The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer :: Chapter 3 Book Report

Yes, I'm a book bouncer! My reading is dictated by my whim of the moment and last night my whim was  pushing me to Joel Salatin's latest book, "The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer". Chapter three is titled, "Small is Okay" and it was an interesting contrast to the article I just read about the importance of beef and pork exports in the coming year. The article talked about how the rising feed costs were going to make things difficult for farmers in the coming year, but that they could find some financial security if the export of meat remained strong. As I read through Mr. Salatin's chapter on small farms I saw a very different picture of financial security for farmers. In fact he strongly suggested that exportation was the wrong direction for the farmers and the countries involved!

I think that this is the first chapter in the book where the "lunatic" part of the title really starts to come out. Just think about how often you hear someone say that it is not the job of the United States to feed the world ... that doesn't happen very often! He is not saying that because of some sort of U.S. first mentality, but rather from the point-of-view that other countries (even developing countries) can produce the food that they need to feed the people in their own country. That is a pretty huge departure from the commonly held beliefs of the farmers, consumers, and politicians here in the U.S.

Here is a quote from the book that helps him express his point-of-view (this is something that a governmental official from Belarussia shared with Mr. Salatin) ::

"The day the foreign aid was deposited in our bank, every hotel filled up with U.S. corporate salesmen from machinery companies to seed to chemical companies. All that money was spent on things we did not need, things we could not fix, things we could not afford to put fuel in. If we had know about your kind of farming, we could have put in water systems, fence systems, and gone to a pasture-based system and fed our people and had enough left over for export."

It is an interesting quote and very interesting topic to consider. Often times I think Iowans (myself included) see ourselves and our farms as necessary for the survival of the world. I mean we play a huge role in feeding the world right? Our farms are some of the most efficient and highest producing ever seen right (my farm is not included in that)? But, Mr. Salatin sees things from a different angle ... he sees the possibility of farmers all of the world producing food for their local communities ... and he sees lots and lots of farmers!

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. It is a topic that seems to boggle my mind!

The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer :: Chapter 2 Book Report

The second chapter of Joel Salatin's latest book is titled, "Grass Farmer" and it is another one of those passion topics for him. It's easy to understand why because the soil and the grass (and the sun) are the basis of any farm like Mr. Salatin's. In this chapter he gives a great overview of the importance of grass and the basics of grass farming. You can tell that he has changed his grazing management over time and has now moved to more of tall grass mob grazing system as opposed to the managed intensive grazing he practiced when he wrote "Salad Bar Beef". Of course it's all some sort of managed grazing.

If you've read anything on the subject of mob grazing before he hits all the main points in an overview sort of way ... grass being a mirror image above and below ground, the use of grazing management that mimics nature, the importance of keeping your nutrients and water on your farm, and things like that. But, the thing that I really took away from this chapter is fact that I love the location of my house.

I used to drive around the Iowa countryside and wonder what exactly got into a person's head that they decided to build a nice house in the middle of a corn field ... with no trees in sight. It just seemed like it would be so awful to live out in the middle of the corn field with nothing exciting to look at except for the dirt and the corn/soybeans. I just thought it seemed weird to have a beautiful and expensive new house in the middle of nothing.

Then of course I chose the top of a hill with no trees for the location for my house! When the house was being built I always envisioned where the trees would be and what they would look like when the were mature shade trees all around the house and barnyard. Then I lived here for awhile and something crazy happened ... I decided I wasn't crazy about a ton of trees. In fact I really liked not having them blocking my view of the pasture! There was just something beautiful about looking out at the grass and the livestock doing their thing.

As I said yesterday my soil is not where I want it to be or need it to be and my grass is the same way. But, this encourages me. It encourages me that eventually I'll be able to look out (with a couple trees around the yard ... not blocking my view) to a grass land that sustains a variety of livestock and wildlife ... just like a few hundred years ago in this same location.

The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer :: Chapter 1 Book Report

It's been awhile since I've taken the time to do a book report, but I've been wanting to make the time as I pick my way through Joel Salatin's latest book, "The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer". I know that you're not supposed to judge a book by the cover (or the title in this case), but if you were going to do that I think the title alone would be enough to interest you in this book. Really ... who wouldn't want to enjoy the life of a "Lunatic Farmer"!

Before I get to the first chapter let me just quickly mention something from the introduction. Mr. Salatin shares a little story about a time where he was trying to get a load of sawdust for the farm. He relates that all was well until the man delivering the load realized just who he would be delivering to and then he backed out because he said that Polyface Farm was cruel to it's animals by not giving hormones or grain and making them live outside. I have no reason to doubt this really happened and all I can say is ... WOW!!! Now, one to chapter one ...

The first chapter of this book is titled, "Growing Soil". If you have read any other books by Mr. Salatin you will recognize some of the same stories, but I think there is a reason for this. He is passionate about the soil being the basis for all that a farm is and can be so we expresses that every chance he gets. At least that is what I take away from it.

It's always encouraging for me to read success stories like this when it comes to rehabilitating the ground. From the stories Mr. Salatin relates his ground was very bad when the family purchased it and now it is like a completely different farm. I don't think my farm is anywhere near what he had to deal with (and that's good because he had a head start from the help of his dad's farming practices), but I know that my soil is not where I want it to be so it is always good to read about the possibilities.

As always his keys are adding carbons to your soil, keeping your nutrients (manure) on your farm, letting the animals work for you, using perennials to grow soil health, and recognizing what soil really is. Healthy soil is packed full of living and moving and breathing organisms that all play a part in creating a healthy farm. If we take the time to key in on the importance of this then we will understand just how important a farm full of living and breathing dirt really is!