“The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer” by Joel Salatin — book review

From Hella D’s blog:

Joel Salatin with pastured laying hens. Picture via Crozet Gazette

“…In October, I was also really lucky to get a loan of the book The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer by Joel Salatin from a cowshare member when we were at the Contempt of Court trial against our local community dairy, which is now being run by Michael Schmidt.

What an exciting read! It is one of those rare books that I get that I actually try to read slowly. The last one I read like that was Masanobu Fukuoka’s book The One-Straw Revolution and I would say that in many ways these books are very similar. Both are written with the integrity and passion of people with their hands in the earth and who really know what they are talking about.

Both speak of the diversity and of working with the systems and natural rhythms that are already in place. Reading this book has frequently given me goose-bumps, and worth savoring, drawing out for as long as possible until you can really embody the experience. Joel Salatin writes with such a cascade of vibrant examples from nature that it is impossible to not get caught up in the excitement and to feel and see the earthworms dancing in your dreams at night. He also dares to say things that really need to be said in a way that is humorous and not too offensive. I highly recommend you read this book for yourselves, but in the meantime I am gonna post some of my favorite excerpts. I just can’t help it, very exciting stuff….”

Joel Salatin shows off sweet-smelling compost from his "pigerator". Crozet Gazette photo.

Read the full review and excerpts on Hella D’s blog.

Pictures from this post on the Crozet Gazette.