Customer Reviews

Hobby Farm: Living Your Rural Dream For Pleasure And Profit

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

 

 

Hobby Farm: Living Your Rural Dream for Pleasure and Profit by Carol Ekarius is a collection of photos, "facts", and "helpful" tips for the urban adventurer looking for a new life in a rural farm setting. The book should be regarded as only Ekarius' opinion and not fact. It is based off of her experiences from living in a farming community. Coming from a rural farming background, I was appalled and disgusted with many of the skewed things Ekarius put in her book. Not only does it make the rural citizen seem backward (yes, she does use that word) but it comes across as being very condescending to the reader as well. Any farmer who reads this book is thinking, "She thinks I don't know about anything outside of the farm." Any non-farmer who reads this book is thinking, "She thinks I don't what a cow is."
Ekarius, apparently, is the only person who knows something about both the rural world and the urban. She considers herself to be "rurban"; a word coined by Ekarius and is used incessantly. Roughly it means something that is not entirely urban, but not entirely rural. Ekarius regards herself as an expert on the subject. She tells about a time when she set up an electric fence, something (she thinks) that farmers had never even thought of before. She made it seem as though her neighbor looked upon the fence like caveman looking upon fire for the first time.
She makes the farmer out to be a creature that has never had or heard of niceties found in "the big city." Ekarius tells her readers, "Rural people have long lived with different economic and social realities than their urban and suburban brethren. When they invite you for coffee, expect freeze-dried instant, not freshly ground beans or latte, and drink the former as though it were the latter".... Because farmers just don't know any better, right Carol? They've never even heard of Starbucks let alone tasted their coffee. Neanderthals.
The expectations Ekarius prepares her readers for are ridiculous. She says, "Get used to no privacy. Do you like to walk into a clean house, with shiny, polished floors and light colored furniture? Be prepared for mud and mess. Love to take in cultural events, like the opera or great museums? Instead, get ready for high school plays and cow-plop bingo at the town street-dance." Wow. According to Ekarius farmers are dirty, live like pigs and uncultured. This woman really knows her neighbors.
I have to ask the question, "Has she even met her neighbors?" Ekarius warns the reader, "Be prepared, also, for the social challenges of moving into rural or rurban areas. These communities often seem backward and closed to newcomers.... They are friendly and warm once you penetrate the surface, but penetration can take awhile." It sounds like all "rurban" people are stoic and misanthropic. If you had Ekarius as a neighbor you might be too!
I'd give this book negative stars if I could. Hobby Farm can be useful, however, if it used for kindling or toilet paper.

Carol Ekarius gives a great introduction to farm living and farm business. Ekarius encourages readers to ask themselves probing questions such as whether the farm will be a lifestyle or commercial enterprise. Most importantly, she compels us to ask if we and our families are ready for the country. Are we prepared to work long hours on the land in the spring, summer, and fall in order to have relaxing winters? Are we prepared to go without the amenities of the "big city"? Do we want to make our living off a farm or just live on a farm?

What I like most about this book is the pictures. The farm scenes with children in orchards gathering apples and caring for livestock, tractors plowing fields, and animals grazing the land were key to getting my family to seriously consider a move to the farm. (I am the only one really into the business aspects right now.) While I cannot remember pictures of junk piles or trash heaps, I do remember Ekarius informing readers that farming culture varies from time and place and that it is important to respect neighbors. (You can trap more flies with honey than vinegar.)

Ekarius' descriptions of farm-related activities such as figuring out which land to buy, farm safety, gardening, livestock, harvesting, and preserving the harvest covers the basics of what to expect after a move to the country before you move to the country. This is a great introduction for anyone interested in going back to the land for either pleasure of profit.

Many urban dwellers long to live in the country and dream of owning a small farm: if you're one of them, try Hobby Farm: Living Your Rural Dream For Pleasure And Profit. Author Carol Ekarius' own extensive years of farm dwelling lend to a guide which tells how to not only choose and live on a farm, but how to make some money at the endeavor. From gardening the land and handling farm animals to handling the seasons, predators, and more, Hobby Farm, packed with color photos and insights, covers far more ground than competing farm guides for urban dwellers.

The book was a general look at Hobby Farms. It would be next to impossible for one book to do much else. It certainly gives you a place to start and from there you know what areas you may need to research in more detail on your own. As with all Hobby Farm publications, the photos are so real you feel as if you are on the farm yourself, except no dirt under your fingernails (yet)!

This book covers a lot of topics, but none of them in depth. For example it lists a lot of vegetables you might grow in your garden, but doesn't go into any detail on how to setup, prepare, and grow them. You'll need to buy another book or do research elsewhere to find that information. There is only one chapter at the end of the book on the "Profit" mentioned in the title, but it is very general. If you are seriously seeking information on how to profit from a hobby farm, this is not the book for you.

What a disappointment this book was. Unless you have never read anything on the topic of hobby farming, small-scale farming and sustainable agriculture, this book will be a waste of your money. There are far better books to spend your money on, chief among them, You Can Farm by Joel Salatin, which I highly recommend. Ekarious' book is like a cheese puff at a cocktail party- looks like a lot but when you bite into it, there's nothing there! I really felt cheated with this book. Ekarious' other books are far better. Spend some money on them if you wish, but don't throw any of it at this one. What a bad book.

I HAVE NEVER BEEN DISAPPOINTED IN A HOBBY FARM PUBLICATION. THIS ONE IS NO EXCEPTION. I PICK IT UP SOMETIMES JUST TO LOOKS AT THE BEAUTIFUL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY. IT IS PACKED FULL OF USEFUL INFORMATION AND WAS EVERYTHING I HAD EXPECTED IT TO BE. IT IS JUST A GENERAL BOOK, BUT BEING THAT IT IS VERY THOROUGH.

Carol Ekarius' Hobby Farm is a good beginner's guide on hobby farming. Having previously read John Deere: Hobby Farm: How to Create and Maintain Your Hobby Farm or Great Estate, this text easily surpasses the John Deere work in terms of the information provided (note: this does not take away from the quality of the John Deere book). The illustrations/charts are impressive too. Betweeen the two, if you want a really good overview of the whole hobby farming phenomenon, go with the John Deere work. If you want something a little bit more substantial, pick up the Ekarius text.

I did not get much new information from this book. Someone just wanted to make money over several common sense generalizations.

Great guide book for those that want to have their own hobby farm. Helpful guide from starting through operation. Nice reference for the beginner.