First published in 1943, “The Farming Ladder” aims to explain how the reader may start and maintain a successful and profitable farm in the easiest way possible, without requiring a great deal of special knowledge or skills. With original ideas and a wealth of helpful tips, this is a volume not to be missed by existing or prospective smallholders and farmers. Contents include: “The Farm”, “The Plan”, “The Poultry”, “The Cattle”, “The Sheep”, “The Pigs”, “The Land”, “Labour”, “Corn Bins Unlimited”, “Holidays”, “The Farm Buildings”, “The Fourth Rung of the Ladder”, “Wartime Farming”, “Accounts”, “Conclusion”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on farming.

This early work by G. Henderson is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. It details the experiences of a farmer and his thoughts on the best methods of agricultural production. He includes chapters on poultry, cattle, corn and much more. This fascinating work is thoroughly recommended for those with an interest in the farming industry and its historical technologies and developments. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

An examination of Latino/a immigrant farmers as they transition from farmworkers to farm owners that offers a new perspective on racial inequity and sustainable farming. Although the majority of farms in the United States have US-born owners who identify as white, a growing number of new farmers are immigrants, many of them from Mexico, who originally came to the United States looking for work in agriculture. In The New American Farmer, Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern explores the experiences of Latino/a immigrant farmers as they transition from farmworkers to farm owners, offering a new perspective on racial inequity and sustainable farming. She finds that many of these new farmers rely on farming practices from their home countries—including growing multiple crops simultaneously, using integrated pest management, maintaining small-scale production, and employing family labor—most of which are considered alternative farming techniques in the United States. Drawing on extensive interviews with farmers and organizers, Minkoff-Zern describes the social, economic, and political barriers immigrant farmers must overcome, from navigating USDA bureaucracy to racialized exclusion from opportunities. She discusses, among other topics, the history of discrimination against farm laborers in the United States; the invisibility of Latino/a farmers to government and universities; new farmers' sense of agrarian and racial identity; and the future of the agrarian class system. Minkoff-Zern argues that immigrant farmers, with their knowledge and experience of alternative farming practices, are—despite a range of challenges—actively and substantially contributing to the movement for an ecological and sustainable food system. Scholars and food activists should take notice.

"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.

Documents the first year spent by the Harvard-graduate author with her new husband on their sustainable farm in the Adirondacks, describing how she withdrew from big-city life to be married in their barn loft, the difficult obstacles they faced attempting to provide a whole diet for one hundred locals, and the rewards of a physical-labor lifestyle.