With in-depth information on electric fencing, watering, and husbandry for ruminants, poultry, and pigs, plus butchering, dairying, and more“If we work hard, we sleep well.”Twenty years ago, when authors Shawn and Beth Dougherty purchased the land they would come to name the Sow’s Ear, the state of Ohio designated it “not suitable for agriculture.” Today, their family raises and grows 90% of their own food.Such self-sufficiency is largely the result of basing their farming practices around intensive pasture management. Pioneered by such luminaries as Allan Savory, Greg Judy, and Joel Salatin, the tenets of holistic grazing—employed mostly by larger-scale commercial operations—have been adapted by the Doughertys to fit their family’s needs. In The Independent Farmstead, The Sow’s Ear model for regenerating the land and growing food—“the best you ever tasted”—is elucidated for others to use and build upon.In witty and welcoming style, The Independent Farmstead covers everything from choosing a species of ruminant and incorporating it into a grass-based system to innovative electric fencing and watering systems, to what to do with all of the milk, meat, and, yes, manure that the self-sustaining farm produces. Within these pages, the Doughertys discuss how to:Find and improve poor, waste, or abused land and develop its natural water resources;Select and purchase the appropriate ruminant for regenerating your farmstead;Apply fencing strategies and pasture management basics;Implement basic, uncomplicated food processing, including large and small animal butchering and cheese making; andIntegrate grass, gardens, and livestock to minimize or eliminate the need for off-farm inputs.As the Doughertys write, more and more people today are feeling “the desire for clean, affordable food, unmodified, unprocessed, and unmedicated and the security of local food sourcing for ourselves and our children.” The Independent Farmstead is a must-have resource for those who count themselves as part of this movement: both new and prospective farmers and homesteaders, and those who are interested in switching to grass-based systems. Best of all it’s the kind of rare how-to book that the authors themselves view not as a compendium of one-size-fits-all instructions but as “the beginning of a conversation,” one that is utterly informative, sincere, and inspiring.

With in-depth information on electric fencing, watering, and husbandry for ruminants, poultry, and pigs, plus butchering, dairying, and more

“If we work hard, we sleep well.”

Twenty years ago, when authors Shawn and Beth Dougherty purchased the land they would come to name the Sow’s Ear, the state of Ohio designated it “not suitable for agriculture.” Today, their family raises and grows 90% of their own food.

Such self-sufficiency is largely the result of basing their farming practices around intensive pasture management. Pioneered by such luminaries as Allan Savory, Greg Judy, and Joel Salatin, the tenets of holistic grazing—employed mostly by larger-scale commercial operations—have been adapted by the Doughertys to fit their family’s needs. In The Independent Farmstead, The Sow’s Ear model for regenerating the land and growing food—“the best you ever tasted”—is elucidated for others to use and build upon.

In witty and welcoming style, The Independent Farmstead covers everything from choosing a species of ruminant and incorporating it into a grass-based system to innovative electric fencing and watering systems, to what to do with all of the milk, meat, and, yes, manure that the self-sustaining farm produces. Within these pages, the Doughertys discuss how to:

Find and improve poor, waste, or abused land and develop its natural water resources;Select and purchase the appropriate ruminant for regenerating your farmstead;Apply fencing strategies and pasture management basics;Implement basic, uncomplicated food processing, including large and small animal butchering and cheese making; andIntegrate grass, gardens, and livestock to minimize or eliminate the need for off-farm inputs.

As the Doughertys write, more and more people today are feeling “the desire for clean, affordable food, unmodified, unprocessed, and unmedicated and the security of local food sourcing for ourselves and our children.” The Independent Farmstead is a must-have resource for those who count themselves as part of this movement: both new and prospective farmers and homesteaders, and those who are interested in switching to grass-based systems. Best of all it’s the kind of rare how-to book that the authors themselves view not as a compendium of one-size-fits-all instructions but as “the beginning of a conversation,” one that is utterly informative, sincere, and inspiring.

Essential experience-based advice and instructions from the authors of The Independent Farmstead for raising a grass-fed milk cow as the heart of a successful low-input, low-cost homestead.For more than three decades, Shawn and Beth Dougherty have honed their frugal methods for managing a small-scale farmstead on marginal land. In One-Cow Revolution, they share their wisdom and affection for the blessing that is the human-dairy cow partnership, addressing key questions with clear answers for those who have just moved back to the land (or are still planning and dreaming). The Doughertys begin at the beginning, advising readers on how to find a reliable dairy cow, move her to the homestead, and settle her in. They take readers on the round of daily chores, including managing their cow’s grazing patterns and monitoring pasture health, milking a cow, and handling the milk. They explain how a solar-powered cow becomes the heart of a diversified farmstead, providing food for calves, pigs, and other livestock; milk and meat for the family; and manure for high-quality compost to build healthy garden soil. The book’s exemplary how-to content is framed by an introduction and conclusion that describes their life philosophy as “cow people” and the many benefits that manifest in communities where small, food-independent farmsteads thrive as models of sustainable human land-use."This is the homestead dairy cow book every homesteader needs!”—Amy Fewell, founder, Homesteaders of America

