Episode 67 - Winter Education
Episode 67 - Winter Education
Online Courses and Webinars
- Exploring available online courses on sustainable living, permaculture, and
regenerative agriculture.
- Benefits of attending webinars and virtual conferences.
- Recommended platforms and organizations offering relevant courses. Freedom Farmers USA and Milkwood or Holmgren courses in Australia
Winter Reading List (the links included are affiliate links to Amazon, so yes I will get some benefit if you click on these)
- Essential books on homesteading and sustainable agriculture.
Regenerative Agriculture
Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration, increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil.
You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise
This book offers practical advice for aspiring farmers on how to start and run a successful and sustainable farming business.
This book offers insights into raising poultry on pasture, providing practical advice on how to achieve profitability through sustainable practices.
Holistic Management: A Commonsense Revolution to Restore Our Environment by Allan Savory and Jody Butterfield and the Handbook
This foundational book introduces the concept of holistic management, a decision-making framework that helps manage resources sustainably. It covers principles and practices for improving land health and productivity.
Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture by Gabe Brown
This book focuses on Gabe Brown’s personal journey and practical techniques in regenerative agriculture to improve soil health and farm productivity.
Richard Perkins provides a comprehensive guide to implementing regenerative agriculture on small farms, with a focus on practical advice and case studies.
One-Straw Revolutionary: The Philosophy and Work of Masanobu Fukuoka by Larry Korn
This book covers the work and philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka, a pioneer of natural farming and regenerative agriculture, focusing on sustainable farming techniques.
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principles in fields such as regenerative agriculture, town planning, rewilding, and community resilience. The term was coined in 1978 by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, who formulated the concept in opposition to modern industrialized methods, instead adopting a more traditional or "natural" approach to agriculture.
Permaculture: A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison
Often considered the permaculture bible, this comprehensive manual covers all aspects of permaculture design and principles, written by one of the founders of the permaculture movement.
Introduction to Permaculture by Bill Mollison
A more concise and beginner-friendly introduction to permaculture concepts and practices, this book is great for those new to the subject.
RetroSuburbia: The Downshifter’s Guide to a Resilient Future by David Holmgren
Co-originator of the permaculture concept, David Holmgren's book focuses on applying permaculture principles to suburban living, offering a vision for sustainable and resilient communities.
Permaculture One: A Perennial Agriculture for Human Settlements by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren
This foundational text, co-authored by the founders of permaculture, lays out the basic concepts and principles of permaculture design and its applications.
Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren
This book explores the philosophical and practical underpinnings of permaculture, providing a deeper understanding of its principles and applications.
Backyard Self-Sufficiency by Jackie French
Jackie French, a well-known Australian author, provides insights into creating a self-sufficient backyard using permaculture principles, covering food production, animal husbandry, and more.
Water Sustainability
Keyline design is a landscaping technique of maximizing the beneficial use of the water resources of a tract of land. The "keyline" is a specific topographic feature related to the natural flow of water on the tract. Keyline design is a system of principles and techniques of developing rural and urban landscapes to optimize use of their water resources.
Water for Every Farm: Yeomans Keyline Plan by P.A. Yeomans
P.A. Yeomans' pioneering work on the Keyline system provides a comprehensive guide to managing water on farms, focusing on maximizing soil moisture and preventing erosion through innovative landscape design.
The method involves implementing major earthworks on a given area of land that has been devastated by deforestation and general agricultural activities, to emulate the role of natural watercourses in an effort to reverse salinity, slow erosion and increase soil and water quality to enable native vegetation to regenerate and restore the zone between soil and water.
Back from the Brink: How Australia's Landscape Can Be Saved by Peter Andrews
This book details Peter Andrews' innovative approach to land and water management. It covers his experiences at Tarwyn Park and outlines the principles of Natural Sequence Farming (NSF), emphasizing the restoration of natural water cycles and sustainable agricultural practices. It also includes some references to biodynamics.
Biodynamics
Biodynamic agriculture is a form of alternative agriculture based on pseudo-scientific and esoteric concepts initially developed in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner . It was the first of the organic farming movements. It treats soil fertility, plant growth, and livestock care as ecologically interrelated tasks, emphasizing spiritual and mystical perspectives.
Agriculture Course: The Birth of the Biodynamic Method by Rudolf Steiner
This foundational text consists of eight lectures given by Rudolf Steiner in 1924, where he introduced the principles of biodynamic farming. It's a must-read for understanding the origins and philosophy of biodynamics.
Grasp the Nettle: Making Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Work by Peter Proctor
Peter Proctor provides a detailed guide to biodynamic practices, drawing on his extensive experience. The book covers preparations, composting, and practical applications for both farmers and gardeners.
DIY
Polyface Designs: A Comprehensive Construction Guide for Scalable Farming Infrastructure. This book provides detailed plans, step-by-step instructions, and practical advice for building various farming infrastructure needed on a sustainable farm. The designs reflect the innovative and efficient structures used at Polyface Farm, offering valuable insights for farmers looking to implement similar solutions.
Movies or TV (for those who hate reading)
- So you hate to read, well you can watch instead, crack out the popcorn
Diddly Squat Farm
The series follows Jeremy Clarkson as he attempts to run Diddly Squat Farm, a 1,000-acre farm in the Cotswolds. Despite having no prior farming experience, Clarkson tackles the challenges of farming with his signature humour and a genuine attempt to understand sustainable and regenerative farming practices.
The Biggest Little Farm
This acclaimed documentary film follows the same story as the series, detailing the Chesters' efforts to create a regenerative farm and the challenges they face along the way.
"Rotten" (Netflix)
While not exclusively about regenerative farming, this series explores various issues within the global food system, including episodes that touch on sustainable and regenerative practices.
Special mention The Great Plant-Based Con by Jayne Buxton provides a critical examination of plant-based diets, questioning their purported health benefits and environmental superiority. The book encourages readers to consider the complexities of dietary choices and the broader implications for health, the environment, and society.