The Contrary Farmer

The Contrary Farmer
Author: Gene Logsdon
Publisher:
Total Pages: 264
Release: 1995
Genre: Gardening
ISBN:

Offers the practical advice of a manual for the cottage farmer as well as meditation in praise of work and pleasure.

"Too Small to Farm, Too Big to Mow"

Author: Megan Lubeck
Publisher:
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2017
Genre: Cities and towns
ISBN:

Farmers often oppose large-lot zoning because they believe it will reduce the value of their land. Non-farm homeowners frequently support such zoning because they believe that minimum lot size restrictions will postpone development and preserve "rural character." Planners, meanwhile, worry that if development does occur, minimum lot size restrictions will create an environmentally harmful landscape consisting of houses on large lots that are widely separated by expanses of manicured lawn. This latter outcome is one definition of urban sprawl. It is a potential unintended consequence of a local land use policy that is otherwise quite popular. Because of the controversy that surrounds local zoning policies, all of these hypothesized effects of large-lot zoning are worth exploring empirically. Agricultural and resource economists have written on this subject, but they tend to lack zoning and landscape data that are sufficiently detailed to explore the policy questions of interest. Using a detailed GIS dataset of 83 municipalities in the New Jersey Highlands, the current thesis estimates the effect of actual minimum lot size in each zone (half-acre, one acre, etc.) on the number of acres converted from forest, grassland, or farmland to residential landscapes (structures and adjoining lawns) between the years 1995 and 2002. While this thesis does not formally adjust for selection bias in the zoning treatment, preliminary analysis of covariate balance suggests that a simple regression approach might be adequate for causal analysis, at least for this dataset. The results of the simple regression analysis of the effects of minimum lot size alongside other growth drivers suggest that minimum lot size imposition as a policy tool works as intended.

Ten Acres Enough

Ten Acres Enough
Author: Edmund Morris
Publisher: Good Press
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2023-10-19
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

"Ten Acres Enough: A Practical Experience, Showing How a Very Small Farm May Be Made to Keep a Very Large Family" by Edmund Morris provides readers with valuable insights into farming and self-sufficiency. Morris's narrative draws from practical experience, offering guidance on how to make a small farm sustainable for a large family. This book is an informative read for those interested in agriculture, homesteading, and the pursuit of self-reliance, providing valuable lessons on farming practices and sustainability.

The Resilient Farm and Homestead

The Resilient Farm and Homestead
Author: Ben Falk
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Company
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2013
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 1603584447

The Resilient Farm and Homestead is a manual for developing durable, beautiful, and highly functional human habitat systems fit to handle an age of rapid transition. Ben Falk is a land designer and site developer whose permaculture-research farm has drawn national attention. The site is a terraced paradise on a hillside in Vermont that would otherwise be overlooked by conventional farmers as unworthy farmland. Falk's wide array of fruit trees, rice paddies (relatively unheard of in the Northeast), ducks, nuts, and earth-inspired buildings is a hopeful image for the future of regenerative agriculture and modern homesteading. The book covers nearly every strategy Falk and his team have been testing at the Whole Systems Research Farm over the past decade, as well as experiments from other sites Falk has designed through his off-farm consulting business. The book includes detailed information on earthworks; gravity-fed water systems; species composition; the site-design process; site management; fuelwood hedge production and processing; human health and nutrient-dense production strategies; rapid topsoil formation and remineralization; agroforestry/silvopasture/grazing; ecosystem services, especially regarding flood mitigation; fertility management; human labor and social-systems aspects; tools/equipment/appropriate technology; and much more, complete with gorgeous photography and detailed design drawings. The Resilient Farm and Homestead is more than just a book of tricks and techniques for regenerative site development, but offers actual working results in living within complex farm-ecosystems based on research from the "great thinkers" in permaculture, and presents a viable home-scale model for an intentional food-producing ecosystem in cold climates, and beyond. Inspiring to would-be homesteaders everywhere, but especially for those who find themselves with "unlikely" farming land, Falk is an inspiration in what can be done by imitating natural systems, and making the most of what we have by re-imagining what's possible. A gorgeous case study for the homestead of the future.

Borrowed Crime

Borrowed Crime
Author: Laurie Cass
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2015-03-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0451415485

Librarian Minnie Hamilton spreads the joy of reading throughout Chilson, Michigan, with her bookmobile, but she doesn’t ride alone. Her rescue cat, Eddie, and a group of volunteers are always on board to deliver cheer—until one of her helpers gets checked out for good... When Minnie loses a grant that was supposed to keep the bookmobile running, she’s worried her pet project could come to its final page. But she’s determined to keep her patrons—and Eddie’s fans—happy and well read. She just needs her boss, Stephen to see things her way, and make sure he doesn’t see Eddie. The library director doesn’t exactly know about the bookmobile’s furry co-pilot. But when a volunteer dies on the bookmobile’s route, Minnie finds her traveling library in an even more precarious position. Although the death was originally ruled a hunting accident, a growing stack of clues is pointing towards murder. It’s up to Minnie and Eddie to find the killer, and fast—before the best chapter of her life comes to a messy close…

Ten Acres Enough

Ten Acres Enough
Author: Edmund Morris
Publisher: University of Michigan Library
Total Pages: 256
Release: 1866
Genre: History
ISBN: