Smallholding Manual: The Complete Step-by-step Guide Hardcover – 5 April 2012

THIS IS TRUE AND I DONT KNOW THE AUTHOR PERSONALLY....i just had two of this authors books delivered to my house......Just had the funniest thing happen as i was sharing this book WITH FELLOW FRIENDS ON THE Oxford Sandy Black Pig facebook Page AND SAID HOW GOOD THIS AND ANOTHER WERE SO GOOD AND INFORMATIVE when someone called liz Shankland (I DIDNT SEE CONNECTION) PIPES UP in the comments in the msg box..."REALLY, IVE HEARD MIXED VIEWS ABOUT THE AUTHOR",.....WELL not wanting to get dragged into a verbal altercation, i replied " i dont know much about the Author but the books are very informative" Then realised who the Liz shankland was BUT THE VERY AUTHOR HERSELF....ANYWAYS THE BOOKS ARE EXCELLENT FOR A NON ACADEMIC LIKE MOI....enjoy....

This book is great if like us you are just about to start out on a smallholding. Answers a lot of questions for us & raises ones we hadn't yet thought of. Nicely chaptered. Clear to understand as you would expect from Haynes. Love it - keep re-reading to make sure I haven't missed anything

For anyone who wants to start from the very beginning, i.e. making the decision to move to a smallholding for the very first time, this book will be invaluable. For me, the first 31 pages didn't help much since I already have a smallholding. What I was looking for was guidance and inspiration and there was a good deal of that in subsequent pages. However, the book, I believe, was written as a general guideline and not as step by step instructions which you would need to obtain from further research or books (some Haynes manuals are referenced to help you). There is a very detailed section on erecting fences which is a little out of keeping with the broad based style of the rest of the book but it doesn't detract from the comprehensive range of subjects covered. The information on animals and poultry is impressive and would certainly help enormously in your choice of livestock/birds for your smallholding.There are some silly grammatical and geography errors in the book (Lleyn is not in Anglesey!) for which I would not blame the author, who has to work to a tight deadline, but the Haynes proof reader who is paid to do just that.Notwithstanding, I found the book very useful and it will remain a reference book as long as I have a smallholding. It is a borderline 5 stars but I have opted for a very worthy 4 stars.

Ideal Beginners book, lot there for the more advanced also. Sections on all aspects of the smallholding, and a very nice and easy manuel to read. A very Good reference guide and very good tips.I would recommend this book to anybody with a smallholding or thinking of starting up.Ruth Jones

Tells you what to do, when and how.

it may surprise you but small holdings are normal in the rest of the world and they have machinery to match rather than the outsize machinery which large farms employ. Haynes has put together a lot of aspects you have to consider in a nicely illustrated book and no it is not complex - that isfor another book

I both enjoyed and was disappointed by this book.On the positive side it is well laid out with quality photographs and is an easy read. It generally covers everything from finding a small holding to buying, crops, livestock, etc. It is good to see that the author acknowledges that small holdings are typically a lifestyle choice but are rarely self-sufficient in themselves, so an outside incomes is almost always necessary.On the negative side - since the title is "The Complete Step-by-step Guide and since it is using the Haynes brand you would expect detailed step by step 'how to' guides. With the exception of stock fencing, this wasn't the case. I felt that all of the content was relatively light weight with little in-depth detail. I acknowledge that no single book can cover the full A-Z of smallholding in detail, but it would have been useful if the author included more sources of additional information, such as recommended books, website, clubs, etc. for each of the chapters. So if for example, a reader wanted to know more about Goats, there would be a ready source of informaton, rather than spending hours wasted serching forums on the Internet.The author does make a valid point that I agree with, that the best sources of information are often your neighbours, as these may well have experience or local contacts in the community that can help you get started on a smallholding. My issue with this, is that the book is clearly targeted at new or potential smallholders which probably don't have 'country neigbours' since they haven't moved in yet. Therefore links or references to other research material would have been very useful.I read this book cover to cover in an evening, hence my views on its lack of detail. I would probably loan this to someone interested in smallholding, but probably wouldn't recommend they buy it as a definitive information source.

An excellent manual that covers most ares you can think of.The book starts with the real basics of how to search for what you want, reminding the reader to think about practical stuff like local schools.The book focuses on livestock through the whole life cycle, from purchase to showing to slaughter.If you are considering a small holding I would highly recommend this book.