You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise

This is a wonderful book with a lot of good information about making a living on the farm. I think any farmer, in the business for years or just starting out, would get something useful from this book.

While there is some sage advice on how to do sustainable farming and actually do so as a businessperson rather than as the stereotypical poor farmer there is too much religious preaching going on. Mr. Salatin makes assumptions that those not beholden to a god (especially the christian god) are bound to become reductionist farmers and stray away toward non-sustainable techniques, thus destined to fail. This premise is just NOT true. Until you get page 148, you feel as though you are in church. My advice for anyone interested in this book (don't get me wrong there is good suggestion for becoming a successful farmer), skip to page 148 (chapter on how to acquire land)... while there may be some good anecdotal advice prior to this, it is too preachy. For those who do not mind the drone of the Sunday pulpit go ahead and read from the beginning.

I bought this book looking for practical advice on farming. What I got instead was a multi-page, political diatribe of the author's personal opinions on government, science, and the business of agriculture. This book is a basic slap in the face to farmers who till the earth to actually make a living and support their families. The book is so frustrating and infuriating that I couldn't even bear to give it away - it hit the trashbin instead. Don't waste your hard-earned dollars!

If you are looking for real, sound, practical advice on making farming your business try "Starting and Running Your Own Farm Business" by Aubrey. I found this book to be a much better investment of both time and money.

The first few chapters of this book could be titled "You can". This is a great step by step guide to creating your own agriculture based business. Salatin's passion is infectious. The book is full of ideas to inspire the next generation of farmers. I don't think I would have been as excited by this book if I hadn't read about Salatin in Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilema". Salatin is very in tune with the natural world and does a great job of helping others see things they may not have seen.

This is a GREAT book filled with common sense thinking about starting up a business, ANY business. Not just farming.
The ideas of working with what you have, NOT borrowing money, learning, learning, and more learning, practically guarantees success.
If I taught business classes on a college level, i'd make this REQUIRED reading!