Rainfall levels are rarely optimal, but there are hundreds of things you can do to efficiently conserve and use the water you do have and to reduce the impact of drought on your soil, crops, livestock, and farm or ranch ecosystem. Author Dale Strickler introduces you to the same innovative systems he used to transform his own drought-stricken family farm in Kansas into a thriving, water-wise, and profitable enterprise, maximizing healthy cropland, pasture, and water supply. Ranging from simple, short-term projects such as installing rain-collection ollas to long-term land-management planning strategies, Strickler’s methods show how to get more water into the soil, keep it in the soil, and help plants and livestock access it.
Grazing management might seem simple: just put livestock in a pasture and let them eat their fill. However, as Sarah Flack explains in The Art and Science of Grazing, the pasture/livestock relationship is incredibly complex. If a farmer doesn't pay close attention to how the animals are grazing, the resulting poorly managed grazing system can be harmful to the health of the livestock, pasture plants, and soils. Well-managed pastures can instead create healthier animals, a diverse and resilient pasture ecosystem, and other benefits. Flack delves deeply below the surface of "let the cows eat grass," demonstrating that grazing management is a sophisticated science that requires mastery of plant and animal physiology, animal behavior, and ecology. She also shows readers that applying grazing management science on a working farm is an art form that calls on grass farmers to be careful observers, excellent planners and record-keepers, skillful interpreters of their observations, and creative troubleshooters. The Art and Science of Grazing will allow farmers to gain a solid understanding of the key principles of grazing management so they can both design and manage successful grazing systems. The book's unique approach presents information first from the perspective of pasture plants, and then from the livestock perspective--helping farmers understand both plant and animal needs before setting up a grazing system. This book is an essential guide for ruminant farmers who want to be able to create grazing systems that meet the needs of their livestock, pasture plants, soils, and the larger ecosystem. The book discusses all the practical details that are critical for sustained success: how to set up a new system or improve existing systems; acreage calculations; paddock layout; fence and drinking water access; lanes and other grazing infrastructure; managing livestock movement and flow; soil fertility; seeding and reseeding pastures; and more. The author includes descriptions of real grazing systems working well on dairy, beef, goat, and sheep farms in different regions of North America. The book covers pasture requirements specific to organic farming, but will be of use to both organic and non-organic farms.
The "Monday" of everyday life inevitably comes after a restful Sunday ... fifty-two times a year. Just as the idyllic moves into the mundane, so a couple quickly moves from the honeymoon to the "work" of a marital relationship. Small or large, every marriage has rough spots. Fifty-Two Mondays acknowledges that the "everyday" or married life can begin to divide what God has put together. In this age of "irreconcilable differences" and "no-fault" divorce, couples are trading marriage for separation at a staggering rate. Regrettably, Christian couples are no different. Fortunately, God is still the Author of hope. You can enjoy the kind of marriage God intended with your mate, even on the "Mondays," because God has not left us in the dark. Instead, He provided the perfect guide to marital success in the Bible. Fifty-Two Mondays provides a fresh understanding of the biblical principles and practical application needed to fully enjoy life as "one." Dr. Marianne de Deugd has been a full-time Christian counselor for over twenty years and currently serves as the director of Royal Palm Ministries Counseling and Training Center in Fort Myers, Florida. She has obtained a doctorate of ministry in counseling, as well as master's degrees in counseling and biblical counseling. Dr. de Deugd is certified by the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors, Peacemaker Ministries, and Prison Fellowship. Marianne is a frequent speaker, seminar leader, and author. She draws extensively from the experience gained during thirty-four years of marriage to her husband, Bill. Marianne and Bill have four children, and have successfully navigated over 1700 Mondays.
"A windswept love letter"—Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment From Viking times to pastoral Highland crofts to odious research experiments, this is the untold, real-life detective story of the remarkable little horned sheep known as the Orkney Boreray and the determined woman who moved to one of Scotland's wildest islands to save them. It was Jane Cooper’s passion for knitting that led her to search for rare-breed sheep and their distinctive wool. When she found a ‘lost flock’ of Boreray sheep—the UK’s rarest breed of sheep—it ignited a quest that would ultimately change her life. Uprooting her suburban existence in Newcastle, she embarked on a new adventure as a farmer and shepherd in the faraway Orkney Islands. There, to her astonishment, Jane realized that she was the sole custodian of the last remnants of a unique group of Boreray sheep, what then became her Orkney Boreray flock. She began investigating its mysterious and ancient history, tracking down the origins of the breed, its significance to Scotland’s natural heritage, and the importance of protecting the Orkney Boreray from extinction. "Jane Cooper combines intelligence, heart and passion to create a life of integrity not only for herself but for one of the rarest breeds of sheep on the planet. . . . Her trials and triumphs offer a stellar example for others to follow in their own ways. Bravo!"—Deborah Robson, author of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook
