Salatin's "The Sheer Ecstacy of Being a Lunatic Farmer"

Just read half of Salatin's chapter, "Relationships," from his book, "The Sheer Ecstacy of Being a Lunatic Farmer," and thought it was fairly well done. He's not my favorite voice as a writer, but he illuminated some important things, like the personal nature of knowing your customers and the power in that. He contrasts personal farming with the "rebar and concrete" industrial ag, and gives a little historical perspective on it. Not bad.

While Joel has brought nothing new to the table in ways of farming (he merely fine tuned some ancient practices), what he has done is to re-introduce a word to the farmer's vocabulary: profitability.

His key to success has been marketing.  He can take his production and turn it into cash.  As you read any of his works, pay special attention to what he is saying about creating/maintaining a market (for a product that grows itself).  Anybody can raise chickens, but not everybody can sell them for a comfortable profit.  His books are certainly worth a read for anybody trying to generate some income from farming.