Greenhorns

The Greenhorns are a community of more than 5,000 young farmers and activists committed to producing and advocating for food grown with vision and respect for the earth. This book, edited by three of the group's leading members, comprises 50 original essays by new farmers who write about their experiences in the field from a wide range of angles, both practical and inspirational. Funny and sad, serious and light-hearted, these essays touch on everything from financing and machinery to family, community building, and social change.

Zoë Ida Bradbury runs a farm in Oregon with her mother and sister, using a team of draft horses to cultivate more than 100 crops for local restaurants, food banks, and a community-supported agriculture program. She is a Food & Society Policy Fellow and has written extensively about agricultural issues for magazines and newspapers. She is an editor of Greenhorns. Severine von Tscharner Fleming farms in New York's Hudson Valley. She is founder and director of Greenhorns, an organization that works nationally to promote, support, and recruit young farmers. Severine cofounded the National Young Farmers' Coalition and directed the documentary film The Greenhorns. Paula Manalo comanages Mendocino Organics, a biodynamic farm in northern California. She is a founding member of Greenhorns, an organization that works nationally to promote, support, and recruit young farmers, and she is on the board of directors of the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association.

Introduction: Shovel Sharpened, Shovel Ready Chapter One: Body-Heart-Soul The Physicality of Farming by Jeff Fisher Farmer-Mama by Sarah Smith Doing. Instead of Not Doing. by Evan Driscoll You Are Not Alone by Meg Runyan Two Pigs and True Love by Andrew French The Fruits of My Labor by Maud Powell Surrender by Courtney Lowery Cowgill Chapter Two: Money How Not to Buy a Farm by Teresa Retzlaff Worth by Ben James Learning to Measure Success under the Big Sky by Anna Jones-Crabtree In Praise of Off-Farm Employment by Casey O'Leary Fear of Debt: Should I Finance My Dream? by Courtney Lowery Cowgill Chapter Three: Land Landing Permanency/A Permanent Landing by Jacob Cowgill I Figured We'd Buy a Small Piece of Land by Luke Deikis Time on the Farm by Ben James How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bugs by MK Wyle The Secret Life of Fruit by Josh Morgenthau Chapter Four: Purpose Purple Flats by Neysa King Write It Down by Jenna Woginrich Growing Not for Market by Douglass DeCandia What to Do If You Think You're Not Good at Anything by A.M. Thomas Farming in the Web of Interconnectedness by Sarajane Snyder Farming with Two: Pleasure and Independence by Emily Oakley and Mike Appel Chapter Five: Beasts Reflections of a Rookie Farmer by Justin Heilenbach What I Learned from Gwen by Cory Carmen The Ambush by Carden Willis Notes from a Novice Horse Farmer by Alyssa Jumars Moral Clarity through Chicken-Killing by Samuel Anderson The Gift by Katie Godfrey How Animals Sell Vegetables (and Make You Tired) by Lynda Hopkins Two Farmers, 350 Chickens, and a Hurricane by Kristen Johanson Chapter Six: Nuts & Bolts (& Duct Tape & Baling Twine) On the Rise by Sarah Hucka Potato Digger by Erin Bullock The Dibbler by Josh Volk Tackling a