Locally Laid: How We Built a Plucky, Industry-Changing Egg Farm-from Scratch

by Lucie B. Amundsen Narrated by Kate Reading

Overview

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-like 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 mid-sized 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.

Editorial Reviews

APRIL 2016 - AudioFile

Author Lucie Amundsen is horrified when her husband, Jason, decides that he wants to start an egg-laying farm operation in Minnesota. He has NO farming experience! Narrator Kate Reading is excellent at capturing Amundsen’s emotions as she deals with financial hardships, physical fatigue, and endless farm-related issues while discovering the joy in trying to create positive change. During the more technical passages, Reading slows the pace and reads with crisp enunciation, making the material easy to understand. Amundsen is brutally honest with the details of her personal life, as well as the realities of farm life. Many listeners will be surprised by everything involved in operating an egg farm. M.M.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169722345
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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