Welcome to TheModernHomestead.US
Harvey’s book now available!
The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All-Natural Approach to Raising Chickens and Other Fowl for Home and Market Growers
by Harvey Ussery
Foreword by Joel Salatin
“Here's the ultimate book for those who want to know everything there is to know about raising poultry. And every detail is backed up by the author's own (and often entertaining) experiences. I could not find—in this encyclopedic array of chicken knowhow—one detail that I would quibble with.”
—Gene Logsdon, author of Holy Shit and The Contrary Farmer
With information on building soil fertility, replacing purchased feed, and working with poultry in the garden
Order your copy from Chelsea Green Publishing and numerous other sources.
Harvey’s Upcoming Presentations
I am scheduled to give presentations at numerous conferences in the coming months, from Barre, Massachusetts to Dallas, Texas. Check the schedule for these presentations, and let’s be sure to chat if you’re able to attend one.
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About TheModernHomestead.US
. . .Nyssa. . .
Your Hosts: Ellen. . .
Unlike our ancestors, many of whom lived on traditional homesteads and small farms, most of us today have the apparent “luxury” of buying all our food in the marketplace. The decision to forego that luxury and work hard to produce more of our own food is a fundamental one. We are thus making not simply one more selection from the Lazy Susan of available food choices, but choosing a way of life, a new direction.
This site is dedicated to the skills and philosophy for more self-reliant living. Whether you have access to fifty acres or only a patio pot, you have the opportunity to produce more of your own food for yourself and your family, to enter more fully into the yearly cycle, and to know your place in the web of life.
. . .Titmouse
New on the Site
- December 17, 2011: I have updated the list of my coming presentations—six of them between now and the end of March, in North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
- November 2, 2011: “The Scythe: Historic Tool on the Modern Homestead” describes a supremely elegant tool—one of my favorites.
- July 25, 2011: A shocking video on the Net—of thousands of cockerel chicks being ground alive inside an industrial hatchery— led to a meditation I named “Moral Puzzles in the Backyard”.
- July 25, 2011: A couple of aspiring young farmers tried “Serving a Niche Market for Started Birds” as the way to make their start. If you’re looking for ideas for making income from poultry, check out their enterprise.
- July 22, 2011: “Game Birds: A Niche Market Opportunity” offers a proven model from a farmer friend of mine for integrating game birds (quail, chukar, and pheasant) with diversified farming to serve niche markets.
- July 21, 2011: Of all species of domesticated fowl I have tried breeding, I have geese the most challenging. “My Long Goose Breeding Saga” tells the story of a number of attempts, which yielded finally a modest success.
- July 20, 2011: “The Silver Appleyard: A Great All-Round Duck” tells you why the Silver Appleyard is currently my favorite duck breed.
- July 19, 2011: You really do not have to use toxic insecticides in your garden, ever. “Insects in the Garden” suggests that working for a diverse, balanced insect ecology is far more effective—and sensible—an approach than any strategy based on killing insects.
- July 19, 2011: I have added a new page to the site to list my coming presentations at various conferences. Hope I’ll see you at one of them.
- July 16, 2011: “The Joys of Cover Cropping” is an excellent introduction to one of the best of all soil-improvement practices. It starts with an overview of the true nature of soil fertility, the health and diversity of the soil food web, then discusses cover crop species and cover cropping strategies.