You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise (Paperback)

by Joel F. Salatin (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Polyface; 1st edition (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963810928
• ISBN-13: 978-0963810922
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,864 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #11 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences
  #13 in	Books > Science > Agricultural Sciences
  #14 in	Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Entrepreneurship

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

156 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, June 20, 1999

By	D. New "History Traveler" (Republic of Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Nothing has motivated me more than Salatin's book, YOU CAN FARM. Finally, we are doing it! Wish I'd had this book 30 years ago, but the author was a child at the time. Extremely well written, shows how a couple willing to work hard can make a profit (when was the last time the average farmer heard that word?) on 20 acres. Very tactfully explains why most farmers not only are not profitable, but often require someone working off the farm in order to maintain the lifestyle. No longer necessary. But what is necessary is some rethinking of the rules, some creative marketing of what is produced, and a need for the farmer to think of himself (once again) as an independent businessman, rather than a cog in the wheel of agri-industry. Give this one to the young person who wants to go to the land, and watch what happens!

129 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Practical and Unsentimental Guide to the Good Life, December 15, 2000

By	Robert Plamondon (Blodgett, OR USA) - See all my reviews

In YOU CAN FARM, Joel Salatin describes just how he runs his farm and why. By sticking to the example of his own experience and his own farm, he paints a vivid, detailed, and obviously accurate picture of how he makes his living from farming, and how you can, too.

Most of the farm activities he recommends require little up-front investment or experience. One can start small and expand as one learns the ropes.

We've used many of Salatin's ideas on our farm in Oregon, and they've worked very well for us, and we know a lot of other people who've put them to work as well.

Other writers focus too much on the romance and political correctness of ecologically responsible farming. But romance and political correctness don't pay the bills. "Sustainable agriculture" has to sustain the farmer as well as the land, or it's nothing but a snare and a delusion. Salatin shows a proven path to success and profitability.

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book !, March 1, 2002

By	Brent Railey (Pine Mountain, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This book is not designed to give you exact deails on a farming enterprise, his other books do that well. This is a book designed to show you that YOU CAN FARM. It gives you the appropriate perspective to take when beginning a farming enterprise. I have read all of his books and this is one intelligent man. While you may not agree with all of his personal views, if you want to start farming, READ THIS BOOK FIRST!!! My family did well in their agricultural enterprises when they followed methods similar to Salatins. When they began using so called "conventional" methods, profits went down, work increased and headaches abounded. This is a must read for anyone thinking about farming. One of the few times you will see farming presented in a positive light.