This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm

This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm PDF

Author: Ted Genoways

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2017-09-19

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0393292584

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Winner of the Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize 2019 selection for the One Book One Nebraska and All Iowa state reading programs "Genoways gives the reader a kitchen-table view of the vagaries, complexities, and frustrations of modern farming…Insightful and empathetic." —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The family farm lies at the heart of our national identity, and yet its future is in peril. Rick Hammond grew up on a farm, and for forty years he has raised cattle and crops on his wife’s fifth-generation homestead in Nebraska, in hopes of passing it on to their four children. But as the handoff nears, their family farm—and their entire way of life—are under siege on many fronts, from shifting trade policies, to encroaching pipelines, to climate change. Following the Hammonds from harvest to harvest, Ted Genoways explores the rapidly changing world of small, traditional farming operations. He creates a vivid, nuanced portrait of a radical new landscape and one family’s fight to preserve their legacy and the life they love.

This Blessed Earth

This Blessed Earth PDF

Author: Ted Genoways

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2017-09-19

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0393292576

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Is there still a place for the farm in today’s America? The family farm lies at the heart of our national identity, yet its future is in peril. Rick Hammond grew up on a small ranch, and for forty years he has raised cattle and crops on his wife’s fifth-generation homestead in York County, Nebraska, in hopes of passing it on to their four children. But as the handoff nears, their small family farm—and their entire way of life—are under siege. Rising corporate ownership of land and livestock is forcing small farmers to get bigger and bigger, assuming more debt and more risk. At the same time, after nearly a decade of record-high corn and soybean prices, the bottom has dropped out of the markets, making it ever harder for small farmers to shoulder their loans. All the while, the Hammonds are confronted by encroaching pipelines, groundwater depletion, climate change, and shifting trade policies. Far from an isolated refuge beyond the reach of global events, the family farm is increasingly at the crossroads of emerging technologies and international detente. Following the Hammonds from harvest to harvest, Ted Genoways explores this rapidly changing landscape of small, traditional farming operations, mapping as it unfolds day to day. This Blessed Earth is both a concise exploration of the history of the American small farm and a vivid, nuanced portrait of one family’s fight to preserve their legacy and the life they love.

Life on the Family Farm

Life on the Family Farm PDF

Author: Tom Heck

Publisher: Aneko Press

Published: 2017-12-07

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1622451600

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“You are the most God-gifted writer I’ve ever had,” Tom’s college professor told him. However, Tom quit college; his love of farming drew him back to the farm. Thirty years later, Tom picked up the pen again, drawing readers into farming adventures with him. In these exciting and uplifting true stories, he shares his love of farming, family, and God. His unique writing style brings the reader right alongside him and his family as they work on their northern Wisconsin dairy farm. Tom’s stories have spread like wildfire from his hometown newspaper to papers across America. Readers tell him, “Please don’t quit writing.” Others ask him, “When are you going to make it a book?” Due to popular demand here it is. From quotes like “Dad, I really enjoyed fixing that with you” to “She’s a dead cow don’t call me anymore,” these engaging stories will keep you turning the pages to read one story, then another. As you do, you will be blessed as so many others have been. Come, read, and enjoy our farm life with us.

Farming While Black

Farming While Black PDF

Author: Leah Penniman

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 1603587616

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"Farming While Black is the first comprehensive "how to" guide for aspiring African-heritage growers to reclaim their dignity as agriculturists and for all farmers to understand the distinct, technical contributions of African-heritage people to sustainable agriculture. At Soul Fire Farm, author Leah Penniman co-created the Black and Latino Farmers Immersion (BLFI) program as a container for new farmers to share growing skills in a culturally relevant and supportive environment led by people of color. Farming While Black organizes and expands upon the curriculum of the BLFI to provide readers with a concise guide to all aspects of small-scale farming, from business planning to preserving the harvest. Throughout the chapters Penniman uplifts the wisdom of the African diasporic farmers and activists whose work informs the techniques described--from whole farm planning, soil fertility, seed selection, and agroecology, to using whole foods in culturally appropriate recipes, sharing stories of ancestors, and tools for healing from the trauma associated with slavery and economic exploitation on the land. Woven throughout the book is the story of Soul Fire Farm, a national leader in the food justice movement." --

Walt Whitman and the Civil War

Walt Whitman and the Civil War PDF

Author: Ted Genoways

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2023-11-10

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 0520943082

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Shortly after the third edition of Leaves of Grass was published, in 1860, Walt Whitman seemed to drop off the literary map, not to emerge again until his brother George was wounded at Fredericksburg two and a half years later. Past critics have tended to read this silence as evidence of Whitman's indifference to the Civil War during its critical early months. In this penetrating, original, and beautifully written book, Ted Genoways reconstructs those forgotten years—locating Whitman directly through unpublished letters and never-before-seen manuscripts, as well as mapping his associations through rare period newspapers and magazines in which he published. Genoways's account fills a major gap in Whitman's biography and debunks the myth that Whitman was unaffected by the country's march to war. Instead, Walt Whitman and the Civil War reveals the poet's active participation in the early Civil War period and elucidates his shock at the horrors of war months before his legendary journey to Fredericksburg, correcting in part the poet's famous assertion that the "real war will never get in the books."

