Greenhorns: 50 Dispatches from the New Farmers' Movement

Meet America's New Farmers. Resourceful and hard-working, Greenhorns are passionate about improving the food we eat through sustainable and humane farming practices. Their inspirational stories speak to the challenges and rewards of earning a living off the land, embracing risks, and feeding local communities---all while maintaining a profound respect for the earth.

A community of more than 5000 young farmers and activists, the Greenhorns are committed to producing and advocating for food grown with vision and respect for the earth. This book, edited by three of the group's leading members, comprises 50 original essays by new farmers who write about their experiences in the field from a wide range of angles, both practical and inspirational. Funny, sad, serious, and light-hearted, these essays touch on everything from financing and machinery to family, community building, and social change.

Paula Manalo is a greenhorn in northern California, managing a biodynamic farm called Mendocino Organics. After working as a natural resources economist, Manalo found her true calling: to grow food, steward the land, and motivate other young people to farm.

Introduction: Shovel Sharpened, Shovel Ready

Chapter One: Body-Heart-Soul
The Physicality of Farming by Jeff Fisher
Farmer-Mama by Sarah Smith
Doing. Instead of Not Doing. by Evan Driscoll
You Are Not Alone by Meg Runyan
Two Pigs and True Love by Andrew French
The Fruits of My Labor by Maud Powell
Surrender by Courtney Lowery Cowgill

Chapter Two: Money
How Not to Buy a Farm by Teresa Retzlaff
Worth by Ben James
Learning to Measure Success under the Big Sky by Anna Jones-Crabtree
In Praise of Off-Farm Employment by Casey O'Leary
Fear of Debt: Should I Finance My Dream? by Courtney Lowery Cowgill

Chapter Three: Land
Landing Permanency/A Permanent Landing by Jacob Cowgill
I Figured We'd Buy a Small Piece of Land by Luke Deikis
Time on the Farm by Ben James
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bugs by MK Wyle
The Secret Life of Fruit by Josh Morgenthau

Chapter Four: Purpose
Purple Flats by Neysa King
Write It Down by Jenna Woginrich
Growing Not for Market by Douglass DeCandia
What to Do If You Think You're Not Good at Anything by A.M. Thomas
Farming in the Web of Interconnectedness by Sarajane Snyder
Farming with Two: Pleasure and Independence by Emily Oakley and Mike Appel

Chapter Five: Beasts
Reflections of a Rookie Farmer by Justin Heilenbach
What I Learned from Gwen by Cory Carmen
The Ambush by Carden Willis
Notes from a Novice Horse Farmer by Alyssa Jumars
Moral Clarity through Chicken-Killing by Samuel Anderson
The Gift by Katie Godfrey
How Animals Sell Vegetables (and Make You Tired) by Lynda Hopkins
Two Farmers, 350 Chickens, and a Hurricane by Kristen Johanson

Chapter Six: Nuts & Bolts (& Duct Tape & Baling Twine)
On the Rise by Sarah Hucka
Potato Digger by Erin Bullock
The Dibbler by Josh Volk
Tackling a