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Do you know how, at what price, when and where to sell your grass-fed meats or milk for the highest profit. Farm Fresh offers nearly 100 real farm examples of grass farmers throughout the USA who are direct marketing their products.

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Skilled lumberjacks Frank and Stephen Philbrick show you how to bring a tree from forest to fireplace. This is your complete guide to bringing in wood, from felling the tree, to splitting and drying the wood, to stacking and burning.The father and son duo will give you detailed instructions on managing a woodlot, felling and bucking, splitting and stacking, and even include fun facts on burning wood

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"Our mail order methods meet many wants," wrote a poetic but anonymous copywriter on a page of the 1895 Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalogue. He had a gift for understatement. At its zenith from the 1880s to the 1940s, Montgomery Ward, like its cross-town Chicago rival, Sears, sold virtually everything the average American could think of or desire — and by mail. This was a revolution, and Ward's fired the first shot. To buy spittoons, books of gospel hymns, hat pins, rifles, wagons, violins, birdcages, or portable bathtubs, purchases that used to require many separate trips to specialist merchants, suddenly all the American shopper had to do was lick a stamp. This unabridged facsimile of the retail giant's 1895 catalogue showcases some 25,000 items, from the necessities of life (flour, shirts) to products whose time has passed (ear trumpets). It is an important resource for antiquaries, students of Americana, writers of historical fiction, and anyone who wants to know how much his great-grandfather paid for his suspenders. It is a true record of an era.

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Imagine it's the end of the nineteenth century, and, with one catalog, you can buy everything from beds and tools to clothing and opium. (Yes, opium.) Not to mention ear trumpets, horse buggies and Bibles. The 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue is both a wonderfully fascinating collector's item and a valuable piece of American history. For every recognizable item included, there are plenty of others guaranteed to confuse or interest 21st century readers — like Bust Cream or Food and Sweet Spirits of Nitre. What was once standard household fare is today a sometimes strange, often funny look at what life was once like for the average American family. It's amazing to see that a Princely Shirt for Princely Men cost $0.95 or three for $2.75 or that a Complete Violin Outfit (with bow and case) cost only $2.00.

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When photographer Paul Mobley set out to capture the soul of America's farming communities, he discovered a culture defined by tradition, integrity, and hard work, and comprised of the most authentic and generous individuals he's ever encountered. Traveling across the country from Tennessee to Montana, Mobley and his camera were welcomed into the homes of over one hundred farming families, who graciously shared their personal histories along with the fruits of their labor. To spend time with them was to turn back the clock — to an era when there were no locks on doors, no urban sprawl, and no virtue more prized than common decency. Children still move across the street and not across the state when they grow up, and parents move back in with their children whern they grow old. Story after story, visit after visit, Mobley slowly came to know the independent farmer's spirit both from behind the lens and over the dinner table.

The result is a stunning series of portraits and direct quotes that collectively chronicle the life of the American farmer. Each image offers an unvarnished and intimate look inside the hardships and joys of a quickly disappearing lifestyle —one that once defined our national identity and now struggles just to keep a foothold. And even as encroaching cities threaten their livelihoods, these men and women continue to find sustenance in the same basic human values they were raised with. American Farmer is an inspirational reminder of what it means to live with simplicity and contentment, in a world that is driven by excess. This vivid portfolio is accompanied by anecdotes and memories in the farmer's own words that are both a testament to their enduring hospitatlity and a moving glimpse into their daily routines and family histories. But what you will read first, and foremost, are their faces. From Bruce Crump, a citrus farmer in Florida; to Patsy Fribley, a stockyard dealer from Montana; to Thurston Wilber, a Maine lobsterman, Mobley's intense and beautiful portraits capture the furrows of fields lining their brows, the crevices of drought creasing the corners of their mouths, and the grains of truth in their squinted eyes.

