On the Bookshelf

I love to read. When we were contemplating moving to the country I read everything I could find about homesteading.  I decided very quickly that I liked sheep and that if I had a farm I just had to have some. Since I knew absolutely nothing about raising sheep, or any livestock for that matter,  I read  as many books and periodicals  as I could.

Shepherdess: Notes from the Field  by Joan Jarvis Ellison

First book I read about raising sheep. Very fun informative book that I read several times.

Raising Sheep the Modern Way  by Paula Simmons was the first book I found at our small, local library that was dedicated to raising sheep. The only book they had.
Reading Paula Simmons heightened my interest.  I knew that sheep had wool, but after reading Paula Simmons I discovered that wool was a lot more interesting that I had ever realized.  With that in mind I read many other books from Paula Simmons. Among my favorites,
Turning Wool into a Cottage Industry.

After moving to our farm I continued to read. One of the books that changed my outlook on raising livestock was  Quality Pasture  by Allan Nation. I am so glad that I found this book. It changed the direction that we decided to go with farming. Encouraged us to put up good quality fence before buying livestock as well as  raising our livestock on pasture and not the barn.

Other favorites...

More Sheep, More Grass, More Money by Peter Schroedter

Small-Scale Livestock Farming A Grass-Based Approach for Health, Sustainability and Profit  by Carol Ekarius

Teach Yourself Visual Handspinning by Judith MacKenzie McCuin

Goats Produce Too! The Udder Real Thing Volume 11  by Mary Jane Toth

Milk Soap Making: The Smart and Simple Guide to Making Lovely Milk Soap From Cow Milk, Goat Milk, Buttermilk, Cream, Coconut Milk or Any Other Animal by Anne L. Watson

Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery

Starting and Running Your Own Small Farm Business by Sarah Beth Aubrey

Spinning Wool Beyond the Basics by Anne Field