Welcome to the Farm: How-to Wisdom from The Elliott Homestead (The Homesteader's Guides)

I'm familiar with Shaye Elliott from her blog, The Elliott Homestead, which have been reading for a few years. Frankly, I am in awe of Shaye. She can farm. She can write eloquently, She is a very talented photographer. She is an excellent cook. She has written a masterpiece. Not only is it a wonderful read with beautiful photos, it is chocked ful of her hard-earned knowledge. This book should be high on the reading list of anyone who wants to move out of the big city into the country and start a simpler way of life.

Welcome to the Farm is certainly the comprehensive guide on homesteading that I’ve been waiting for. There is nothing better than hands-on experience with pictures to guide you through the how to’s of homesteading, gardening, dairy, making your own greenhouse and so much more. As an avid reader of Shaye’s blog, this guide was something I longed for her to create. Welcome to the Farm is a fresh, well written, and well put together look into homesteading and all of its realities. The instructions (how to’s) are easy to understand and the beautiful pictures to go along with them were much appreciated. This is a story that follows a young family’s journey into homesteading. I love this guide and I look forward to using Welcome to the Farm over and over again in my own homesteading journey. A beautiful piece of work that one can easily tell a lot of love went into. Thank you, Elliott Homestead!

I'm writing this review in response of someone else's review, because they took Mrs. Elliot's word out of context and skewed them to make her sound dumb. Let me start off by saying that I'm not biased to Shaye's blog because I just heard of her through this book on Amazon. I didn't see her blog until after I ordered the book. I still have not finished the book but I have arrived at the Dairy chapter and read the portion the other reviewer was referring to. The other reviewer quoted "some dairy animal owners will allow the babies to drink this colostrum... that bit is up to you." Then she goes on to say Shaye 'doesn't even come close to making it clear how vital it is' (the colostrum).However they failed to fill in the "..." which is an important part to understanding Shaye's comment in context. What she actually says AFTER stating how beneficial colostrum is to the baby calf, is " Some dairy animal owners will allow the babies to drink this colostrum before they start milking while others will milk the colostrum and keep it in the freezer, in case they need it in the future for emergencies (such as if the animal dies giving birth). That bit is up to you. Just know you won't get actual milk until day three or four."Obviously, taking some (not all) of the colostrum for future emergencies isn't a bad thing. I have done this with my own milk for my own babies. They're still getting colostrum, so chill out reviewer. Perhaps she didn't go into quite enough detail but It's obvious she doesn't mean what the reviewer thought. Also, the other reviewer wrote "I hope this encourages Shaye to take some actual classes on animal husbandry before passing on any more bad information". Apparently this reviewer didn't read the introduction where Shaye says "I majored in animal Science, Beef Production." And then "after years spent in commercial meat production, it became a huge relief to me that i could be in charge of exactly how my meat was raised and killed".... I don't know if she actually finished her degree in animal science. I am assuming so because she worked in meat production. Either way, this proves she took some classes at the very least.All that said, the book is basic and for beginners, but I am a beginner so it is PERFECT for me. She shares my romanticized view of homesteading and the desire to make things pleasing to the eye but also shares the realities and difficulties. She's also funny and to the point. Thanks for the awesome book, Shaye.

I am actually writing this review prior to even getting the book, but keep reading my review please. I have ordered the book, and I know I will love it. But the reason I chose to write this review prior to reading the book is because of the person who wrote the 2 star review. I think they were the ones who were incredibly selfish to write such a critical and hateful review which affects the livelyhood of this lovely family over a PERSONAL choice. I am not sure why you continued to read a book about a topic that does not align with you beliefs. If you choose not to eat meat, that is your choice, but to write a 2 star review of a book you have NOT PAID FOR or have even read is very wrong. Especially because you are acting like someone who is trying to take the moral high road and saying all of us omnivores are evil. Well I for one usually never write a review for something I have not tested or read personally, but since I do read this families blog, and have personally watched every quality video they have made I feel confident in my 5 star review. I can only hope it boosts the books review ratings to try to make up for the narrow minded person who wrote the bad review. I will after reading this book write another review regarding the contents. Until then keep up the great work on your homestead, and I for one will continue to learn from you.

Best homesteading book I've ever bought !!!I'm not a big reader, I really enjoy a lot more pictures than reading boring text; and the library is full of homesteading books mostly with words only. Posting a video explaining their book was the best thing that the authors could've ever done !!! After watching their video in the description, I had to have this book !!! Every page has beautiful photos, interesting book to read, very informational from basic skills to advanced skills !!! The authors also made it very personable, sharing stories from their homestead life with the reader. I recommend this book to everyone, this is a must have!