Have you seen The Biggest Little Farm? If you have are you completely obsessed with it like I am? And if you haven’t seen it, you must! It is beautiful and full of hope and just gives you the happiest feeling. It has become my go to when I’m having a rough day or when my husband and I just want to watch something nice. Because of this obsession of mine I realized I want more and going to the library is my way of doing that.
First, all the ways to get your Biggest Little Farm fix!
- Watch the documentary
- Listen to the soundtrack
- And for your littles at home read them the book Saving Emma the Pig
Despite all things adorable, the name of the game in The Biggest Little Farm is biodiversity. You need to have a variety of life in order to have a self sustaining ecosystem. Too often land gets used for one thing and one thing only, which breaks down healthy soil and depletes the land. From there everything surrounding it suffers – floods, fires, droughts, and endangering those that live off the land, and that includes us. Apricot Lane Farms isn’t the first to get back to the heart of the matter, and we hope they aren’t the last. Here are just a few other stories from Montana to Sussex, Ohio to Normandy, telling the story of what the land can be again.
Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture
by Gabe Brown and Courtney White
A family farm in North Dakota was in trouble. Between finances and crop disasters something had to change. Gabe Brown, along with his father-in-law, started experimenting with new ideas to turn their farm around. This new idea was regenerative agriculture.
Wilding: Returning Nature to Our Farm by Isabella Tree
Taking a farm in West Sussex that had been farmed for millennia, Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell, use the idea of biodiversity to make it wild again.
Grain by Grain: A Quest to Revive Ancient Wheat, Rural Jobs, and Healthy Food by Bob Quinn
A simple grain led Bob Quinn down a road he never expected. Delving into time-tested methods he was able to grow vegetables, fruit, and grain organically in Montana, providing food for his community and bringing back an ancient grain at the same time.
Farming on the Wild Side: The Evolution of A Regenerative Organic Farm and Nursery by Nancy J. Hayden
Nancy and John Hayden explain what has worked on their regenerative farm for over 25 years in Vermont. This book will inspire readers “to develop greater ecological literacy and respect for the mysteries of the global ecosystem.”
The Independent Farmstead: Growing Soil, Biodiversity, and Nutrient-dense Food With Grassfed Animals and Intensive Pasture Management by Shawn Dougherty
Land that was originally “not suitable for agriculture” in Ohio gets turned into a farm that produces abundance for Shawn and Beth Dougherty through a combination of hard work and biodiversity. While very much a guide, it’s one that opens the conversation about sustainable practices rather than offering a one-size-fits-all approach.
Miraculous Abundance: One Quarter Acre, Two French Farmers, and Enough Food to Feed the World by Perrine Hervé-Gruyer
With no farming background but understanding that the farm of the future needed to do better, Perrine and Charles set out to transform a farm in Normandy. Focusing on the Bec Hellouin model, they created a hyper-local and sustaining farm for their community.
~posted by Kara P.
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