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As pets or livestock, goats are increasingly popular animals on farms large and small. Easier and cheaper to keep than many larger animals, they will keep a pony company, pull a cart, and produce the perfect milk for many artisan cheeses or meat for some of the most up-and-coming ethnic cuisines. For anyone thinking of acquiring a goat or starting a herd — for whatever reason — this book is an essential resource.

Written by an authority on goat breeding and behavior, this approachable guide covers every component of raising goats for fun or profit, meat or milk. Beginning with the basics — history and behavior, types and breeds — Carol Amundson answers all of a prospective owners questions about getting a goat, from land requirements and regulations to choosing or assessing particular animals or breeds.

In a clear and engaging way, she goes into the details of housing and feeding, breeding and milking, training and showing, transporting and marketing goats of all kinds--as well as the dos and donts of keeping them healthy from birth to old age. Concise, complete, and easy-to-use, this is a reference that no goat owner should be without.

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Fluffy white sheep dotting green fields have been a part of the American landscape for centuries. And these days, this picture is more and more often a part of the small farms that have always been at the heart of country life. If you've ever envisioned sheep in your own pasture — one or two hobby animals or a full scale herd — this book is the perfect place to begin. With information on everything from particular breeds to feed requirements, fencing and general care, showing and breeding and marketing, this handy, expert guide tells you all you need to know to raise healthy sheep. Author Philip Hasheider, himself a successful farmer, offers reliable directions for getting started and going the distance. He discusses the merits of various breeds, as well as the basics of different farming methods — organic, sustainable, and conventional — and which approach best meets your needs.

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Prized for their feathers or eggs, raised for their meat or their beauty or simply for fun, poultry of a dazzling array of sorts and sizes have a place in the heart of farmers, ranchers, and bird fanciers alike. If you want to raise fowl — of whatever kind and for whatever reason — this book is the perfect place to begin. Poultry expert Christine Heinrichs lays out the distinctions between waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans), turkeys, gamebirds (peafowl, pheasants, quail, and others), ratites (ostriches, emus, and rheas), and pigeons. She then clearly details the very different requirements for raising each species, from feeding and housing to husbandry and health, to showing and marketing and legal concerns. Whether you're thinking of starting a flock or acquiring a few feathered friends, this handy guide tells you everything you need to know to raise healthy poultry for pleasure or profit — or both.

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Pigs were once known as "mortgage lifters," a term that endears them to many small farmers. Whether you want a pig on your property for pleasure or profit, on a small scale or large, this is the book you should have.

From first considerations to last, choosing a breed to bringing home the bacon, this approachable, authoritative guide covers every facet of raising pigs. Whats the story behind the modern pork industry? What are the advantages of raising pigs on a small scale, and what does it take in the way of resources and accommodations?

After delving into these questions, author Philip Hasheider goes into the details of housing, feeding, and caring for pigs, as well as breeding, showing, and marketing them--as a project, a hobby, or a business, or just to have one of these unique porcine characters around the farmyard. His book also includes a glossary of terms, a list of resources, and information about pork organizations, regulations, and ordinances.

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Packaged together, Songs of the Iron Men and the Community Thrasin' print make a great gift for the nostalgic farmer.

Songs of the Iron Men

Before gas tractors plowed the fields, steam traction engines ruled the prairie. Now, the glory days of steam farming live on through the words of the men and women who experienced them firsthand.

Twelve poems, originally submitted to Iron Men Album back in the 1950s, have been unearthed and set to original music by folk musician and Gas Engine Magazine (Farm Collector) editor Christian Williams on this new audio CD. To give the album an old-time American feel, Williams used instruments unique to American folk music, including banjo, washtub bass, steel resonator guitar and autoharp.

Enjoy this first-hand account of early American farming, and let the words and music take you back to a time when steam was king.

Track listing:

• Dreaming of Steam
• Vanished Days
• On the Farm
• Haywire Sawmill
• Charlie and His Case
• Threshing Crew
• The Lazy Farmer
• Good Old Russell
• Village Blacksmith
• Smoke on the Prairie
• My Old Steam Engine
• Death of a Steam Man