Do you long for the country life? Get back to nature and feel your toes in the dirt with this friendly guide to a new farming lifestyle Don't know the first thing about how to handle the basics of small-scale farming, from growing healthy crops to raising livestock and managing your property? Hobby Farming For Dummies is the no-nonsense guide you need to decide what to farm, find the right piece of property, set up utilities, select plants and livestock, protect your investment, and so much more. You'll get a realistic look into what it really means to move from your current lifestyle to a life farming in the countryside, starting with figuring out if the farming lifestyle is right for you. From what you need to know about maintaining country property to how to access a power supply, you’ll get help with major decisions of hobby farming: Whether you're better off with subsistence farming or a more ambitious project Which outbuildings you'll need for shelter and storage What tools are best for various types of farm labor Which animals you want to raise and care for Where to buy the land and how to acquire it This comprehensive and user-friendly guide also shows you how to: Avoid common farming pitfalls Choose plans for your farm Get along with your neighbors Maintain your equipment and machinery Raise and care for animals, including caring for sick or injured animals Get creative by turning fiber into scarves and making cheese or yogurt Enrich your soil with manure and compost Reap the benefits of preserving fruits and vegetables Additionally, you can read about opportunities for fun in country communities and the top ten misconceptions about farm living. Grab a copy of Hobby Farming For Dummies and discover how you can live the simple life.

This beautiful book offers an intimate look at life on a hobby farm. From finding a farm to creating a business, to choosing what to plant to canning fruits, Hobby Farm will teach readers how to reap the benefits of rustic life with sound guidance.

Do you long for the country life? Hobby Farming For Dummies is a practical guide that will show you how to handle all the basics of small-scale farming, from growing healthy crops to raising livestock and managing your property. You'll see how to decide what to farm, provide shelter and utilities, select plants, and protect your investment. It's all you need to dig in and start growing! You’ll get a real idea of what it really means to jump from your current lifestyle to a life farming in the countryside. You’ll get the information you need to decide if the farming lifestyle is right for you and your personality. You’ll learn everything you need to know about property and how to access a power supply. You’ll get practical advice on which animals would work best for your farm and you’ll learn how to acquire them and what you need to know about caring for them properly. You’ll get help with all of the major decisions like whether you’re better off with subsistence farming or a more ambitious project. Find out how to: Make from change to a farm lifestyle Get along with your neighbors Find and buy rural properties Select and maintain equipment Raise and care for animals Use and preserve food items Avoid common farming pitfalls Choose plans for your farm Complete with lists of the ten unique opportunities for fun and the top ten misconceptions about farm living, Hobby Farming For Dummies will help you discover how you can live the simple life.

Six containers of heirloom tomatoes, miniature squashes, and herbs on your back patio or six acres of beets, cabbages, and strawberries? Five chickens and a honey bee hive or a small farm with three dozen sheep and a couple of quarter horses? Regardless of the size of your ‘field of dreams’, Essential Guide to Hobby Farming is your best first step to making that hobby-farm aspiration a pleasurable and profitable reality. A hobby farmer for the past thirty years, Carol Ekarius shares the joys, challenges, and rewards of living the rural life. Hobby farming is as much a state of mind as it is an address in the country, and this instructive, beautifully photographed manual addresses every topic beginning hobby farmers need to know, from purchasing the right land and equipment to choosing and maintaining crops and livestock to marketing and selling your hobby farm’s yield. TOPICS DISCUSSED INSIDE: -Assessing finances and resources - land, water, tools of the trade (trucks, tractors, various implements) -Choosing the best crops for your land, climate, hardiness, and profitability -Selecting and caring for the livestock - chickens, goats, cows, sheep, etc - that best fits your hobby farm -Protecting crops and livestock against predators, pests, and disease -Business and marketing options for selling your local food directly to restaurants and farmers’ markets and through CSA programs -Preserving the harvest, through canning, drying, and freezing, plus over two dozen original recipes for your homegrown produce NEW FOR THE SECOND EDITION: Expanded section on chickens, including urban and suburban accommodations; honey bee keeping; adding a barn or annex building to the farm; trends in planting, including miniature vegetables, heirloom varieties, and ‘hot’ new vegetables and hybrids; adding flower beds to the property; getting involved with a CSA

