Growing Rogue, One Farmer’s Search for an Agriculture the World Can Live With

Thanks for your interest in Growing Rogue. I hope you find it entertaining, educational, and inspiring. The book tracks a novice farmer’s tumultuous journey over 50 years from a heavy user of agricultural chemicals to finding a farm system that solves problems with natural solutions. 

Why did I write this book? There was a plethora of reasons, but the driver of the book bus was twofold: 1) you can succeed at what seems like an insurmountable challenge with passion and perseverance, and 2) farming can be positive for people and the planet while the farm makes a profit. The journey to this realization was blocked by corporate buyers wanting low price raw product, academia bogged down by the yield god defining research direction, government indifference to natural solutions,  and vendors of chemical products having a stranglehold on agricultural problem solving. The lesson from my journey may be stay the course with what you believe is right, not just accepting the prevailing “wisdom.”  

What aspect of modern agriculture doctrine does this book challenge? The book questions the prevailing view of academia, government, and corporations that the current farm methods are needed to produce enough food for an ever-increasing population. This can be accomplished by constant yield improvement with environmental and social impact subordinate to yield results. I argue crop production can maintain a high level of supply to feed the world while implementing natural farm practices that are positive for the environment and people.

Who should read this book? Everyone who wants to know what goes on in agriculture and into your stomach.

Does this book solve these issues? It’s a start. What it may do is promote consumer awareness of the decision making process that goes into American agriculture. The consumer can vote on what direction they want agriculture to trend with their food purchases. If they are willing to pay more for healthy food produced in a fashion that is positive for the world the higher price will encourage farmers to change their cultural practices to capitalize on higher value crops.