With in-depth information on electric fencing, watering, and husbandry for ruminants, poultry, and pigs, plus butchering, dairying, and more“If we work hard, we sleep well.”Twenty years ago, when authors Shawn and Beth Dougherty purchased the land they would come to name the Sow’s Ear, the state of Ohio designated it “not suitable for agriculture.” Today, their family raises and grows 90% of their own food.Such self-sufficiency is largely the result of basing their farming practices around intensive pasture management. Pioneered by such luminaries as Allan Savory, Greg Judy, and Joel Salatin, the tenets of holistic grazing—employed mostly by larger-scale commercial operations—have been adapted by the Doughertys to fit their family’s needs. In The Independent Farmstead, The Sow’s Ear model for regenerating the land and growing food—“the best you ever tasted”—is elucidated for others to use and build upon.In witty and welcoming style, The Independent Farmstead covers everything from choosing a species of ruminant and incorporating it into a grass-based system to innovative electric fencing and watering systems, to what to do with all of the milk, meat, and, yes, manure that the self-sustaining farm produces. Within these pages, the Doughertys discuss how to:Find and improve poor, waste, or abused land and develop its natural water resources;Select and purchase the appropriate ruminant for regenerating your farmstead;Apply fencing strategies and pasture management basics;Implement basic, uncomplicated food processing, including large and small animal butchering and cheese making; andIntegrate grass, gardens, and livestock to minimize or eliminate the need for off-farm inputs.As the Doughertys write, more and more people today are feeling “the desire for clean, affordable food, unmodified, unprocessed, and unmedicated and the security of local food sourcing for ourselves and our children.” The Independent Farmstead is a must-have resource for those who count themselves as part of this movement: both new and prospective farmers and homesteaders, and those who are interested in switching to grass-based systems. Best of all it’s the kind of rare how-to book that the authors themselves view not as a compendium of one-size-fits-all instructions but as “the beginning of a conversation,” one that is utterly informative, sincere, and inspiring.

With in-depth information on electric fencing, watering, and husbandry for ruminants, poultry, and pigs, plus butchering, dairying, and more

“If we work hard, we sleep well.”

Twenty years ago, when authors Shawn and Beth Dougherty purchased the land they would come to name the Sow’s Ear, the state of Ohio designated it “not suitable for agriculture.” Today, their family raises and grows 90% of their own food.

Such self-sufficiency is largely the result of basing their farming practices around intensive pasture management. Pioneered by such luminaries as Allan Savory, Greg Judy, and Joel Salatin, the tenets of holistic grazing—employed mostly by larger-scale commercial operations—have been adapted by the Doughertys to fit their family’s needs. In The Independent Farmstead, The Sow’s Ear model for regenerating the land and growing food—“the best you ever tasted”—is elucidated for others to use and build upon.

In witty and welcoming style, The Independent Farmstead covers everything from choosing a species of ruminant and incorporating it into a grass-based system to innovative electric fencing and watering systems, to what to do with all of the milk, meat, and, yes, manure that the self-sustaining farm produces. Within these pages, the Doughertys discuss how to:

Find and improve poor, waste, or abused land and develop its natural water resources;Select and purchase the appropriate ruminant for regenerating your farmstead;Apply fencing strategies and pasture management basics;Implement basic, uncomplicated food processing, including large and small animal butchering and cheese making; andIntegrate grass, gardens, and livestock to minimize or eliminate the need for off-farm inputs.

As the Doughertys write, more and more people today are feeling “the desire for clean, affordable food, unmodified, unprocessed, and unmedicated and the security of local food sourcing for ourselves and our children.” The Independent Farmstead is a must-have resource for those who count themselves as part of this movement: both new and prospective farmers and homesteaders, and those who are interested in switching to grass-based systems. Best of all it’s the kind of rare how-to book that the authors themselves view not as a compendium of one-size-fits-all instructions but as “the beginning of a conversation,” one that is utterly informative, sincere, and inspiring.

Essential experience-based advice and instructions from the authors of The Independent Farmstead for raising a grass-fed milk cow as the heart of a successful low-input, low-cost homestead.For more than three decades, Shawn and Beth Dougherty have honed their frugal methods for managing a small-scale farmstead on marginal land. In One-Cow Revolution, they share their wisdom and affection for the blessing that is the human-dairy cow partnership, addressing key questions with clear answers for those who have just moved back to the land (or are still planning and dreaming). The Doughertys begin at the beginning, advising readers on how to find a reliable dairy cow, move her to the homestead, and settle her in. They take readers on the round of daily chores, including managing their cow’s grazing patterns and monitoring pasture health, milking a cow, and handling the milk. They explain how a solar-powered cow becomes the heart of a diversified farmstead, providing food for calves, pigs, and other livestock; milk and meat for the family; and manure for high-quality compost to build healthy garden soil. The book’s exemplary how-to content is framed by an introduction and conclusion that describes their life philosophy as “cow people” and the many benefits that manifest in communities where small, food-independent farmsteads thrive as models of sustainable human land-use."This is the homestead dairy cow book every homesteader needs!”—Amy Fewell, founder, Homesteaders of America