The Road to My Farm - Hardcover

Like an adult playing make-believe, Seton (an agricultural scientist) lovingly describes the farm she yearns to own--one of ``those longings in life [that] are dull tugs from somewhere inside you.'' Daughter of a psychoanalyst and a novelist, Seton grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts, but from childhood on--when her mother became ill with the cancer that would kill her a decade later--she found solace in handling livestock. Seton found that being with farm animals--during summers on local farms or during a semester on a Wyoming ranch--turned the loneliness created by her mother's illness ``into a hospitable aloneness.'' Here, she not only concentrates on animals and crops she would have on her ideal farm, but also recalls how she came to farming; her graduate study at Texas A&M; her experiences with different kinds of agriculture; and her jobs in agribusiness. She offers insight into big matters like childhood, as well as into small matters such as why farmers rely on chemicals (the chemical companies give ``them a new kind of stature''), and she casts forthright opinions on the bloated USDA (``agriculture is the fat and unhappy adolescent, whose parents, wishing their child had turned out otherwise, pitch him more food to keep him at least hushed''); on chemicals; on consumer attitudes toward agriculture, and on organic farmers. The author's farm would be home to cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, ducks, and chickens, big enough for them all but small enough to take care of--and it also would be a place where her husband could grow flowers and vegetables, especially parsnips for her beloved father. Seton and her husband eventually found the perfect farm, but her husband, a banker, was transferred to Zurich, and the dream has had to be deferred. A beguiling love letter to farms and farmers--from a woman of refreshingly independent thought who shares her unusual love in prose as rich in information as in style. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

With her master's degree in agricultural economics, practical farming and ranching experience and four years spent working in agribusiness, Seton was bound to fantasize about having a farm of her own. In this delightful chronicle of her pursuit of her dream, she rules out a "pick-your-own" operation, but keeps her mind open to other options. What kind of crops would she grow? Would she raise sheep? Goats? Cattle? Pigs? Chickens? Turkeys? Visiting farmers and breeders, collecting information and advice, Seton explores each possibility. While her husband leans towards having sheep, she remains undecided during their search for a small farm in New England. They finally find the ideal place in Connecticut, but then comes the blow. Her husband, a banker, is transferred to Switzerland and Seton puts her farming aspirations on hold--leaving her the opportunity, at least, to pen this charming memoir.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.