Hailing from small vegetable farms, cattle ranches and grain farms covering thousands of acres, the producers in The New American Farmer, 2nd edition have embraced new approaches to agriculture. They are renewing profits, enhancing environmental stewardship and improving the lives of their families as well as their communities.

The second edition builds on our popular first book. We’ve updated many of the profiles originally researched and written in 2000 and added 14 new profiles to represent every state and two U.S. territories. The book now features more than 60 successful farmers and ranchers.

“When we made the changes in our management, our overhead costs dropped…Now we’re seeing a healthier landscape and growing more grass…and are starting to increase the number of cattle we graze. Grazing more cattle on the same resource is going to have an economic advantage.” -  Mark Frasier, Woodrow, Colo., cattle rancher

“Maybe I’d make more as a lawyer, but I eat better than most lawyers, and I get to work outside.” - Richard DeWilde, Viroqua, Wis., vegetable grower

“On a summer evening, we can hear five species of owls. We’ll have a five-inch downpour, and the creek that runs through our property is running clear by the next morning, while all the others in the area are cloudy for the next two weeks.” - Adele Hayes, Warnerville, N.Y., livestock farmer

“There’s a kind of energy at the market that I don’t find anywhere else. People appreciate what we offer, they line up at our cashier booths before we even get our displays set up, and they come back week after week. They inspire me to keep thinking about new products we can offer.” - Skip Paul, Little Compton, R.I., vegetable grower

“It seems like as I cut back on insecticides, the beneficial [insects] just increased and nature took over… I was about to retire, but then this started getting really interesting.” - Max Carter, Douglas, Ga., cotton and grain grower

“A family farm gives life to the community. Not just in the number of employees it hires this year, but in the stability and continuity it brings.” - Jackie Judice, Franklin, La., sugar cane producer

Visit The New American Farmer, 2nd Edition Download Page

You can download full publication in PDF format.

Published by the Sustainable Agriculture Network
Beltsville, MD

SARE works to increase knowledge about – and help farmers and ranchers adopt – practices that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities. For more information about SARE grant opportunities and informational resources, go to www.sare.org.

SAN is the national outreach arm of SARE. For more information, contact:
Sustainable Agriculture Network
10300 Baltimore Ave., Bldg. 046
Beltsville, MD 20705-2350
(301) 504-5236; (301) 504-5207 (fax)

Foreword
Driven by economics, concerns about the environment or a yearning for a more satisfying lifestyle, the farmers and ranchers profiled in this collection have embraced new approaches to agriculture. Their stories vary but they share many goals – these new American farmers strive to renew profits, enhance environmental stewardship and improve life for their families and communities.

The profilees in The New American Farmer, 2nd edition hail from small vegetable farms and ranches and grain farms covering thousands of acres. They produce commodities like beef, corn and soybeans, or they raise more unusual crops like ginseng, 25 kinds of lettuce or Katahdin lamb. Others add value – and profits – by producing ice cream, goat cheese, cashmere wool and on-farm processed meat. Another set provides agriculture-oriented tourism through “guest” ranches, inns, on-farm zoos and education centers.

Many producers cut costs with new management strategies, such as replacing purchased fertilizers and pesticides with cover crops and crop rotations, or raise animals on pasture rather than in confinement. Some developed innovative marketing strategies to gain a better end price for their products. Others combine trimming production costs with alternative marketing, doubling their efforts to boost profits. ...

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