Award-winning author Temple Grandin is famous for her groundbreaking approach to decoding animal behavior. Now she extends her expert guidance to small-scale farming operations. Grandin’s fascinating explanations of how to analyze herd animals’ behavior and of how to understand how they think — (describing their senses, fears, instincts, and memories) — will help you handle your livestock more safely and effectively. You’ll learn to become a skilled observer of animal movement and behavior, and detailed illustrations will help you set up simple and efficient facilities for managing a small herd of 3 to 25 cattle or pigs, or 5 to 100 goats or sheep.

Texas Bug Book is your complete guide for identifying and organically controlling all of the most common Texas insects. Drawing on years of practical experience and research, organic gardening experts Howard Garrett and Malcolm Beck give detailed instructions on how to identify, understand the life cycle of, and control or protect Texas insects, mites, snails, slugs, nematodes and other critters. They also include striking color photos and black-and-white drawings to help you identify each bug. Garrett and Beck highlight the many useful roles that bugs play in nature and offer proven organic remedies for infestations of pest insects.

Beautiful New Paperback with over 150 illustrations tells the story of how grain storage began and elevators were invented. Includes sections on a variety materials used in the mid-west from the 1800s to today with many historic photos and 86 full color examples of these wonderful and fascinating buildings that are integral to our farm heritage.

About the author
Linda Laird was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. She was always fascinated with the shapes of the grain elevators that define the horizon in that flat place. She became a historic preservation consultant and community planner, moved back to Kansas and married a John Deere loving, ex-farmboy from rural Reno County.

In 1992 the Kansas state legislature revised the tax code to include taxing the historic wooden elevators used primarily for storage or remaining empty. Many of the oldest wood frame elevators have been torn down or burned since then to avoid taxes. Laird and her husband, Larry Haney, were determined to at least photographically document each elevator in Kansas before the destruction was complete. They were encouraged by The James Marsden Fitch Charitable Trust, a New York foundation that provides mid-career grants to historic preservation projects. The grant allowed them to travel through the mid-west researching and photographing elevators in a multi-state area. This book is a product of that grant.

The original goal of photographing all of the elevators in Kansas was achieved in 2003 when over 1200 elevators had been photographed and documented in a searchable index. It is now possible for the first time to write a history of grain elevators in the state.

Laird's next book will focus on the historic significance of the documented elevators with attention to the various architectural styles and materials used in the continuous development of Kansas elevators.

The Backyard Beekeeper, now in its 4th edition, makes the time-honored and complex tradition of beekeeping an enjoyable and accessible backyard pastime that will appeal to urban and rural beekeepers of all skill levels. More than a guide to beekeeping, this handbook features expert advice for: - Setting up and caring for your own colonies - The best location to place your new bee colonies for their safety and yours - The most practical and nontoxic ways to care for your bees - Swarm control - Using top bar hives - Harvesting the products of a beehive and collecting and using honey - Bee problems and treatments What's New? - Information for Urban Bees and Beekeepers - Using Your Smoker the Right Way - Better Pest Management - Providing Consistent and Abundant Good Food - Keeping Your Hives Healthy With this complete resource and the expert advice of Bee Culture editor Kim Flottum, your bees will be healthy, happy, and more productive.

With just a quarter acre of land, you can feed a family of four with fresh, organic food year-round. The Backyard Homestead is a comprehensive guide to self-sufficiency that gives you all the information you need to grow and preserve a variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, and grains; keep chickens for eggs and meat; raise cows, sheep, and goats for meat or milk; raise pigs and rabbits; and keep honeybees. Simple instructions make it easy to enjoy canned, frozen, dried, and pickled produce all winter; use your own grains to make bread, pasta, and beer; turn fresh milk into delicious homemade yogurt, butter, and cheese; make your own wine, cordials, and herbal teas; and much more. It truly is possible to eat entirely from your backyard. Want a companion planner book, too? The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner offers expert advice on what tasks to do around your farm and when to do them — no matter where on the planet you call home. Author Ann Larkin Hansen sets the priorities for each area of the farm, including the barn, garden, orchard, field, pasture, and woodlot. For every critical turn of the year (12 in all), Hansen provides an at-a-glance to-do list along with tips and a more in-depth discussion of key topics for the season. Easy-reference charts, checklists, and record-keeping sections help you keep track of it all.

This hardworking addition to the best-selling Backyard Homestead series offers expert advice on what tasks to do around your farm and when to do them — no matter where on the planet you call home. Author Ann Larkin Hansen sets the priorities for each area of the farm, including the barn, garden, orchard, field, pasture, and woodlot. For every critical turn of the year (12 in all), Hansen provides an at-a-glance to-do list along with tips and a more in-depth discussion of key topics for the season. Easy-reference charts, checklists, and record-keeping sections help you keep track of it all.

Detailed instructions for making candles, furniture polish, beauty products and nearly 100 honey-themed recipes are included. Fully illustrated with how-to photography and unique etchings, The Beekeeper's Bible will provide any backyard enthusiast or gardener with the confidence to dive into beekeeping (or simply daydream about harvesting their own honey while relaxing in the comfort of an armchair).

In this interactive workbook, filled with helpful checklists and worksheets, Gary will guide you toward identifying an ideal off-the-grid set up that suits your budget and desires so you can begin living the life you want!

The Bio-Integrated Farm is a 21st-century manual for managing nature’s resources. This groundbreaking book brings “system farming” and permaculture to a whole new level. Author Shawn Jadrnicek presents new insights into permaculture, moving beyond the philosophical foundation to practical advanced designs based on a functional analysis. Holding his designs to a higher standard, Jadrnicek’s components serve at least seven functions (classical permaculture theory only seeks at least two functions). With every additional function a component performs, the design becomes more advanced and saves more energy.

The information you need to nip problems in the bud … and, better still, avoid them in the first place. Let longtime chicken keeper and poultry expert Chris Graham guide you through 100 common problems faced by chicken keepers. You'll discover in clear and simple terms what the underlying cause is and how to solve it.