The Lean Farm


Book Description

A practical, systems-based approach for a more sustainable farming operation To many people today, using the words "factory" and "farm" in the same sentence is nothing short of sacrilege. In many cases, though, the same sound business practices apply whether you are producing cars or carrots. Author Ben Hartman and other young farmers are increasingly finding that incorporating the best new ideas from business into their farming can drastically cut their wastes and increase their profits, making their farms more environmentally and economically sustainable. By explaining the lean system for identifying and eliminating waste and introducing efficiency in every aspect of the farm operation, The Lean Farm makes the case that small-scale farming can be an attractive career option for young people who are interested in growing food for their community. Working smarter, not harder, also prevents the kind of burnout that start-up farmers often encounter in the face of long, hard, backbreaking labor. Lean principles grew out of the Japanese automotive industry, but they are now being followed on progressive farms around the world. Using examples from his own family's one-acre community-supported farm in Indiana, Hartman clearly instructs other small farmers in how to incorporate lean practices in each step of their production chain, from starting a farm and harvesting crops to training employees and selling goods. While the intended audience for this book is small-scale farmers who are part of the growing local food movement, Hartman's prescriptions for high-value, low-cost production apply to farms and businesses of almost any size or scale that hope to harness the power of lean in their production processes.




The Resilient Farm and Homestead


Book Description

The Resilient Farm and Homestead is a manual for developing durable, beautiful, and highly functional human habitat systems fit to handle an age of rapid transition. Ben Falk is a land designer and site developer whose permaculture-research farm has drawn national attention. The site is a terraced paradise on a hillside in Vermont that would otherwise be overlooked by conventional farmers as unworthy farmland. Falk's wide array of fruit trees, rice paddies (relatively unheard of in the Northeast), ducks, nuts, and earth-inspired buildings is a hopeful image for the future of regenerative agriculture and modern homesteading. The book covers nearly every strategy Falk and his team have been testing at the Whole Systems Research Farm over the past decade, as well as experiments from other sites Falk has designed through his off-farm consulting business. The book includes detailed information on earthworks; gravity-fed water systems; species composition; the site-design process; site management; fuelwood hedge production and processing; human health and nutrient-dense production strategies; rapid topsoil formation and remineralization; agroforestry/silvopasture/grazing; ecosystem services, especially regarding flood mitigation; fertility management; human labor and social-systems aspects; tools/equipment/appropriate technology; and much more, complete with gorgeous photography and detailed design drawings. The Resilient Farm and Homestead is more than just a book of tricks and techniques for regenerative site development, but offers actual working results in living within complex farm-ecosystems based on research from the "great thinkers" in permaculture, and presents a viable home-scale model for an intentional food-producing ecosystem in cold climates, and beyond. Inspiring to would-be homesteaders everywhere, but especially for those who find themselves with "unlikely" farming land, Falk is an inspiration in what can be done by imitating natural systems, and making the most of what we have by re-imagining what's possible. A gorgeous case study for the homestead of the future.




The Berenstain Bears Visit Farmer Ben


Book Description

The Berenstain bears visit farmer Ben's farm.




James Farmer Jr.


Book Description

James Farmer Jr.: The Great Debater provides a rhetorical and biographical guide to how the American Civil Rights Movement came into being. It details James Farmer Jr.’s intellectual emergence as a young debater at an HBCU in Marshall, Texas and ultimately chronicles how this led to the emergence of the first non-violent sit-in against segregation in 1942 in Chicago. Farmer was a key founder of the Congress of Racial Equality [CORE] that pioneered the non-violent strategies that would later be used by Martin Luther King. He debated important figures like Malcolm X to provide a powerful advocacy grounded in the praxis of argumentation. Ben Voth demonstrates the ongoing relevance of Farmer’s successful debate methodology in resolving contemporary race problems in the 21st century such as Black Lives Matter.




The Naked Farmer


Book Description

Ben Brooksby is a fifth-generation farmer from St Helens Plains in western Victoria. When he was younger, he struggled with anxiety and other mental health issues, as do so many others in rural communities. A simple social media post helped him to turn things around. After he shared a photo on Instagram showing himself naked in a truck full of lentils, he received a huge response, with other farmers wanting to share their own photos - and their stories. As the Naked Farmer movement grew, Ben met people from all around the country who wanted to get naked for mental health. As they got their kits off, they also opened up about their struggles. This is a heartwarming, moving and candid collection of stories of the challenges our farmers are facing, and the way these communities are banding together in response. Proudly supporting the Royal Flying Doctors Mental Health Service




Farmer Ben


Book Description

The farm is a fun and interesting place to work and learn. Farmer Ben will show you how he works on his farm.




