Zoe Ida Bradbury - Greenhorns: 50 Dispatches from the New Farmers Movement

PRAISE FOR

greenhorns

If we are very lucky, the Greenhorns will have their way and give America back its family farms.

Molly ONeill, author of One Big Table: A Portrait of American Cooking

Amid the many sad trends of our day, nothing makes me happier than the recent USDA proclamation that for the first time in 150 years the number of farms in America is on the rise. If you want to understand why, and if you want to feel the vigor and love now returning to the land, this book is the place to start!

Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy

Right now, there is a whole generation of young, energetic, focused new farmers learning the craft, finding land, starting businesses. These are hard-working, dedicated, entrepreneurial folk, and all across the country they are producing exceptional food for their local communities. If you want to know what the voice of this powerful movement sounds like, this is the book for you. It is one of the most optimistic stories in America. The Greenhorns have put together a collection as satisfying as the food these farmers are producing.

Kristin Kimball, author of The Dirty Life

The Greenhorns are my heroes. They are the face of Americas new agrarians mostly young, educated, ready for hard work, passionate, and rooted in community. I really believe they are our future, and were damned lucky that they are. Their essays are insightful, thoughtful, and hard to put down. What a wonderful collection! I will recommend this book to everyone.

Deborah Madison, author of Local Flavors and
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Hooray for the Greenhorns! Networking young farmers from coast to coast, they have become a formidable force in our new agricultural revival, spreading resources, sharing skills, documenting their experiences, and advocating for change in our agriculture system. These essays offer serious food for thought, especially for anyone considering taking up the hoe no matter whether young or old.

Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation, The Revolution Will Not Be
Microwaved, and The Art of Fermentation

This collection of young farmers stories is a cornucopia of gifts from the earth. I learned with pleasure about a group of people who are turning the world into a much better place.

Les Blank, filmmaker

50 Dispatches from the New Farmers Movement

edited by
Zo Ida Bradbury, Severine von Tscharner Fleming,
and Paula Manalo

illustrations by
Lucy Engelman

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Carleen Madigan
Art direction and book design by
Carolyn Eckert
Illustrations by Lucy Engelman

2012 by Zo Ida Bradbury,
Severine von Tscharner Fleming,
and Paula Manalo

At Storey Publishing, were committed to producing books in an earth-friendly manner and to helping our customers make greener choices. This book is printed with recycled papers and vegetable-based inks.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other without written permission from the publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.

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Printed in the United States by Versa Press
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Greenhorns / edited by Zo Ida
Bradbury, Severine von Tscharner
Fleming, and Paula Manalo.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60342-772-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Farm lifeUnited States
Anecdotes. 2. AgricultureUnited
StatesAnecdotes.

I. Bradbury, Zo Ida. II. Von Tscharner
Fleming, Severine. III. Manalo, Paula.
S521.5.A2G75 2012
635.0973dc23

2011051495

SHOVEL SHARPENED, SHOVEL READY

CHAPTER ONE
BODY-HEART-SOUL

BY JEFF FISHER

BY SARAH SMITH

.

BY EVAN DRISCOLL

BY MEG RUNYAN

BY ANDREW FRENCH

BY MAUD POWELL

BY COURTNEY LOWERY COWGILL

CHAPTER TWO
MONEY

BY TERESA RETZLAFF

BY BEN JAMES

BY ANNA JONES-CRABTREE

BY CASEY O LEARY

BY COURTNEY LOWERY COWGILL

CHAPTER THREE
LAND

BY JACOB COWGILL

BY LUKE DEIKIS

BY BEN JAMES

BY MK WYLE

BY JOSH MORGENTHAU

CHAPTER FOUR
PURPOSE

BY NEYSA KING

BY JENNA WOGINRICH

BY DOUGLASS DECANDIA

BY A. M. THOMAS

BY SARAJANE SNYDER

BY EMILY OAKLEY AND MIKE APPEL

CHAPTER FIVE
BEASTS

BY JUSTIN HEILENBACH

BY CORY CARMEN

BY CARDEN WILLIS

BY ALYSSA JUMARS

BY SAMUEL ANDERSON

BY KATIE GODFREY

BY LYNDA HOPKINS

BY KRISTEN JOHANSON

CHAPTER SIX
NUTS & BOLTS (& DUCT TAPE & BALING TWINE)

BY SARAH HUCKA

BY ERIN BULLOCK

BY JOSH VOLK

BY ADAM GASKA

BY BRAD HALM

CHAPTER SEVEN
NINJA TACTICS

BY JEN GRIFFITH

BY ERIN BULLOCK

BY GINGER SALKOWSKI

BY KATIE KULLA

BY TONYA TOLCHIN

BY JANNA BERGER

BY BEN SWIMM

CHAPTER EIGHT
OLD NEIGHBORS, NEW COMMUNITY

BY SAMANTHA LAMB

BY SARAHLEE LAWRENCE

BY JON PIANA

BY JEN AND JEFF MILLER

BY BRANDON PUGH

BY LIZ GRAZNAK

BY VINCE BOOTH

The essays in this collection were written and selected by beginning farmers for the benefit of other beginning farmers, eaters, and aspiring agrarians of all stripes. These stories are narratives of production that we believe to be representative of the beginning-farmer experience in contemporary American life. Directly personal, they have given us the opportunity to reflect on the shape of the movement and the implications of our collective work, which has engaged us for varying amounts of time, in every region of the country. The authors/farmers represented here dream big in very different ways.