A solid resource for aspiring or beginning farmers. I've been playing around with the idea of farming for a few years now. Having so a beginning farmers course condensed was great and I learned so much. Sobering, but hopeful.

Excellent business management course that is available online

Garry Stephenson has been studying small farms and farm marketing for decades and I trust what he has to say. It was Dr. Stephenson and his colleague Larry Lev who years ago noticed that it isn't the cost of items at a farmers market that limit what people buy, it's the weight! They recommended that markets invest in trolleys or that the pay teens to carry purchases to shoppers' cars. Garry Stephenson has an excellent eye for reality.

"Whole Farm Management" is a curriculum in the form of a book. The training is also available online. The book is divided into 6 chapters that can be read in any order. Buying it in book form is a bonus because you can refer to any chapter at any time.

Building a successful commercial farm is a circular activity. Discovering what you can grow and discovering what you can sell profitably are the yin and yang. One cannot exist without the other. This book is a starting place for exploration. There are lessons here for wannabe farmers and people with years of experience. The principles here eternal.

If I were to discuss all of the good information and training wisdom in this book, this review would go on for pages. It is better just to say that if you are interested in starting to farm or want to gain deeper insights into the work you are already doing. Please try this book.

Dr. Stephenson writes that royalties from the sale of the book will support the Oregon State University Center for Small Farms & Community Food Systems and its work in sustainable agriculture and community food systems.

Though farms are not as widespread as the once were, they are still vital the country. They provide food and goods to people across the land. People who are looking to get into farming may not have the benefit of asking family members who have experience in it. Whole Farm Management can help provide the information needed to get off on the right foot.

The book covers everything from finance to marketing to production. It includes sections on what you need to start a farm, keep it running, and how to pass it on to others, so it actually helps from start to finish. Even if you have been farming for a while, you can still find help in the book.

The information is clear and concise with easy to follow advice and guidelines. To help explain things, there are case studies of farms that help you see what they did and experienced, and worksheets are provided for you to use as you make your plans.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Very thorough, I enjoyed how indepth this book was on all aspects of setting up and running a farm. I will certainly come back to this at some point.

This book was a fascinating read for me because, as a city dweller, I am too divorced from the countryside and farming in particular. Although this book is not specifically about growing food/raising animals, it is a great insight into the minutiae of what is needed, from the incredible amount of legal stuff, through day to day things and the amount of organisation and effort necessary to make a farm viable and remain so.

Although this book is written from an American perspective, I still feel that living in the UK has not stopped me from appreciating some of the hard work and determination that it takes to work the land and survive.

While I am not even close to starting a farm I found this book very informative and if I ever find myself starting a farm of any sort I will be purchasing this book to use a reference.