The Acres U.S.A. Bookstore has hundreds of titles dedicated to all aspects of eco-farming, from soil health management to plant nutrition, from livestock care to biodynamics, and all in between. We were excited to welcome a number of new books this year as well, starting with William McKibbin’s A Growers Guide for Balancing Soils and Joe Lewis’ A New Farm Language in the spring, followed by André Leu’s Growing Life this fall, and finishing up with Farming Without Losing Your Hat from Paul Dorrance this winter.
Regardless if you’re a veteran farmer or just getting started (or thinking of getting started), there’s a book or several for you at the Acres U.S.A. Bookstore. Here’s what our readers bought most in 2021:
10 – Quality Agriculture by John Kempf
In Quality Agriculture, John interviews a group of growers, consultants, and scientists who describe how to think and farm differently in order to produce exceptional results in the field. Their remarkable insights will challenge you, encourage you, and inspire gratitude and joy for the rewards of working with natural systems. Learn more here.
9 – Growing Life by André Leu
Growing Life is André Leu’s newest book, and it’s already on its way to becoming an eco-farming classic, and must-have for your bookshelf. Inside this book, André explores the fundamentals of regenerative agriculture, including specific, proven steps designed to grow healthy food, while protecting our natural resources like clean water, soil and air. Learn more here.
8 – 2021 Stella Natura Biodynamic Planting Calendar
This proves it – our readers are planners! This unique calendar has many aspects that are popular with Acres U.S.A. readers: a basic introduction to astronomy, a simple ephemeris, a planting guide, a star map, aid for following the movement of the planets in the night sky, and articles by ten different authors.
Now you can continue your planning for next year with the new 2022 Stella Natura Biodynamic Planting Calendar:
7 – A New Farm Language by Joe Lewis
We were thrilled to publish this book in 2021! During his 40-year career, Lewis discovered how plants use “SOS” signals to recruit beneficial insects to their defense. In 2008, he was awarded the coveted Wolf Prize in Agriculture for this groundbreaking work. In his new book, Lewis looks back on his charmed childhood and distinguished scientific career while tracing our industrialized country’s increasing alienation from nature. Learn more here.
6 – Roller/Crimper No-Till by Jeff Moyer
Published by Acres U.S.A. in late 2020, Roller/Crimper No-Till is an expanded update of the groundbreaking work Organic No-Till Farming. This book presents farmers — organic and conventional — with a proven system that limits tillage, reduces labor, cuts toxic inputs and improves soil structure.
5 – For the Love of Soil by Nicole Masters
To face the challenges of today, we must take a soil-first approach to our landscapes, restoring natural cycles, and bringing vitality back to ecosystems. With decades of experience in regenerative soil systems and their management, agroecologist Nicole Masters delivers solutions to rewind the clock on this increasingly critical crisis. Learn more here.
4 – Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown
As a series of weather-related crop disasters put Gabe Brown and his wife, Shelly, in desperate financial straits, they started making bold changes to their farm. Brown―in an effort to simply survive―began experimenting with new practices he’d learned about from reading and talking with innovative researchers and ranchers. As he and his family struggled to keep the farm viable, they found themselves on an amazing journey into a new type of farming: regenerative agriculture. Learn more here.
3 – Water for Any Farm by Mark Shepard
Written as a companion to the bestseller, Restoration Agriculture, this book will help farmers capture water in areas they want to, and avoid having water flow immediately to the low point. The result? Less water expense, healthier crops and livestock, and less erosion … just to name a few. Learn more here.
2 – Restoration Agriculture by Mark Shepard
Restoration Agriculture explains how we can have all of the benefits of natural, perennial ecosystems and create agricultural systems that imitate nature in form and function while still providing for our food, building, fuel and many other needs — in your own backyard, farm or ranch. This book, based on real-world practices, presents an alternative to the agriculture system of eradication and offers exciting hope for our future. Learn more here.
1 – When Weeds Talk by Jay L. McCaman
Here it is – our most popular book of the year! This is the 2nd edition of the book formerly titled Weeds and Why They Grow. Acres U.S.A. has long shown that weed control lies in fertility management. Every weed grows in a somewhat narrow window of allowable soil conditions. For the first time, hundreds of weeds of commercial importance are detailed along with the chemical analysis of accompanying soils. Learn more here.
Keep Learning
Every month we bring in new books to the Acres U.S.A. Bookstore, which means that there’s always something new to add to your bookshelf. Interested in free excerpts and weekly deals? Join the Book of the Week email newsletter to receive free book chapters and updates on book sales and new releases from the Acres U.S.A. bookstore.
