Customer Reviews

Farming with the Wild

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Written for broad audience of "stakeholders" in the food system, from consumers to ranchers, Imhoff has done a great job of highlighting farmers and ranchers who are working to protect the environment and sustain family farmers. These farmers and ranchers are inspirational examples, and show that agriculture doens't have to destroy the planet while it feeds us. Carra's photos offer an enticing complement that gives the book a coffee-table feel.

Fly across the Midwest or California's Central Valley in a jet, and you would not be mistaken if you thought that farming was bad for diversity. From the air, you would see millions of acres of mono-culture of soybean, corn, hay, wheat, and sugarcane. If you were to fly across the same landscapes, and many others, in a two-seater, say, you would begin to see pockets where farmers and ranchers have rejected this homogeneity. You would find a growing movement of people who not only work the land but also want to protect it. They come from diverse backgrounds and work in diverse ecosystems, but all recognize that their properties can be important sanctuaries of biodiversity.
Over a several-year period, writer Daniel Imhoff traveled across the U.S. to meet with and learn how and why these people have chosen to farm with the wild, as he terms this movement. Mixing beautiful photography with short essays, Imhoff's book is part inspirational and part how-to. He makes clear that no one way is best, that to make working land a haven for plants and animals requires an understanding of local ecology, as well as a lot of work. As Nabhan did in his book, Imhoff shows that for conservation to be successful, it will take a broad mix of people, many of whom have not been tapped for their wisdom and passion.