In Organic Hobby Farming, Andy Tomolonis, a longtime organic gardener, part-time hobby farmer, and award-winning Boston-area journalist, strips down the concept of “organic” and explains why natural farming has emerged as the healthiest and most viable method of growing for hobby farms and other small-scale operations. In addition to the improved taste and the appeal of excluding toxic materials, organic farming benefits farmers, their families, and the environment. It offers economic plusses as well. The current consumer demand for “local” and “organic” food underscores the need for small hobby farms that offer unique high-end goods. Tomolonis explains the basic principles of organic farming and describes how hobby farmers and their families can eat healthier, save money, help preserve the environment, and even turn their passion into a small-scale side business. Chapter 1 will help you assess the land you live on to determine whether it’s suited for organic vegetables, fruit, berries, or livestock. Farmers who are looking to lease or buy land will find practical advice on how to evaluate properties and find their best use, taking climate, soil, water and geography into consideration. In Chapter 2, Tomolonis continues with practical advice on how to choose the right tools without overspending—starting slowly with quality hand implements and then expanding as you determine the need for costlier power equipment. Chapter 3 moves on to the heart of any successful organic farm—building the soil. “The Good Earth” brings readers down to earth, i.e., the soil. You’ll learn how to evaluate and improve your soil with compost and cover crops and protect it from erosion, chemical contamination and other harm. The author also stresses the importance of understanding the complex relationship between underground soil organisms that play such a crucial role in natural plant health. The best soil, with the right balance of nutrients and a healthy population of microbes, will help your plants survive hardship, resist diseases and produce healthier more bountiful harvests, the author explains. Chapter 4 walks you through the steps needed to develop an organized farm plan. The chapter presents a convenient month-by-month overview of the farmer’s year, offering a timeline and detailed instructions for sowing seeds indoors, transplanting seedlings, guarding against insects and weeds, harvesting, planting cover crops extending the season and developing a schedule for successive food crops. Whether you want to feed your growing family all summer long or produce enough food for a small-scale agribusiness, the information here is invaluable. This chapter also covers organic methods for harnessing the power of nature by luring beneficial insects that will help control farm and garden pests. Learn about heirlooms, hybrids, and eclectic vegetable varieties in the comprehensive directory of vegetable crops and herbs introduced in Chapter 5. Tomolonis reveals his favorite varieties, including many alluring heirlooms that have grown in popularity. Each crop description offers detailed information on soil preparation, sowing, companion planting, and battling weeds and insects without harmful chemicals. The author, a former produce manager for a national grocery chain, also includes tips for harvesting crops, prepping them for display, and bringing the goods to market. If you’re looking for advice on fruits and berries, Organic Hobby Farms introduces new options in Chapter 6, where the author suggests ways to branch out with Asian pears, peaches, and apples, as well as nutritious blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. As he does in other chapters, Tomolonis explains in common terms, how to choose the best varieties for your region, prepare the soil for maximum production, and deal with pests and diseases organically. Organic Hobby Farming also describes the basics of adding chickens to your farm—for wholesome organic eggs or pastured meat. Select the right breeds, raise a flock from day-old chicks and protect the birds from predators and pests the natural way. Tomolonis also delves into the fascinating world of apiculture in Chapter 8. He and his wife, Valerie, are avid beekeepers with hives that produce gallons of healthy unpasteurized local honey. In addition to bees, the book provides insight into keeping such small livestock as meat rabbits and dairy goats. Hobby farmers who want to turn their agricultural skills into a money-making operation will find practical advice in Chapter 9, which discusses commercial options. Learn how to sell your goods to local restaurants, at farmers’ markets, or as part of a community-supported-agriculture (CSA) program. And, once you make a decision to turn commercial, you’ll find advice in developing a business plan, crafting a mission statement, setting goals, and creating farm budgets. You’ll also learn the myriad benefits—and challenges—of becoming USDA certified organic. Finally, Organic Hobby Farming steers you to multiple sources of additional information with an extensive listing of resources, broken down by subject and chapter. With Organic Hobby Farming, creative-thinking readers will learn ways to increase the profitability of their organic ventures. The reader can decide to transform his hobby farm into a specialty destination for heirloom varieties, organic raw honey, preserves, dried herbs, or a particularly desirable breed of heritage livestock. As Tomolonis states in the book’s introduction, “eat safer, more nutritious food, learn about your soil and plants, support the local food movement and help save the planet—one acre at a time.”

