[Weeman]

Hi all

I've only just joined this site, and can't believe I haven't found it before.

I'm in the process of looking for my first bit of land. We can't afford to buy a full scale smallholding, so I'm going to start off by buying a few acres near me to learn on, and make my mistakes. However, I would really like some recommendations for books to read to teach me the basics of farming.

I'm a keen gardener and we're almost self sufficient for veg, and certainly eggs already.

I've also been a fan of John Seymore's books for ages, as well as Hugh Furnley Whittingstall's. I have all of those.

What I really want now is an in depth guide on how to run a small farm. I want to:

(a) plant woodland for coppicing;
(b) learn how to rear some livestock (pigs, goats perhaps, certainly poultry)
(c) improve land that is scrappy and rubbish (probably using livestock then re-seeding);
(d) get an idea of the sort of farm machinery I won't be able to do without and what training I should get before I begin (e.g. chainsaw).

I have a basic ten year plan but it's just based on what I know from chatting to farmer friends, reading Seymour books and what I know from years of allotmenting. I'm a big believer in researching an issue properly before diving in, so this isn't good enough for me.

I think low tech, high labour, would be the way I'd want to go. This is an experiment and opportunity to learn - I'm not wanting to buy lots of expensive agricultural kit.

All recommendations gratefully received!

Many thanks

Sam

[SallyintNorth]

There's only so much you can learn from books, and you've got a decent selection there to get you started; maybe you should add a book per species of livestock you are wanting to have.  Others may have recommendations for woodland management and/or farm machinery.

Personally I'd recommend getting your sleeves rolled up now.  A good way to learn the basics is to go do it at someone else's holding; I WWOOFed for a year before starting up, and the experiences I had and contacts I made were absolutely priceless.

Some places do weekend WWOOFs, which can be managed around work commitments, so you could try one or two of them first and see if you find it useful.

[Dan]

There's a categorised list of books we've either read and found useful or had recommended to us here:

http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/books/


If there are any suggestions for additions please let me know. We've got a proper review section on the way, contributions will be welcome.

[ballingall]

Dan, Alex has already written a review of one of the goat books you have listed- do you want a copy?


Beth

[Dan]

Yes please, that would be great. He'll get a credit in whatever form he wants. 

[FiB]

For Coppicing and woodland management - cant beat The woodland way - Ben Law.  Other than that Id recommend this site!!!  Seymour is OK while you are dreaming, but pretty crap once you're in!

[Scotsdumpy]

why not try your local library - if they don't have the books on shelf they can order them for you, mostly without charge but you may have to pay a small charge if they get the book from another area. You can actually request that they purchase the book for stock.  That way you can check if the book suits your purpose.
The only books I've bought recently have been Tim Tynes sheep book and Storeys guide to raising meat goats. One I'm considering buying (but it's an expensive annual) is The John Nix Farm Management Pocketbook 2013 which is crammed full of facts and figures pertaining to farming. I've just read one from a couple of years ago and most of it is still relevant.

[Weeman]

That's reaallyhelpful - thanks everyone, i'll get to my local library sharpish!

[Bramblecot]

Try contacting your nearest Smallholders Association.  They often have books and equipment that members can borrow/share, and winter meetings where you can exchange ideas.  Good luck