Animal, Vegetable, Junk

Animal, Vegetable, Junk PDF

Author: Mark Bittman

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 1328974626

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and pioneering journalist, an expansive look at how history has been shaped by humanity's appetite for food, farmland, and the money behind it all--and how a better future is within reach.

Gaining Ground

Gaining Ground PDF

Author: Forrest Pritchard

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2013-05-21

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0762794380

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One fateful day in 1996, upon discovering that five freight cars’ worth of glittering corn have reaped a tiny profit of $18.16, young Forrest Pritchard undertakes to save his family’s farm. What ensues—through hilarious encounters with all manner of livestock and colorful local characters—is a crash course in sustainable agriculture. Pritchard’s biggest ally is his renegade father, who initially questions his career choice and eschews organic foods for sugary mainstream fare; but just when the farm starts to turn heads at local markets, his father’s health takes a turn for the worse.With poetry and humor, this timely memoir tugs on the heartstrings and feeds the soul long after the last page is turned.

The Chain

The Chain PDF

Author: Ted Genoways

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2014-10-14

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 0062288776

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A powerful and important work of investigative journalism that explores the runaway growth of the American meatpacking industry and its dangerous consequences “A worthy update to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and a chilling indicator of how little has changed since that 1906 muckraking classic.” — Mother Jones “I tore through this book. . . . Books like these are important: They track the journey of our thinking about food, adding evidence and offering guidance along the way.” —Wall Street Journal On the production line in American packing-houses, there is one cardinal rule: the chain never slows. Under pressure to increase supply, the supervisors of meat-processing plants have routinely accelerated the pace of conveyors, leading to inhumane conditions, increased accidents, and food of questionable, often dangerous quality. In The Chain, acclaimed journalist Ted Genoways uses the story of Hormel Foods and its most famous product, Spam—a recession-era staple—to probe the state of the meatpacking industry, from Minnesota to Iowa to Nebraska. Interviewing scores of line workers, union leaders, hog farmers, and local politicians and activists, Genoways reveals an industry pushed to its breaking point—while exposing alarming new trends, from sick or permanently disabled workers to conflict between small towns and immigrant labor. A searching exposé in the tradition of Upton Sinclair, Rachel Carson, and Eric Schlosser, The Chain is a mesmerizing story and an urgent warning about the hidden costs of the food we eat.

The Sweet Life

The Sweet Life PDF

Author: Dulce Candy Ruiz

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2015-08-04

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1592409504

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The YouTube star and beauty guru shares her hard-won lessons on success, style, and finding the sweetness in all aspects of your life. Since posting her first makeup tutorial in 2008, Dulce Candy has become one of the top beauty stars on YouTube, boasting more than 2 million subscribers and garnering hundreds of millions of views of her bright and energetic videos. But before she became a style icon and a role model to millions of young women, Dulce struggled to make her way in the world. Having emigrated with her family from Mexico to the United States when she was six years old, Dulce battled depression and low self-esteem as a teenager and eventually enlisted in the army in an attempt to turn her life around. It was here, on the battlefields of Iraq, that she finally uncovered and embraced her true passion—fashion and beauty—and gained the confidence to move on from her past, follow her dream, and launch what would become her wildly successful brand. The Sweet Life chronicles Dulce Candy’s inspiring story, showing that anyone can be successful no matter their background and sharing the hard-won lessons that helped transform her from a shy, self-doubting teenager into a confident business woman and beauty expert. According to Dulce, you can’t live the sweet life until you accept who you are—flaws and all—and take chances—knowing that failure is just a part of learning and fear is a sign that you’re trying something new and exciting. Drawing on anecdotes from her own life and career, Dulce offers advice on building a personal brand (“Know what makes you different”), building confidence (“Fake it till you make it”) and balancing the personal and the professional (“Don’t settle when you settle down”). She also emphasizes the importance of both inner and outer beauty, encouraging women to love themselves, ignore the critics, and flaunt their own original style. Part memoir, part manifesto, The Sweet Life is a fun, inspirational guide for any woman who wants to find success and happiness without compromising who she is.

Some Luck

Some Luck PDF

Author: Jane Smiley

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2014-10-07

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 0385350392

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres comes the first volume of an epic trilogy that takes us on a literary adventure through cycles of birth and death, passion and betrayal that will span a century in America. “Intimate.... Miraculous.... Staggering.... A masterpiece in the making.” —USA Today 1920, Denby, Iowa: Rosanna and Walter Langdon have just welcomed their firstborn son, Frank, into their family farm. He will be the oldest of five. Each chapter in this extraordinary novel covers a single year, encompassing the sweep of history as the Langdons abide by time-honored values and pass them on to their children. With the country on the cusp of enormous social and economic change through the early 1950s, we watch as the personal and the historical merge seamlessly: one moment electricity is just beginning to power the farm, and the next a son is volunteering to fight the Nazis. Later still, a girl we’d seen growing up now has a little girl of her own.