The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise

The first few chapters of this book could be titled "You can". This is a great step by step guide to creating your own agriculture based business. Salatin's passion is infectious. The book is full of ideas to inspire the next generation of farmers. I don't think I would have been as excited by this book if I hadn't read about Salatin in Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilema". Salatin is very in tune with the natural world and does a great job of helping others see things they may not have seen.

This should be considered required reading for everyone thinking of entering an agricultural enterprise, or even living self-sufficiently. He has so many money saving tips which most people raised in an urban environment can use. Wonderful advice. Excellent book.

As an aspiring farmer, this was an excellent primer. No one book can encompass all there is to starting a farm, but this makes a valiant effort.

I highly recommend this to anyone interested in small farming.

This is a MUST read for anyone considering earning an income by farming, on a large or small scale. He is knowledgeable and imparts a lot of common sense about how to start and manage a farm of any size.

Wow! I have just finished reading YOU CAN FARM and I am very sad to have to set it down. I found it very informative and entertaining. I read over several of the reviews before I decided to write my own and wondered if I read the same book as everyone else. The book isn't designed to teach you how to farm...it's designed to make you think about whether YOU should be farming. It's also one man's idea of farming. I didn't think that Mr. Salatin stated that you have to live with nothing in order to farm. His suggestion was that of any start up business. Things will be tight, put your money where it needs to be and enjoy "reep" the benifits of your hard work. Not everyone finds value in expensive cars, gadgets, and big houses. It's about living! I am very encouraged by this book and am looking foward to reading more by Joel Salatin. He has taken his love, his passion and family and done what makes him happy! That is fabulous! What is even more fabulous is that he encourages everyone else to go out and make THEIR OWN mark...not his. If you don't get anything from this book, dig it out of the trash and re-read it. You missed the point. I loved it! I will take from it alot...I will use some of it and I will share even more! Well done Joel Salatin! Keep doing what you are doing and may you be blessed!

Although Joel's books have a clear "soapbox" platform, I truly believe that his works and his ventures will help to put the reader into the right "mindset" and help to "drive" you towards changing the way you live.

Joel Salatin covers just about everything you can think of regarding what is required to make a profit (and avoid costly debts and mistakes) while farming. The book goes beyond just dollars and cents to cover the healthy ecology of the farm, as well. It's not just about money, it's about the health of the soil, the plants, the animals and the people. Excellent.

Overall, I was happy with the purchase. It included a lot of specfic information which is exactly what I was hoping for. Of course, I didnt agree with every single idea, but I doubt theres many books out there where I would. Its very evident the author has spent a lot of time and effort with the issues at hand, and many of his suggestions are extremely creative and make a lot of sense. I also have a great deal of respect for his views on spending money when starting a business. So, bottom line is I'm happy I bought the book and I feel it was very helpful and inspirational to read the thoughts and suggestions of such an experienced and down to earth farmer. Congrats to him and his family for their success and hopefully I can sustain the same level of will and determination with my ventures. Thank you.

This is a GREAT book filled with common sense thinking about starting up a business, ANY business. Not just farming.
The ideas of working with what you have, NOT borrowing money, learning, learning, and more learning, practically guarantees success.
If I taught business classes on a college level, i'd make this REQUIRED reading!

Outstanding read for somebody who's still at the pondering stage of farming small-scale. It is mostly philosophical and very little instructional. His other books, most notably Salad Bar Beef tend to repeat, word-for-word, paragraphs and I found that slightly irritating and obviously redundant. That aside though, his philosophies have molded my opinion on several issues as I embark on my own farming venture starting about a month from the time I write this. I think that if you take everything in his model as gospel, there are a myriad of situations and/or locations in which it will not apply and you could set yourself up for disaster. His model relies very heavily on the self-marketing aspect and having a close customer base. Additionally, he skirts issues like USDA, FDA, and other regulatory restrictions which may or may not be a show-stopper in locations other than the Shenandoah Valley. For all the shortcomings, I still think it was a powerful book and hopefully the precursor to a new trend in this country.

