Nancy J. Hayden is a writer, farmer, artist, and former
environmental engineering professor. She’s earned degrees in
biology/ecology, environmental engineering, English, studio art,
and creative writing. She was awarded a Vermont Arts Council
Creation Grant to work on this book and has published numerous
articles about food and farming. A keen student of World War I
history, she recently published The Great Dark, Noir and Horror
Stories of World War One.
Her writing website is www.nancyjhayden.com.
The Haydens' farm website is www.thefarmbetween.com.
John P. Hayden has been working to design and implement
agricultural systems with positive environmental and social
outcomes for over 35 years as a researcher, extension agent,
university educator, international consultant, and practicing
regenerative organic farmer. His farming and business experience
include organic livestock, vegetables, fruit and nursery
production, and marketing. He has an MS in entomology with a focus
on ecological pest management and has served on the Vermont
Pollinator Protection Committee and several non-profit boards.
The Haydens' farm website is www.thefarmbetween.com.
Publishers Weekly— "Married couple Nancy and John Hayden bring
together her degrees in biology, ecology, and creative writing and
his in entomology in this remarkable biography of The Farm Between,
their 18 acres in the foothills of Northern Vermont’s Green
Mountains . . . [They] will delight anyone interested in
modern-day organic agriculture with this detailed history of one
farm's progress."
“I love this book, which is an incredible and inspiring ray of
hope. Farming on the Wild Side shows both experienced and aspiring
farmers how to build a highly productive, biodiverse, and
profitable family farm and have a fulfilling lifestyle. This is the
future of farming.”—André Leu, international director, Regeneration
International; author of Poisoning Our Children
“As a fellow farmer and longtime member of the organic community,
the journey Nancy and John Hayden take us on with their new book
resonates in my mind and carries me back through similar
transitions with my own farm. While the book touches gently on many
topics, I appreciate the realistic view of farming and rural life
and their very real commitment to the concepts of soil
health.”—Jeff Moyer, executive director, Rodale Institute
“With Farming on the Wild Side, Nancy and John Hayden
have delivered an inspiring story of shepherding an old, tired
Vermont dairy into a new, diversified organic farm that serves the
needs of the twenty-first century. It covers their journey
step-by-step with new crops, new markets, and new farming methods,
modeling an ecological balance that farms must achieve in the
future. But the book is more than their personal experience with
innovation over three decades; it’s also a philosophical and
practical guide to restoring land to health, which benefits the
farmer, one’s community, and all living things. Given the pace of
climate change and the importance of regenerative agriculture as a
key solution, this book is very timely!”—Will Raap, founder and
chairman, Gardener’s Supply
“This amazing book details how Nancy and John are living the new
farming paradigm, one that maximizes ecosystem functionality and
values soil, biodiversity, human well-being, and long-term
resiliency. Their farming journey and philosophical evolution
provide practical and science-based solutions for how the backyard
gardener, hobby farmer, or large-scale grower can be part of the
pollinator, food, and climate solution.”—Heather
Holm, pollinator educator; author
of Bees and Pollinators of Native Plants
“Good farmers learn how to listen to the land. Nancy and John
Hayden work with Nature to produce wholesome food for their family
and community. Life doesn’t get better than this. Farming on
the Wild Side provides plenty of practical advice and green
inspiration to up your growing game.”—Michael Phillips, author
of The Holistic Orchard and Mycorrhizal Planet
“An inspiration—Farming on the Wild Side lays down an ecologically
justified path for others to follow for a biodiverse farm.”—Jo Ann
Baumgartner, executive director, Wild Farm Alliance
“This intelligent book is written by two people who have a pure
love and appreciation for the land and its
inhabitants. Farming on the Wild Side serves as an
authentic account of the farmers’ personal transformation, a
practical guide to agroecological transition, and an inspiration to
live in greater harmony with nature. The farm that was created and
described in detail here truly embodies the concept of a
multifunctional landscape, supporting productive, ecological, and
cultural functions.”—Dr. Sarah Lovell, H.E. Garrett Endowed Chair
Professor and director of the Center for Agroforestry, University
of Missouri
“Nancy and John use a forensic but accessible approach to explore
their personal journey from scientists to farmers. New crops and
enterprises are approached with careful planning, and their
successes, or otherwise, are carefully observed to inform future
decisions. Even non-farmers will enjoy reading about how they
gradually adapted their farm to create a diverse farming system
suited to their character and their geography. Farming on the Wild
Side is a masterclass in working with nature to create
abundance.”—Ben Raskin, Head of Horticulture, Soil Association
“In telling the history of a farm and its farmers, Farming on
the Wild Side addresses issues of great relevance to the
future of agriculture. John and Nancy Hayden remind us that an
ecologically based and socially just agriculture needs to involve
deep and diverse relationships between people and landscapes. The
Haydens present a true example of co-evolution between the Farm
Between and its stewards, documenting their use of agroecological
principles to transform a conventional dairy into a diversified
farm, which takes full advantage of its ecological processes. Each
one of the stages of transformation—from dairy to organic
vegetables to a regenerative fruit farm and nursery—offer valuable
lessons to reflect on. I have been working on research and
education with the Haydens for a decade, and they have generously
taught me and my students how to fully integrate the science and
practice dimensions of agroecology.”—V. Ernesto Méndez, PhD,
professor of agroecology and environmental studies, University of
Vermont
“We need many, many more farmers like Nancy and John Hayden, and
this book will go a long way toward inspiring them. In these pages
the Haydens share twenty years of wisdom, weaving together equal
measures of story, philosophy, and practice about resilient and
sustainable farming.”—Taylor Ricketts, director, Gund Institute for
Environment, University of Vermont
“It’s no secret that the way in which we feed ourselves and inhabit
the land must change, but few of us truly know how to make that
happen. The beauty of this book is that John and Nancy Hayden do
know; even better, they’ve graciously shared their knowledge in
these pages.”—Ben Hewitt, author of The Nourishing
Homestead
“I love this book. It takes me back to a time and a place my
grandparents used to talk about—a good time and place—when farmers
and growers worked with nature instead of against it. Farming
on the Wild Side inspires, informs, and fills me with hope
that we can heal our relationship with the wild. Just reading this
book is healing, and I can’t wait to put some of Nancy and John
Hayden’s ways into practice on our own little plot of land.”—Brigit
Strawbridge Howard, author of Dancing with Bees
“This lavishly illustrated book follows the Hayden family as they
bring nature back to their farm, and in the process, it tells a
story of learning, testing, observing, and creating an
agroecological model of how to farm with nature, not against her.
They combine the science of biodiversity management, the practices
of good farming, and the transformative change humans need in order
to return to the kinds of food systems that will feed the land as
well as feed us.”—Steve Gliessman, professor emeritus of
agroecology, UC Santa Cruz
“In easy, conversational prose, Nancy and John Hayden offer the
aspiring regenerative farmer a compendium of wisdom on the
practicalities of establishing, developing, surviving, enjoying,
and profiting from the small farm without losing sight of bigger
ecological and political issues. Their warts-and-all history of
their own farming practice rings true and is full of inspiration
for those seeking a better future while dealing with present
realities—which is hopefully all of us. We need more books like
this.”—Chris Smaje, writer, Small Farm Future; farmer, Somerset, UK
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