Farming References
Books
Permaculture:
A
Designers Manual by Bill
Mollison
Family
Friendly
Farming by Joel
Salatin
(and any other book by Salatin)
The
New
Organic Grower by Elliot
Coleman
How
to
Grow More Vegetables by John
Jeavons
A
Farmer’s Guide to the Bottom Line by Charles
Walters
Buying
and
Setting Up Your Small Farm or Ranch by L.R.
Miller
Paddock
Shift,
Changing Views on Grassland Farming by Allan
Nation
The
Biological
Farmer by Gary
F.
Zimmer
Texas
Bug
Book: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly by Howard
Garrett
Texas
Gardening
the Natural Way: The Complete Handbook by Howard
Garrett
The
Organic
Manual: Natural Organic Gardening and Living for Your Family,
Plants and Pets by Howard
Garrett
Best Sellers
in Organic
Gardening, Agronomy,
Sustainable
Development, Gardening
Techniques, Ecology,
Fruit
Gardening, Soil
Science
DVD
Food
Production System for Backyard or Small Farm
Magazines
Acres
USA
(512) 892-4400
Growing
for
Market (800) 307-8949
Farming,
People,
Land, and Community (800) 915-0042
Small
Farmer’s Journal (800) 876-2893
The
Heirloom Gardener (417) 924-1222
Web Sites
Appropriate
Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA)
A&M has put together a great list of alternative
agriculture
resources
Alternative
Farming
Systems Information Center (AFSIC)
The Dirt
Doctor Howard Garret, Natural Gardening and Living
Internships
Consider an internship/apprenticeship program
with
an organic farm. ATTRA has a listing
on
their website. You can also find farms advertising directly in
many of the magazines I suggested above. International opportunities
are available through MESA
(Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture) and WWOOF
(World Wide Opportunities on
Organic Farms). I served as the Farm Operations Director for World
Hunger Relief, which
offers 12-month internship
programs, and the experience was rich and rewarding for the
interns
and myself. I recommend maybe a shorter program of 3 to 6 months
during
the peak of production, but you do get a better idea of the big
picture
when you can experience every changing season on the farm.
Organizations
Holistic
Resource Management of Texas
Southern
Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG)
Schools/Conferences. . .
Ranching
for
Profit is a highly recommended program exploring a more
holistic approach utilizing rotational grazing
Texas Organic
Farmers and Growers Assoc. (TOFGA) host their annual
conference,
which is always rich with information specific to our state.
Practical Experience…
Nothing beats practical experience. Grow a
backyard
garden, get a job at a nursery or commercial grower, volunteer at a
farm, find a skill that is farm related i.e. carpentry, mechanics,
welding, horticulture, marketing, etc. My greatest learning
experience
was owning and operating a retail nursery and having my own garden
every year.
The new farmers need to be innovative and highly
motivated to educate themselves in sustainable agriculture. It also
helps to visit other farms and to see what other folks are doing. I
hope these resources can be help in the pursuit of the small farm.
Original List & Comments from Farmer Brad Blog: HomeSweetFarm