Salad Bar Beef

Joel Salatin has affected so many people who want to raise clean food. Almost every book or web site that wants to restore agriculture to its natural fertility cites Joel's ideas. Much of what he has tried is specific to the conditions on his Virginia farm, but he is so inspiring that you can follow his example to find out what works on your farm, to innovate, and to look to Nature for the answers to your problems.

Joel Salatin is the 'guru' of environmental farming. His ideas have been well developed and tested in his own 500 acre operation. Salad Bar Beef is an excellent read about making a profit from a small cattle herd.

Joel tells it like it is. I am using his books to setup my farm. Great writing and as always informative.

This is the single best reference for pasture-raised beef. Joel is an original thinker. Learn how to work with nature, minimize expenses and maximize profits and keep it healthy. About the only things that could have been stronger are more specifics on using movable hot fencing and plant management (over-seeding, how specific grasses and herbs work together). For this information, I recommend "American GrazingLands Services" run by Dr Gerrish of May, Idaho. From Joel, you will also learn how the farming economy is rigged and why it so difficult to make a living at farming. He is full of good ideas on possible helps and end-runs.

If you are like my family and want to step away from the agri-business model of farming then this book is a great resource. Some parts are a little complicated as far as his method for tracking yields, but once you get the hang of it, it is quite an effective tracking method. Keep in mind...he won't tell you what kind of grasses to grow. Which I think is great, because you need to grow what is native to your area, not his.

These books are not just a great resource for raising salad bar beef, but also for marketing this unique product. That alone makes these books well worth the money.