Farming for Self-Sufficiency: Independence on a 5-Acre Farm

By John And Sally Seymour
Published on January 1, 1974
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A small homestead can lead to increased self-reliance and, eventually, self-sufficiency.
A small homestead can lead to increased self-reliance and, eventually, self-sufficiency.
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The land you choose and how you care for it will determine, in part, the crops you can grow.
The land you choose and how you care for it will determine, in part, the crops you can grow.
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It may be most useful to determine a cost-benefit analysis to raising different kinds of livestock before purchasing them.
It may be most useful to determine a cost-benefit analysis to raising different kinds of livestock before purchasing them.

Ah, the vicissitudes of time. Two years ago, when there were no currently-relevant small-scale farming introductory handbooks available, many of us welcomed the publication of Richard Langer’s Grow It! with open arms. Now that we’re all older and more experienced with self-sufficient living, however, some folks find it increasingly easy to criticize that breakthrough beginner’s guide. 

Which brings us to another breakthrough book that is just as important (probably more so) now as Grow It! was two years ago, and which may well come up for its share of criticism in another 24 months or so. 

Be that as it may, John and Sally Seymour’s record of small-scale farming in England for 18 successful years is important now and should offer welcome encouragement to today’s back-to-the-landers, both real and imaginary. I’ll be serializing the book in the next several issues and I’m sure that many readers will want a personal copy for their home libraries. In this issue the Seymours explore the history and reality of self-sufficient farming, the benefits of crop rotation, rotational grazing of livestock, alternatives to artificial pesticides and how to drain wet land. –MOTHER.

Self-Sufficient Farming

Two to three hundred years ago the British came to our shores–their new land–seeking survival and adventure, security and liberty. Many found these goals. Land was cleared, rich farms established, ores dug, factories built, steel smelted. Smokestacks pierced the sky, and cities grew. Wealth poured forth endlessly, and a strong nation developed. Most people called it health, success, and Progress with a capital “P.” 

But underneath were disconcerting signs. Slums and ghettos in urban centers, rising taxes and costs which troubled farmers. Their answer? Sell more wheat, corn cotton; get more land, plant more acres, buy larger machines, use more fertilizers. There came an onslaught of blight and borers, weevils and fungi. Pesticides and poisons to the rescue! 

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