Farming as it is practised in market industrialized countries is predominantly a family business. This book argues that the nature of the farm business cannot be properly understood without reference to the family that operates it. Examples are taken from the UK, USA, Europe and Australasia.

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.

"Family Friendly Farming offers hope for stressed families, dissatisfied employees, and hurried-harried lifestyles. Based on his love affair with good farming, author Joel Salatin's principles apply to all entrepreneurial, family businesses"--Page 4 of cover.

Family businesses are a breed unto themselves. Though they share many features in common with other business models, they possess unique traits that clearly differentiate them. Similarly, though consultation to family buisnesses is in many respects what other businesses experience when seeking assistance, those features that set family business consultation apart are so distinctive that failure to honor and understand them can (and does) too often lead to disaster. The needs of those family members seeking consultation share a portrait in some ways similar to those in non-FOBs, but in a majority of situations are so distinctive and potentially explosive that disaster lurks on the edges, ready to appear if not respected. The audience of this book are both consultants to family businesses and family members who are looking for such assistance. Both require knowledge of each other's spheres of experience and perspective for effective consultation to occur - for the consultant, an awareness of family dynamics as intertwined with family business; for family members, a clarification of what can be expected and delivered. In addition to the interface between family dynamics and the family's business, we will explore the key tasks in family business consultation: succession planning, selection of the successor, conflict resolution, defining the role of family members in the business, how to involve the management team in succession planning, determining what happens after succession and building a board of advisors.

Presents a fourth-generation farm family in Illinois, describing their work and other activities, and explaining why it's becoming increasingly hard for a family farm to survive.

Farming is a business, as well as a way of life. Whole Farm Management is a comprehensive guide developed by the Small Farms Program at Oregon State University to help aspiring and beginner farmers make smart business decisions to ensure lasting success. In clear, accessible language, this book covers every essential step, from developing a strategic plan to acquiring equipment, establishing infrastructure, finding markets, budgeting, managing day-to-day operations, and selecting a business structure for long-term viability. The emphasis throughout is on using sustainable agricultural systems and managing the whole farm, whether raising grass-based livestock, perennial food crops, or annual crops such as flowers. Case studies of successful farms, along with guidance and solutions to common problems from long-time farmers, round out this essential handbook.