Ron Macher is the publisher and
editor of Small Farm Today magazine and personally farms 80 acres of his
own.
In this book he takes us through 25
guiding principles for evaluating not only your land, but also your
personality traits and those of your family, your local market, and being
your own public relations advocate- something he feels is vital to the
success of your farm.
When so much of small farming is
left to the whims of nature and other seemingly random acts of divine
intervention, having something in print and in front of you that is solid
and orderly is comforting, soothing and panic-quenching.
Each step building on the last, Ron
Macher presents each principle and fills out each one with facts and
figures, then has the reader honestly apply them to their own situation.
There are a lot of helpful tables and comparisons to help determine just how
much (if any) heavy equipment your farm will need, what kind of livestock
will be the most cost-effective to get from birth (or purchase) to market,
and different marketing techniques according to your proximity to urban
centers.
Although sometimes he comes across
as being too serious, it’s apparent that Ron takes survival of each and
every family farm very seriously, and important enough to pay attention to
every little detail. As he states at the end of the book-
“Small farms hold the key to
reconnect people with the land and the food they must have to sustain life.
Small farms are an ongoing process of discovery about life and people. Small
farms are the wave of the future, leading to a better world.”
As homesteaders, it’s
something we believe as well.
