Gold in the Grass

As World War II was ending, Alfred Leatherbarrow, a wounded Canadian veteran, and his nurse, Margaret, fell in love, married, bought their dream farm-and discovered that their crops would not grow. The farm's soil had been exhausted through years of destructive tillage practices. Faced with certain defeat, they used innovative farming techniques-including a prototype forage harvester to gather grass for silage-to restore the fertility of their farm. This early experiment in sustainable agriculture not only saved the farm in a rags-to-riches turnaround, but showed other farmers in their region how to pull out of the death spiral of decreasing fertility, yields, and income. Gold in the Grass is a love story, a back-to-the-land adventure, and an inspirational example of how conservation tillage can restore the fertility of a used-up farm. This is a great book, and has spent far too many of its fifty years out of print. Gold in the Grass is an example of the Norton Creek Press motto: "Most of the best books are out of print and forgotten, but we can fix that!" Check out our offerings on http://www.nortoncreekpress.com.