"Provides information and instructions for those who own, or dream of owning, a hobby farm or a large estate of 2 to 40 acres"--

When the farm is a lifestyle, but not quite a way to earn a living, it’s considered hobby farming. Most of us want to live a sustainable and healthy life in which we protect the environment and keep it safe from development and overproduction. But we can take this a step further by learning how to grow our own produce, while still maintaining an alternative, successful career to fund this passion. In this back to basics guide, Michael and Audrey Levatino share how to: Grow your own food Raise chickens, horses, llamas, bees, and more Practice being (a little) off the grid Sell the bounty in your local community Balance a professional career with a rural lifestyle The Joy of Hobby Farming is a guide that will excite armchair farmers and inspire any do-it-yourselfer. While this book won’t help you become a farmer by trade, it does provide step-by-step instructions and various tips and tricks to maintain a thriving farm. It will surely teach those who aren’t farmers by day to raise their own livestock, plant their own fruits and vegetables, and live out their countryside dream.

The tools you need to raise and care for beef cattle Beef cattle farming is a business that continues to grow in the United States and around the world, and it will only grow larger as the demand for beef continues to increase. Raising Beef Cattle For Dummies provides you with an introduction to all aspects of raising beef cattle. Packed with expert tips from experienced farmers, it gives any level of cattle-raiser the tools needed to increase the quantity and quality of your farm's output and maintain a healthy herd. Raising Beef Cattle For Dummies is the go-to resource for aspiring cattle farmers. With important information on health, handling, and breeding, and detailed coverage of equipment and supplies, it is teeming with useful information that anyone interested in raising cattle should have. Advice on which beef cattle breeds to rear The prevention and treatment of common diseases Caring for pregnant heifers and calving procedures Dietary specifications dependent on breed Guidance on humane management Creating an open and safe pasture habitat If you're an aspiring cattle farmer looking to begin raising cattle or an established raiser interested in expanding your herd, Raising Beef Cattle For Dummies has you covered.

Hobby Farms Beef Cattle: Keeping a Small-Scale Herd for Pleasure and Profit, written by Ann Larkin Hansen, serves as an excellent introduction to raising cows for food or simply to graze while mowing and fertilizing the pasture. This colorful guide offers experienced hobby farmers and beginners all of the essential information necessary to purchase and maintain a small herd of beef cattle. While managing her own hobby farm in Wisconsin, Hansen shares her expertise in all things farm and has authored numerous books such as Making Hay, The Organic Farming Manual, and Finding Good Farmland. In this comprehensive book, Hansen corrals the hobby farmer into the world of cowboys and cowgirls: she begins, “Beef cattle are as much at home on the hobby farm as they are on the range.” This colorful primer begins with the basics, from biological traits and breeds to behavior and life cycle, and describes exactly what’s required for a hobby farmer to maintain a herd of cattle—the four F’s—fencing, feed, fields, and facilities. Given the expense involved in the purchase and maintenance of beef cattle, all hobby farmers will welcome Hansen’s sound and sensible advice on buying the right cattle, whether steer calves for meat or breeding stock for building up a herd. The buying chapter helps farmers focus on what to look for when selecting cattle; how cows, heifers, and bulls are priced; where to purchase; and how to get cattle to your farm. The feeding and nutrition of cattle is a complicated topic, and Hansen breaks it down into the three basic components that every keeper needs to understand: pasture, hay, and grain. With directness and clarity, she explains the ins and outs of grazing, selecting ideal foodstuffs, using salt and minerals, and maintaining good weight on the herd. The reader can rely on her expert advice to learn the fundamentals of handling cattle, including herding, loading, and transporting cattle, as well as keeping beef cattle healthy through preventive methods, vaccinations, parasite control and veterinary assistance. For hobby farmers planning to breed their livestock, Beef Cattle includes a chapter on pairing cows and heifers, the actual breeding, artificial insemination, the care of pregnant cows, calving, caring for the young, and weaning calves. The final chapter of the book “Marketing and Processing Your Cattle” is geared toward hobby farmers looking to get beef processed, grade meat, and sell the final product. Sidebars of fun trivia, stories from farmers, and useful advice appear throughout the handbook. A glossary of over 100 terms; an appendix of health issues; a resource section of useful websites, books, and periodicals; and a detailed index complete the book.

Turn your farm into a cash cow! Ron Macher offers a host of simple strategies for increasing your farm earnings, from purchasing durable equipment to growing economically viable crops. A seasoned expert in farm efficiency, Macher shows you how to locate a lucrative niche market for your products, optimize sales, and minimize costs. Whether you’re buying a new farm or jump-starting an old one, Macher’s savvy tips will help you turn your enterprise into a profitable business.