The expert guide to biodynamic farming and gardening. In this revised and updated edition of Grasp the Nettle Peter Proctor tells the reader how to apply biodynamic methods of farming and gardening to a wide range of conditions in New Zealand and in other countries. The book provides practical observations and techniques, and relates these to the spiritual scientific knowlege upon which that biodynamic practice is based. Peter gives tips on how to recognise health...

Industrial agriculture is the single most destructive human activity against the environment. Hugh Lovel, Peter Proctor and Fred Kirschenmann present an amazing approach to agriculture, stemming from the ideas of Rudolf Steiner, Founder of Waldorf Education, which grows nutritious foods and restores land and water.

The inspiring and entertaining story of a determined woman and an isolated farming life in Golden Bay. Robby Robilliard and her husband Garry arrived in Golden Bay in 1957. Married in their early twenties, and with a child on the way, they longed to own their own sheep station. When they bought Rocklands, a marginal farm on the fringe of the Takaka Valley, bordering Abel Tasman National Park, their dream had come true - but it wasn’t the life they had envisaged. It was a p...

Is it possible to eat meat and save the planet?This book explores the widely held misconception that sheep, cattle and other grazing animals are responsible for an enormous net production of new global warming gases. The reality is that livestock are part of a closed atmospheric carbon cycle where the carbon they emit is equal to the carbon they take in.With the information in this book, food lovers who enjoy eating meat, chefs, restaurant owners, catering ...

Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

Country and city mice alike will delight in Julia Rothman’s charming illustrated guide to the curious parts and pieces of rural living.Dissecting everything from the shapes of squash varieties to how a barn is constructed and what makes up a beehive to crop rotation patterns, Rothman gives a richly entertaining tour of the quirky details of country life.Also available in Julia Rothman's Anatomy series: *Nature Anatomy, Nature Anatomy Notebook, Ocean Anatomy...

The best-selling classic reference by America's leading chicken authority.This one-of-a-kind reference book covers the health problems that plague chickens of all breeds and ages. Practical charts identify common symptoms and causes of infection, while an alphabetic listing of diseases provides advice on treatment. You’ll find helpful descriptions of troublesome ailments of all types, from poor egg production to crooked toe syndrome. Practical remedies and gentle p...

Beef Cattle Production and Trade covers all aspects of the beef industry from paddock to plate. It is an international text with an emphasis on Australian beef production, written by experts in the field. The book begins with an overview of the historical evolution of world beef consumption and introductory chapters on carcass and meat quality, market preparation and world beef production. North America, Brazil, China, South-East Asia and Japan are discussed in separate chapters, followed by ...

Thank you for your interest in this booklet. The "...The Basics" series, is a series of booklets designed to help you get the basics or foundations about a subject. Time is one of our most precious resources and as such it does not comeback, for that reason the Amber siblings have created this series. It is a series of small quick and easy to read and understand booklets, designed to give you a quick idea on a subject. Instead of spending a lot of time and money on a subject to find out th...

**Golden fields, ripening apples, lowing cattle: our idea of the landscape has been shaped by agriculture, as has the land itself. But in a fast-changing world, how does the great British countryside continue to provide the food we eat?**Most people living in Britain today must go back several generations before they find an ancestor who worked on the land. How much do we really know about those who are supplying us with the most essential things in life: our daily bread and butter, meat a...

Ann Larkin Hansen offers expert advice on everything from scythes to disc mowers, and details the pros and cons of using horse power or tractors. You’ll learn how to choose the right species for your soil, judge hay quality to buy or sell, and determine how many bales your animals need to stay happy, healthy, and energetic.

The old-time shepherd – lamb in one hand, crook in the other – is an emblem of sturdiness, dependability and independence. He was one of the most important men on the farm, responsible for the care and well-being of the flock, with which he might need to spend days and nights out in open pastures. How did he manage his charges and his own life? What skills and equipment did he use? How did sheep farming change in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and what effect did those changes hav...