It’s currently 20° outside. Snowflakes have been blustering around all day, and the ground is starting to look white again. (Yes, it’s mid April, but we live in northern New York, we know better than to think that the snow stops on March 19th.) I’ve been out in the barn quite a bit, checking on the goats that are due to kid and the one baby that’s already arrived, but I would certainly rather be indoors reading a good book on a day like today. As a farmer, I don’t always have time to read during the busy growing season, so I tend to stockpile books to read over the winter. Below are a few of the highlights from this past season:
Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed, and the Fight for the Future of Meat by Chloe Sorvino is such an eye opener. This book lays out some of the American meatpacking industry’s dirty laundry. (In case you weren’t already aware, the majority of meat in US grocery stores is produced by a handful of massive corporations, many of them foreign-owned.) The author has done extensive research on the subject, and has interviewed many of the key stakeholders in the industry. She also delves into the viability of the different meat alternatives that are being developed, which was particularly interesting for me. This is a must read for anyone who eats meat.
The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm by Daniel Mays was required reading for me this winter, largely because we have taken the plunge this year and started a vegetable CSA program! This book provides a lot of useful information about starting and operating a market garden without being overly technical, and discusses the thought behind many of the sustainable practices that we employ here on our farm. (It’s all about mimicking nature!) Honestly, I would recommend this book to everyone who gardens on any scale. It’s an easy read, and the photography included throughout is absolutely gorgeous.
The King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Bread was a Christmas gift that I received this year (from someone who really gets what I’m all about). Usually, when I share recipes here on the blog, they’re recipes for meals made with seasonal vegetables or locally produced meats, but what could pair more perfectly with one of these dishes than a loaf of fresh, homemade bread? We’ve been baking up a storm ever since we got this book. Our favorite recipes of the ones that we’ve tried so far are the Everyday Bread on page 129, the Kardemummabullar on page 323, and the Baklava Babka on page 359. It’s really nice for our family to be able to come in from working outdoors all morning to enjoy some sandwiches on our own homemade bread (and we don’t have to worry what kind of preservatives are in it). Next up for us: seeking out locally grown and ground wheat to bake with.
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder is a classic that I’m embarrassed to admit that I never read as a child. (I did read some of the other Little House books, I promise.) Now that our son is old enough to really enjoy chapter books, we read this one together over the winter. I absolutely love this book, not only because there are so many parallels between 1800s farm life and modern farm life, but because it is set right here in our community. (The original Almanzo Wilder Farm is only about 15 miles from us.) This is a fun read for kids and adults alike, and it teaches readers so much about the history of American agriculture.
Community-Scale Composting Systems: A Comprehensive Practical Guide for Closing the Food System Loop and Solving Our Waste Crisis by James McSweeney is one that I still haven’t quite finished, but only because it contains SO much information. It is basically the bible of composting. This book contains a lot of the technical details of compost site design and management. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants to compost on a scale larger than a single household. We’ve been operating our community composting program since 2022, but there’s still so much we have to learn about the science and practice of composting.
There you have it, that’s my list! Hopefully, I’ll have time to read even more books this coming winter. Of course, I will share my favorites with you all. The more people can learn about food and farming, the better off we’ll be as a society. If you’re looking for more reading recommendations, check out my post from last year: What the Farmer’s Reading in 2024.