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

"A totally modern, all-purpose handbook for today's agricultural dreamers-- covering the challenges and triumphs of launching any successful farm-- from two leading lights in sustainable farming ... Do you dream of starting your own farm but wonder where to begin? Or do you already have a farm but wish to become more sustainable to compete in today's market? Start Your Farm, the first comprehensive business guide of its kind, covers these essential questions and more: Why be a farmer in the 21st century? Do you have what it takes? What does sustainable really mean, and how can a small (as little as one acre) to midsize farm survive alongside commodity-scale agriculture? How do you access education, land, and other needs with limited capital? How can you reap an actual profit, including a return on land investment? How do you build connections with employees, colleagues, and customers? At the end of the day, how do you measure success? (Hint: Cash your lifestyle paycheck.) More than a practical guide, Start Your Farm is a hopeful call to action for anyone who aspires to grow wholesome, environmentally sustainable food for a living. Take it from Forrest Pritchard and Ellen Polishuk: Making this dream a reality is not for the faint of heart, but it's well within reach-- and there's no greater satisfaction under the sun!"-- Page [4] of cover Do you dream of starting your own farm but wonder where to begin? Or do you already have a farm but wish to become more sustainable to compete in today's market? __Start Your Farm,__the first comprehensive business guide of its kind, covers these essential questions and more:Why be a farmer in the 21st century? Do you have what it takes?What does__sustainable__really mean, and how can a small (as little as one acre) to midsize farm survive alongside commodity-scale agriculture?How do you access education, land, and other needs with limited capital?How can you reap an actual profit, including a return on land investment?How do you build connections with employees, colleagues, and customers?At the end of the day, how do you measure success? (Hint: Cash your lifestyle paycheck.)More than a practical guide,__Start Your Farm__is a hopeful call to action for anyone who aspires to grow wholesome, environmentally sustainable food for a living. Take it from Forrest Pritchard and Ellen Polishuk: Making this dream a reality is not for the faint of heart, but it's well within reach—and there's no greater satisfaction under the sun! Cover 1 Advance Praise for Start Your Farm 2 Also by Forrest Pritchard 5 Title Page 6 Copyright 7 Dedication 8 Epigraph 9 Contents 10 Introduction 12 Chapter One: Why Be a Farmer? 18 Chapter Two: Do You Have What It Takes? 34 Chapter Three: Harvesting Sunlight 46 Chapter Four: Your $0 Student Loan Education 63 Chapter Five: To Buy or Not to Buy—Getting Your Hands on Land 77 Chapter Six: Exploring the Wonderful World of Soil 98 Chapter Seven: To Market, To Market! Part One 117 Chapter Eight: To Market, To Market! Part Two 134 Chapter Nine: Tai Chi Economics 150 Chapter Ten: Make a Real Profit, Secure Your Future 170 Chapter Eleven: The Three Golden Rules of Farming 186 Chapter Twelve: Love, Work, and Harmony 200 Chapter Thirteen: The Beautiful Paradox of Failure 214 Chapter Fourteen: Cashing Your Lifestyle Paycheck 229 Conclusion: Go! 240 Resources and Recommended Reading 248 Index 253 About the Authors 270 Back Cover 271