Oh, Great! I was Reincarnated as a Farmer


Book Description

What do you have when you blend a pinch of litrpg, a touch of farming simulator, a sprinkle of epic fantasy, a whole cup of Isekai, and a dash of Home Alone? You have Arnold's life. Accidentally murdered by a cleric in another universe during a botched resurrection, Arnold, a semi-pro gamer, wakes upon an altar to find himself incarnated into the overweight body of a farmer who could have been his fatter twin. He's not the hero. He's not the villain. He's certainly not the chosen one who is there to save the world. He's a clerical error. It could be a bad joke, but apparently, it happens so often that they have a standard procedure for returning you. That standard procedure doesn't apply to Arnold. Now stuck on a new earth, in a new universe, with no way home, Arnold must use his gaming skills to figure out how to level his farmer class to 100 and gain a second class which doesn't make him want to beat his head against the wall. There is just one small problem: farmers don't gain experience from killing monsters. Like at all. Follow Arnold on his hilarious journey as he stubbornly comes to grips with his new reality and tries to change his destiny from that of your typical farmer.




Home Grown


Book Description

The charming story of one family's mission to build a deeper, lasting connection to land and community on their Vermont farm When Ben Hewitt and his wife bought a sprawling acreage of field and forest in northern Vermont, they were eager to start a self-sustaining family farm. But over the years, the land became so much more than a building site; it became the birthplace of their two sons, the main source of family income and food, and even a classroom for their children. Through self-directed play, exploration, and experimentation on their farm, Hewitt’s children learned how to play and read, test boundaries and challenge themselves, fail and recover. Best of all, this environment allowed their personalities to flourish, fueling further growth. In Home Grown, Hewitt shows us how small, mindful decisions about day-to-day life can lead to greater awareness of the world in our backyards and beyond. In telling the story of his sons’ unconventional education in the fields and forests surrounding his family’s farm, he demonstrates that the sparks of learning are all around us, just waiting to be discovered. Learning is a lifelong process—and the best education is never confined to a classroom.




The Woodchip Handbook


Book Description

*2022 GardenComm Media Awards Gold Medal of Achievement The first and only complete guide to sourcing and using woodchip—an abundant, inexpensive, and ecologically sustainable material—for savvy growers and landscapers at any scale, from farm to garden to greenhouse. The Woodchip Handbook is the essential guide to the many uses of woodchip both in regenerative agriculture and horticulture. Author Ben Raskin, Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry at the Soil Association, draws on his extensive practical experience using woodchip, provides the latest research from around the world, and presents inspiring case studies from innovative farmers. The book explores and unlocks the tremendous potential of woodchip to enhance soil health and plant growth: As a natural mulch for weed suppression, temperature buffering, and water conservation As a growing medium for propagating plants As a decomposing source of warmth for hotbeds in the greenhouse or hoop house As a carbon-rich compost ingredient that supports beneficial fungi and microorganisms As a powerful soil health booster, when applied as small-sized ramial chipped wood As an ideal substrate for growing many kinds of edible or medicinal mushrooms As a sustainable, versatile, and durable material for foot paths and ornamental landscaping Some of these techniques, like mulching—or the renewable harvest potential from coppicing and pollarding trees—have been around forever. Yet there is always new science to be discovered, such as the role that salicylic acid from willow woodchip can play in preventing tree diseases or promoting livestock health when used as a bedding material. Whether you are a commercial grower or farmer, a permaculture practitioner, or a serious home gardener producing your own fruit and vegetables, The Woodchip Handbook will show you how to get the most out of this readily available and renewable material.




Companion to Contemporary Architectural Thought


Book Description

Architecture has attracted increasing worldwide attention in recent years, not only because of its cultural significance but also because of concern over the performance and resource implications of buildings. 101 in-depth articles by international scholars and practitioners bring the subject into focus by examining issues from various viewpoints. Please contact your representative for a leaflet detailing full contents and contributors. It also includes sample pages and several illustrations from the book.