Farming

For 17 years readers have turned to Storey Books for advice on raising animals. Our Modern Way series of six books has sold more than 1,000,000 copies. In an effort to provide readers with the best how-to animal books on the market we are completely updating all six Modern Way titles and reintroducing them as part of our Guide to Raising series. Written by experts, these guides give novice and experienced livestock farmers all they need to know to successfully keep and profit from animals. Each book includes information on selection, housing, space requirements, breeding and birthing techniques, feeding, behavior, and health concerns and remedies for illness. The books also address the business of raising animals—processing meat, milk, eggs, and more. The authors were chosen not only for their expertise but also for their ability to explain the ins and outs of animal husbandry in an inviting and authoritative manner. Whether readers are ready to start an entire herd or flock or are considering purchasing their first animal, Storey's Guide to Raising series offers vital information; each book is an indispensable reference.

Fresh eggs offer great nutrition and unbeatable flavor. Whether you’re collecting eggs from a backyard coop or buying them from local farms, Jennifer Trainer Thompson has 101 delicious recipes to help you make the most of them. With unique twists on breakfast classics like French toast, eggs Florentine, and huevos rancheros, as well as tips for using your eggs in smoothies, mayonnaise, and carbonara sauce, you’ll be enjoying the healthy and delicious joys of fresh eggs in an amazingly versatile range of dishes.

From the large-tailed Karakul sheep to the floppy-eared Gloucestershire Old Spot pig, North America is home to an extraordinary array of livestock. Comprehensive, colorful, and captivating, Storey’s Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle, and Pigs features full-color profiles of 163 livestock breeds. Whether you’re looking for a gentle domestic backyard animal or are hoping to introduce a rare heritage breed on your farm, you’re sure to find an animal that’s perfect for your needs.

Enjoy bushels of crispy apples and baskets of juicy blueberries from your own backyard. Authors Lewis Hill and Leonard Perry provide everything you need to know to successfully grow delicious organic fruit at home, from choosing the best varieties for your area to planting, pruning, and harvesting a bountiful crop. With tips on cultivating strawberries, raspberries, grapes, pears, peaches, and more, this essential reference guide will inspire year after year of abundantly fruitful gardening.

A couple working six months per year for 50 hours per week on 20 acres can net $25,000-$30,000 per year with an investment equivalent to the price of one new medium-sized tractor. Seldom has agriculture held out such a plum. In a day when main-line farm experts predict the continued demise of the family farm, the pastured poultry opportunity shines like a beacon in the night, guiding the way to a brighter future.

In a day when beef is assailed by many environmental organizations and lauded by fast-food chains, a new paradigm to bring reason to this confusion is in order. With farmers leaving the land in droves and plows poised to "reclaim" set-aside acres, it is time to offer an alternative that is both land and farmer friendly. Beyond that, the salad bar beef production model offers hope to rural communities, to struggling row-crop farmers, and to frustrated beef eaters who do not want to encourage desertification, air and water pollution, environmental degradation and inhumane animal treatment. Because this is a program weighted toward creativity, management, entrepreneurism and observation, it breathes fresh air into farm economics.

Here is all the information you need to successfully raise chickens—from choosing breeds and hatching chicks to building coops, keeping the birds healthy, and protecting them from predators. This revised third edition contains a new chapter on training chickens and understanding their intelligence, expanded coverage of hobby farming, and up-to-date information on chicken health issues, including avian influenza and fowl first aid.

Whether you’re about to acquire your first sheep or are interested in diversifying your operation with rare breeds, Storey’s Guide to Raising Sheep covers everything small-scale sheep farmers need to know to keep their animals healthy and productive. Drawing from years of hands-on experience, Paula Simmons and Carol Ekarius provide expert advice on breed selection, lambing, feeding, housing, pasture maintenance, and medical care. You’ll also find tips on profitably marketing your meat and fiber products, as well as information on obtaining organic certifications.

Keeping chickens in your own backyard, whether out in the country or right in the heart of the city, is all the rage these days. In this delightful collection of 500 chicken-raising tips, expert poultry fancier Chris Graham provides all you need to know to get started in this rewarding hobby. For easy reference, the tips are divided into ten chapters, covering all aspects of chicken keeping, from coops and equipment through choosing chickens for eggs and meat to feeding chickens and breeding and showing. The tips are grouped logically so that beginners can build their knowledge gradually, while old hands might prefer to dip in and out at random or refer to the index to access specific topics. The tips are accompanied by simple annotated diagrams where required, and a series of specially commissioned linocut prints by printmaker Melvyn Evans rounds out this charming package.

If you want to know whether it is kosher to plant onions between cabbage plants, this is the place to look. — Oklahoma Today First published in 1975, this classic companion planting guide has taught a generation of gardeners how to use plants' natural partnerships to produce bigger and better harvests. Over 500,000 in Print!