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How to Not Go Broke Ranching is the irreverent, laugh-out-loud effort of a rancher to help people keep from committing all of the mistakes he made over the course of more than 50 years of ranching. This is advice drawn from real life … but some names have been changed to protect the guilty.

The vast majority of ranches in the United States, whether commercial or lifestyle operations, are neither profitable nor sustainable; author Walt Davis explains why this is so and what must be done to remedy the situation. The required changes in philosophy and management practices are spelled out in detail by a man who used them to turn a ranch teetering on the edge of bankruptcy into a consistently profitable and stable operation.

This book is not a how-to cookbook. It's an attempt to get people to think of ranching (and agriculture in general) as the biological endeavors run on sunshine and rainfall that they once were and should be again … rather than the industrial enterprises that are common today. The methods described have been proven effective by people all over the world and their results can be duplicated by anyone who is willing to think through their own situation and not be afraid to be different. As Davis' father once told him, "You have two kinds of neighbors: Half of them think you are crazy and the other half knows you are crazy." The management described by Davis may not yet be universally accepted, but it works from all standpoints: it's financially and ecologically sound, and provides a good way to live and raise a family.

Whether you're a would-be rancher, a greenhorn just starting out or an old hand, you'll find information and advice in this book that can be used to make your operation more profitable, less dependent on purchased inputs and markets, and a whole lot more fun.

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When Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates moved into a duplex in a run-down part of Holyoke, Massachusetts, the tenth-of-an-acre lot was barren ground and bad soil, peppered with broken pieces of concrete, asphalt, and brick. The two friends got to work designing what would become not just another urban farm, but a "permaculture paradise" replete with perennial broccoli, paw paws, bananas, and moringa—all told, more than two hundred low-maintenance edible plants in an innovative food forest on a small city lot. The garden—intended to function like a natural ecosystem with the plants themselves providing most of the garden's needs for fertility, pest control, and weed suppression—also features an edible water garden, a year-round unheated greenhouse, tropical crops, urban poultry, and even silkworms.

In telling the story of Paradise Lot, Toensmeier explains the principles and practices of permaculture, the choice of exotic and unusual food plants, the techniques of design and cultivation, and, of course, the adventures, mistakes, and do-overs in the process. Packed full of detailed, useful information about designing a highly productive permaculture garden, Paradise Lot is also a funny and charming story of two single guys, both plant nerds, with a wild plan: to realize the garden of their dreams and meet women to share it with. Amazingly, on both counts, they succeed.

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Anyone who wants to learn basic living skills, the kind employed by our forefathers, and adapt them for a better life in the 21st century need look no further than this eminently useful, full-color guide. Countless readers have turned to Back to Basics for inspiration and instruction, escaping to an era before power saws and fast-food restaurants and rediscovering the pleasures and challenges of a healthier, greener and more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Now newly updated, the hundreds of projects, step-by-step sequences, photographs, charts and illustrations inBack to Basics will help you dye your own wool with plant pigments, graft trees, raise chickens, craft a hutch table with hand tools, and make treats such as blueberry peach jam and cheddar cheese. The truly ambitious will find instructions on how to build a log cabin or an adobe brick homestead. More than just practical advice, this is also a book for dreamers. Even if you live in a city apartment you will find your imagination sparked, and there's no reason why you can't, for example, make a loom and weave a rag rug. Complete with tips for old-fashioned fun (square dancing calls, homemade toys and kayaking tips), this may be the most thorough book on voluntary simplicity available.

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Live simply: save money, smile more. This theme runs through the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Guide to Living on Less special edition. In its 100 pages, you'll find expert advice, tips, instructions and more to help you live a more self-sufficient life. Its guidance covers everything from building better soil with free organic fertilizers to constructing tiny homes that are cozy, affordable and inspiring. The fourth edition of this handy guide will have you living on less and loving it!

Read reliable information about building a compact cabin or simple shelter that's enjoyable and affordable. Grow your own healing garden and find good health just outside your front door. Discover simple tips for creating nutrient-rich, root-welcoming soil, and grow your most abundant garden yet. Learn where to find healthy, farm-fresh eggs. Follow delicious recipes for making your own homemade root beer, ginger ale, grape soda and more.

Other articles include:

• Adding Insulation Can Save You Money: Figure out whether you should add insulation to your home, and which pieces of the job you can do yourself.
• Easy Ways to Preserve Fresh Food: Your guide to canning, freezing, dehydrating and other simple, seasonal storage methods.
• Instant, No-Dig Garden Beds: Create or expand your food garden with this time-saving technique.
• Want Milk? Get Goats: Dairy goats can supply your family with delicious milk, yogurt and cheese. The fun of raising these gregarious animals is just a bonus.
• Disease Prevention Basics: These techniques can prevent many of the diseases that plague your vegetables. They include wide spacing, trellising and careful use of organic pesticides.

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Having chickens has never been as easy and fun as with Murray McMurray Hatchery's Chickens in Five Minutes a Day.

This from-zero-to-go guide to raising a flock of chickens in your backyard gives you the easiest route to amazing fresh eggs, as well as tried-and-true shortcuts. Tending chickens becomes a snap with this handy book's help.

McMurray Hatchery has been sending out birds for home flocks for nearly 100 years and is one of the biggest names in the industry, shipping more than 2 million chickens and other fowl each year. With this experience comes knowledge: on how to raise fun and productive chickens the easy way, on simple feeding, the best coops, worry-free watering, hygiene, and pest control.

Raising chickens is one of the most rewarding home farm activities you can share with your family. The great flavor of the eggs, as reflected by the bright orange color of the yokes, is unrivalled by those found in supermarkets. Chickens also make great pets, fun to watch and keep around. Now it's easier than ever with the smart techniques and approaches prescribed by one of America's most well-known hatcheries.

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If you are raising chickens, turkeys or other poultry for meat and lack easy access to a humane, local slaughterhouse, this guide shows you how to put together a slaughtering and processing unit that will accommodate any type of poultry and can be moved from farm to farm. These units can be funded, built and used by a community of small farmers, or you can develop one by yourself and use it as part of a business. The Mobile Poultry Slaughterhouse covers the mechanics of constructing the unit, government regulations, the permitting process, sanitation, safety, and much more.

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With Sue Weaver's expert guidance, it's easy to raise sheep in your own backyard, whether for fleece and milk (and the wonderful cheese, yogurt and butter you can make from it) or as companionable pets. The Backyard Sheep covers absolutely everything beginners need to know to keep sheep safe, healthy and maximally productive.

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Do you have a dream of living on a farm? From buying land and being neighborly to determiningg soil fertility and creating filing systems, this “entrepreneur’s guide to starting and succeeding in a farming enterprise” tells you everything you need to know to make farming an economically viable option and a practical success. While this resource can be helpful to all farmers, it's written for wannabes, the folks just getting started with rural living.