Customer Reviews

The Contrary Farmer (Real Goods Independent Living Book)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This wonderful book is almost written as though the author is talking to a new young neighbor farmer, sharing his wise, hard learned experiences and reasons behind his cottage farm techiques. As a city boy myself (although nearly 50 now), I read this book with the excitement of a much younger man hanging onto every word from the authors mouth. I purchased this book along with nearly a dozen others on small farms, homesteading, chickens and such. This book is my favorite of all of them. The other books are just that, books, but The Contrary Farmer was like having grampa talking to you personally, giving direction, perspective and guidance in plain talk that instills his love for the cottage farm. Although this book taught me much about livestock, crops and machinery, the book left me with much more. I regret that the book has an end.

I am planning to buy 10 acres for a cottage farm as I sort out how I will spend the rest of my life. I have no answers yet, but I will leave The Contrary Farmer on the lamp table instead of placing it in the bookshelf with the other 'books'.

This is a highly enjoyable book about how to make a profit on a small farm. The author's contention is that few people will ever get rich any more farming, but a family that's willing to work hard should be able to earn the money they need on a farm with considerably less than 100 acres. Logsdon stresses that if you calculate a dollar value for your labor, you'll find that your hourly wage is rather low, but on the other hand, if you enjoy what you're doing, then perhaps it isn't really valid to calculate the hourly wage anyhow. There's no arguing that farm labor is hard work, but how many city people pay large sums of money for gym memberships in order to get the exercise that they miss while sitting at their desks? Hoeing a garden provides great exercise at no cost, as well as an income when the produce is sold. However, on a huge factory farm, weeds must be controlled with herbicides or expensive gas-driven machinery, which brings down the profitability of the enterprise as well as damaging the environment. Logsdon's golden rule is never to finance farming by borrowing. He points out that "rates of money growth (interest) seldom match rates of biological growth," so borrowing money to buy farm or equipment or land is almost always the start of a losing proposition.

After the first few chapters about what he terms "pastoral economics", Logsdon devotes separate chapters to each of the parts of his small farm ecosystem, the garden, the animals, water, meadows, trees, corn, mechanics, and pastures. Although he eschews wide-spread use of pesticides, he's not an organic purist, which may rub certified organic farmers the wrong way. He's very keen on maintaining animals like some sheep and chickens, a few pigs, and a cow or two. Many of his observations and suggestions center around maintaining the land and feeding the animals while getting the farm to yield a modest living for himself and his family. This book is thoroughly enjoyable to read, and contains many practical bits of advice as well as some interesting ideas to chew on.

I found this book at an interesting time. My husband and I had just finished the PBS series, "The Farmer's Wife", which was the story of small family farmers trying to make it in an Agribusiness World. It was particularily interesting that the farming couple were so strapped for cash that they couldn't work their own farms, but had to take off-farms jobs such as factory work and house cleaning. They didn't even have a chance to plant and harvest a home vegetable garden for their own needs! The sense I got from watching this show was that someting was Terribly Wrong! In his book, The Contrary Farmer, Gene Logsdon tells his readers just what is wrong with the situation farmers and farms find themselves in today...horrendously expensive equipment, monoculture and an endless cycle of huge bank loans and crop failures, which lead to more loans. This book was also a refreshing look at small self-sufficient farming and I found myself inspired to be satisfied with our small operation and to always WANT to keep it small!

I am interested in starting up a small farm, and Logsdon's book offers a lot of old-friend advice on how to keep a farm without going broke or biting off more than you can chew. He draws from almost thirty years of experience to tell the reader the best way to raise livestock, maintain pasture and cultivated land, dig a pond, fell trees, and well, you get the idea. It makes me want to put into practice what I read as soon as possible. I look at the land in a whole different way thanks to this book. For those of you into the Bible, this book offers great instructions on being a steward of the land. If you take care of your trees and animals, they'll take care of you.

This book does leave me with a lot of questions, which is good and frustrating at the same time. Since Gene Logsdon grew up on a farm and has spent all his life writing for farmers, he might take for granted the knowledge he has that some of us new to agriculture might not. I still don't know what a combine is, or what a manure spreader looks like, or what keeps the layers warm in the henhouse over the winter. Logsdon mentions in the chapter about forestry that illustrations would best explain the safety precautions that he details with words. That makes me think that maybe there are no illustrations in the book because of restrictions set by the printer or editor.

I would also like to know what assets to look for when buying a farm, or how to go about buying one in the first place. Logsdon also lets on little about what his wife contributes to their 32-acre homestead. He refers to his work only in the first person singular, though obviously it takes at least two people to do the work.

In the end, though, these frustrations just make me want to read more books on the subject, which will make me a better-informed person for when it comes time to start a farm. I do think, though, that one should first take advantage of the apprenticeships that a lot of cottage farmers in Virginia and Maryland offer, if practical knowledge is lacking. It's hard to imagine putting into practice on a farm what we read from books without first getting a feel for it somewhere else.

Despite my frustrations and suggestions, this is definately a book to buy and not check out from the library if you plan on farming at all. It can serve as a valuable source of reference throughout the year.

The Contrary Farmer is very informative about small scale farming. Logsdon has many creative and interesting ideas. The book interlaces information with good stories and philosophizing. It is often rather humorous. Overall, it is perhaps one of the most enjoyable farming books on the market, if not THE most enjoyable. This is true whether you farm or whether you are only interested in farming. Very highly recomended!

If you haven't run across Gene Logsdon before, it's probably not just because he keeps a low profile; it's also that he's one of America's best kept secrets. You see, he's an honest man, and he calls a spade exactly that, usually with such a wry angle that you end up laughing. Reading "The Contrary Farmer" was the kind of pleasure you wish more books on the rural life would deliver. It's like having Gene over for coffee and being able to hear him expound on thoughts you never quite got around to thinking all the way through. Gene Logsdon is a hard-working thinking-person's genius and a national treasure.

I have read 3 books by this author and find them all to run a little thick on the philosophy side and much to thin on the how-to side. The authors passion and moral integrity literally drip from every page and if I was looking for a good read sprinkled with some general farming knowledge I would highly recommend this or any other books by the author. I was looking to compare his farming techniques to others so I needed more specific information which was unfortunately not included.

I enjoyed every page of The Contrary Farmer. The contents are true to thier purpose of informing the reader on a lifestyle. No time was spent on gloriying the way of life...just the plain and honest, wonderful truth. My only issue is that this book is native to the midwest in the specifics. This is wonderful for the folks in this area...not quite as helpful for this Southern Boy. Still, I enjoyed it!

Just finished Logsdon's book and will surely be re-reading it and using it as a reference. I purchased this text, along with Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, which I think will be more useful in terms of practical advice. I found The Contrary Farmer more helpful in terms of reiterating the very reasons why I am thinking about moving to my own small farm. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone wanting to figure out whether s/he wants to be a farmer or to anyone looking for "a day-in-the-life" type stories. However, Logsdon gives well-written, often laugh-out-loud funny, and definately contrary ideas about how farming is much more a lifestyle than a mere job.

This was a great book, I find myself refering to it time and time again. even if you are not a farmer it is a great read. I since have purchased my own farm and am living the contrary dream of this book.