profound truth about the dysfunction in organizations and how dramatic improvements can be made when leaders liberate employees to operate at their fullest potential and discover the significance in their work. If you're looking to develop a new and profoundly satisfying leadership style, one that advocates serving others and creating ethical, engaging workplaces and innovative environments, this book will set you on your way. If you are tired of "business as usual," this lively story will get you thinking about how to inspire your employees and produce better results.




Farmer Able


Book Description




Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table


Book Description

A former basketball star, Farmer Will Allen is an innovator, educator, and community builder. When he looked at an abandoned city lot he saw a huge table, big enough to feed the whole world. This is the inspiring story of his determination to bring good food to every table.




The American Farmer


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Farmer Boy Days


Book Description

As he grows up on his family's farm in New York, Almanzo Wilder dreams of having a colt of his own.




The Farmer and the Clown


Book Description

Whimsical and touching images tell the story of an unexpected friendship and the revelations it inspires in this moving, wordless picture book from two-time Caldecott Honor medalist Marla Frazee. A baby clown is separated from his family when he accidentally bounces off their circus train and lands in a lonely farmer’s vast, empty field. The farmer reluctantly rescues the little clown, and over the course of one day together, the two of them make some surprising discoveries about themselves—and about life! Sweet, funny, and moving, this wordless picture book from a master of the form and the creator of The Boss Baby speaks volumes and will delight story lovers of all ages.




Bet the Farm


Book Description

"Eloquent and detailed...It's hard to have hope, but the organized observations and plans of Hoffman and people like her give me some. Read her book -- and listen." -- Jane Smiley, The Washington Post In her late 40s, Beth Hoffman decided to upend her comfortable life as a professor and journalist to move to her husband's family ranch in Iowa--all for the dream of becoming a farmer. There was just one problem: money. Half of America's two million farms made less than $300 in 2019, and many struggle just to stay afloat. Bet the Farm chronicles this struggle through Beth's eyes. She must contend with her father-in-law, who is reluctant to hand over control of the land. Growing oats is good for the environment but ends up being very bad for the wallet. And finding somewhere, in the midst of COVID-19, to slaughter grass finished beef is a nightmare. If Beth can't make it, how can farmers who confront racism, lack access to land, or don't have other jobs to fall back on hack it? Bet the Farm is a first-hand account of the perils of farming today and a personal exploration of more just and sustainable ways of producing food.




Gaining Ground


Book Description

With humor and pathos, Forrest Pritchard recounts his ambitious and often hilarious endeavors to save his family’s seventh-generation farm in the Shenandoah Valley. Through many a trial and error, he not only saves Smith Meadows from insolvency but turns it into a leading light in the sustainable, grass-fed, organic farm-to-market community. There is nothing young Farmer Pritchard won’t try. Whether he’s selling firewood and straw, raising free-range chickens and hogs, or acquiring a flock of Barbados Blackbelly sheep, his learning curve is steep and always entertaining. Pritchard’s world crackles with colorful local characters—farm hands, butchers, market managers, customers, fellow vendors, pet goats, policemen—bringing the story to warm, communal life. His most important ally, however, is his renegade father, who initially questions his son's career choice and eschews organic foods for the generic kinds that wreak havoc on his health. Soon after his father’s death, the farm becomes a recognized success and Pritchard must make a vital decision: to continue serving the local community or answer the exploding demand for his wares with lucrative Internet sales and shipping deals. More than a charming story of honest food cultivation and farmers’ markets, Gaining Ground tugs on the heartstrings, reconnecting us to the land and the many lives that feed us.




The Farmer


Book Description

A BOUNTIFUL FEAST for the EYES & HEART! Over 100 Pages of full color illustrations. Originally The Farmer was intended to be a wordless picture book but at the end of the creation process Mark Ludy lovingly added text. It was his first work and launched his career as an Author/Illustrator at the age of 25. The story is about a farmer who lovingly cares for his animals and little plot of earth but disaster after disaster take that which is most precious to the man. Interwoven throughout the story is the relationship between he and his neighbors - neighbors who do him nothing but wrong. But in the end, there is one last disaster, but this time who's in trouble? But the neighbors. And who's there to help them? ...but the farmer. The end is beautiful and rich. For we see a man who lost everything but when bounty returns he holds it out for others who are in need. The lessons of Perseverance, Hope, Forgiveness and Faith are all embodied in the life of the Farmer. The story was inspired by a young 3rd grade boy named Jared, who Mark's sister taught years ago. Every day he'd come to school in his overalls and during reading time would pull out his seed catalog... checking off the plants he wanted for home. He was going to be a Farmer! and that was all there was to it. She recalls him coming to school and during recess transplanting flowers from home there at the school. But it was when she shared about a picture Jared had drawn that the story was revealed to Mark. The picture depicted a fierce storm raging through a little farm. The farmer was there, latched onto a tree with his legs flailing in the air, plants were being uprooted and animals were tumbling on by. Under the picture he had scrawled, "One raindrop turned into a million."




Farming for Us All


Book Description

Farming for Us All gives us the opportunity to explore the possibilities for social, environmental, and economic change that practical, dialogic agriculture presents.