Locally Laid: How We Built a Plucky, Industry-Changing Egg Farm - From Scratch (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780399185601)

How a Midwestern family with no agriculture experience went from a few backyard chickens to a full-fledged farm--and discovered why local chicks are better.

When Lucie Amundsen had a rare night out with her husband, she never imagined what he'd tell her over dinner--that his dream was to quit his office job (with benefits ) and start a commercial-scale pasture-raised egg farm. His entire agricultural experience consisted of raising five backyard hens, none of whom had yet laid a single egg.

To create this pastured poultry ranch, the couple scrambles to acquire nearly two thousand chickens--all named Lola. These hens, purchased commercially, arrive bereft of basic chicken-y instincts, such as the evening urge to roost. The newbie farmers also deal with their own shortcomings, making for a failed inspection and intense struggles to keep livestock alive (much less laying) during a brutal winter. But with a heavy dose of humor, they learn to negotiate the highly stressed no-man's-land known as Middle Agriculture. Amundsen sees firsthand how these midsized farms, situated between small-scale operations and mammoth factory farms, are vital to rebuilding America's local food system.

With an unexpected passion for this dubious enterprise, Amundsen shares a messy, wry, and entirely educational story of the unforeseen payoffs (and frequent pitfalls) of one couple's ag adventure--and many, many hours spent wrangling chickens.

Author: Lucie B. Amundsen
ISBN-10: 0399185607
ISBN-13: 9780399185601
Publisher: Avery Publishing Group
Language: English
Published: 02/28/2017
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.30w x 0.90d