This book discusses realistically what it takes to be a farmer and what you need to do to be successful at it. It is full of useful life skills even if you don't choose to farm. The Author advocates healthy-soil based farming which helps the ecosystem as well as the farm. I found it very enjoyable to read and have begun putting his advice in to practice.

It was great to read and spells out the realities of farming vs the myths. Yes - everyone thinks that they would like to farm and envision their own version of what it would be like to farm. I now realize that my version was not exactly based on reality. But I can adjust...

This is a great guide to starting your own farm. Real info that really works. Have done Salatin style chickens and eggs for years and it really works. This book takes it further and will get you started with a sustainable farm that will produce complimenting products.

Provides a very down to earth appraoch to farming. As I have not yet began applying its principles I can not see why they would not be sound. I was looking for a book to help make my farming "hobby" pay for itself and now think that it may even be profitable. I guess it depends on what your expextations are but mine were just to make my small farm pay for itself, nothing more. After reading this book I think it is possible to turn my "hobby" into more a of part time job. If nothing else this book gives you valuable insight to the farming industry and I would recommend even if you are not into agriculture as it gives you an idea of what to buy and from whom. If nothing else you will want to start patronizing your local farmers for groceries as opposed to your supermarket.

The book is full of entertaining and engaging stories and observations, but also has an enormous amount of practical information about starting a farm. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in farming as an occupation and lifestyle.

A great read, packed with info but enough anecdotes to keep me interested, this book has been a great motivator and really shed the light on an interest I've had, so much so that it is now an obsession. All I can think of or learn about right now is pasture raised livestock and growing our own food. When people ask me what's new I can hardly stop myself from exclaiming I've just finished the greatest book! Within 2 days of finishing the book I built a chicken tractor and got some chicks, that are a couple weeks old along with the hen, because I was so struck by Joel's words I had to make the choice do something or I never will. Such a positive book, it really gave me confidence and that little push to pressure my goal of farming and raising my family on good, clean, healthy, nutrient rich, economically, and environmentally beneficial, sustainable, tasty food!

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.

In general, this is an informative, practical book. It does, however, contain a few ideas that I find alarming and dangerous. The suggestion of saving money by not vaccinating farm cats is just misguided. Most feed stores have very low cost vaccination days. making it just a few dollars to at least protect the cats from rabies. If you don't care enough about the cats themselves to vaccinate them, that's your perogative, BUT... rabies is a virus that can affect all warm-blooded animals, including humans. An infected cat (they're not all that rare) could expose you and your animals to a disease for which there is no effective treatment, and is fatal almost without exception. Is that risk really worth a few dollars? People, your children probably play with the farm cats- think about it. Also, if your farm cats are not spayed and neutered, they add to the staggering cat overpopulation problem. This is a hazard not just to humans and farm animals, but they are a major predator of songbirds. Birds eat bugs. Bugs eat your crops. Not taking care of your cats is just irresponsible, stupid, and will come back to haunt you. Mind you, my farm cats aren't pets, they are employees, lest you think I'm an animal rights nutjob. They do deserve a decent life in return for keeping my farm free of small pests.

Mr. Salatin also suggests that you can and should do without health insurance. That might be all right if you are willing to take the risk for yourself, but if you have a spouse and family, make sure you understand the repercussions if you should become ill or injured.

This is a useful and informative book, but don't let it replace your own common sense.

This book has inspired me to start farming! We have just under 2.5 acres and have started by raising a few Guinea fowl and some laying hens. We have a garden for the first time in a few years and are learning about sustainable living practices. We want our kids to be aware of where their food comes from and to respect the world around them. We are getting connected with other local small farms and learned how to process chickens from one very kind and patient local farmer! I so appreciate Joel Salatin for his faith, conviction and ideas!

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in getting into farming, or thinking of alternative ways to do things. It is not a be-all, end-all resource, but it is a excellent starting place to get ideas rolling.