Foreword
farmers and ranchers profiled in this collection have embraced new approaches to agriculture. Their
stories vary but they share many goals – these new American farmers strive to renew profits, enhance
environmental stewardship and improve life for their families and communities.
The profilees in The New American Farmer, 2nd edition hail from small vegetable farms and ranches
and grain farms covering thousands of acres. They produce commodities like beef, corn and soybeans,
or they raise more unusual crops like ginseng, 25 kinds of lettuce or Katahdin lamb. Others add value
– and profits – by producing ice cream, goat cheese, cashmere wool and on-farm processed meat.
Another set provides agriculture-oriented tourism through “guest” ranches, inns, on-farm zoos and
education centers.
Many producers cut costs with new management strategies, such as replacing purchased fertilizers and
pesticides with cover crops and crop rotations, or raise animals on pasture rather than in confinement.
Some developed innovative marketing strategies to gain a better end price for their products. Others
combine trimming production costs with alternative marketing, doubling their efforts to boost profits.
The paths to their successes come from every direction. Some NAF farmers and ranchers credit the
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program with providing a timely grant or
research-tested information as they approached a fork in the road. Some turned to information centers
such as the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service run by ATTRA or the Alternative
Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC) at the National Agricultural Library. Others found help
from their local Extension agent or educator, or an adviser from a government agency or nonprofit
organization.
These farmers and ranchers were not only willing to share what they learned with us, but they also volunteered
their contact information. To learn how to adapt what they’ve done to your farm or ranch,
consider getting in touch.
This second edition updates many of the profiles from the first New American Farmer, published in
2001. Fourteen new profiles further probe the many options available to today’s producer. (A tagline at
the bottom informs of each updated profile or newly researched one.) We hope The New American
Farmer, 2nd edition provides both inspiration and information as you explore your new approaches to
farming.