Small Farm Republic: Why Conservatives Must Embrace Local Agriculture, Reject Climate Alarmism, and Lead an Environmental Revival

by John Klar, Joel Salatin (Foreword by)

Overview

“I have read at least 20 books a year for the past 25 years and Small Farm Republic is absolutely one of the very best that I have ever read. . . A must-read not only for those involved in all facets of agriculture but policy makers and consumers as well.”—Gabe Brown, regenerative rancher, author of Dirt to Soil

From farmer, lawyer, and political activist John Klar comes a bold, solutions-based plan for Conservatives that gets beyond the fatuous pipe dreams and social-justice platitudes of the dominant, Liberal “Green” agenda—offering a healthy way forward for everyone.

While many on the Left have taken up the mantle of creating a “green” future through climate alarmism, spurious new energy sources, and technocratic control, many on the Right continue to deny imminent environmental threats while pushing for unbridled deregulation of our most destructive industrial forces. Neither approach promises a bright future.

In a time of soil degradation, runaway pollution, food insecurity, and declining human health, the stakes couldn’t be higher, and yet the dominant political voices too often overlook the last best hope for our planet—supporting small, regenerative farmers. In fact, politicians on all sides continue to sell out the interests of small farmers to the devastating power of Big Ag and failed “renewable energy” incentives. 

It’s time for a new vision. It’s time for bold new agriculture policies that restore both ecosystems and rural communities.

In Small Farm Republic, John Klar, an agrarian conservative in the mold of Wendell Berry and Joel Salatin, offers an alternative that puts small farmers, regenerative agriculture, and personal liberty at the center of an environmental revival—a message that everyone on the political spectrum needs to hear.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645022190
Publisher:	Chelsea Green Publishing
Publication date:	06/29/2023
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	1,018,887
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

John Klar is seventh-generation Vermonter who lives in Brookfield, where he raises grass-fed lamb and beef. Before that, he worked as an attorney. He’s also staged campaigns for governor and state senate. Supporting Vermont’s local farms and local food production was the cornerstone of his political career. These ideas were codified into his 2020 Vermont Farming Manifesto. In 2006, he self-published a 600-page book called Christian Words, Un-Christian Actions: George W. Bush and the Desecration of Christianity in Modern America. He wrote a weekly column for the Newport Daily Express for about five years, then began writing for American Thinker, The Federalist, Human Events, American Spectator, Mother Earth News, and True North Reports.

Joel Salatin and his family own and operate Polyface Farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The farm produces pastured beef, pork, chicken, eggs, turkeys, rabbits, lamb and ducks, servicing roughly 6,000 families and 50 restaurants in the farm’s bioregion. He has written 14 books to date, is editor of Stockman Grass Farmer Magazine, and lectures around the world on land healing and local food systems. Polyface Farm operates a formal apprenticeship program and conducts many educational workshops and events. 

Editorial Reviews

I have read at least 20 books a year for the past 25 years and Small Farm Republic is absolutely one of the very best that I have ever read. John Klar describes in great detail the fallacies of the current agricultural production model and the changes that need to be made for the sake of our natural resources and humanity. A must-read not only for those involved in all facets of agriculture but policy makers and consumers as well.”—Gabe Brown, regenerative rancher, author of Dirt to Soil

“John Klar makes a strong case in Small Farm Republic that Republicans could use support of small farms as a way to shift the party’s identity toward improving the environment and reducing the dangers of climate change. In the process, he makes a refreshing case for conservative Republicans reclaiming their traditional role in the political mainstream.”—David E. Gumpert, author of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Food Rights

“John Klar makes a compelling case for thoughtful Republicans to put aside their differences with Democrats on divisive political issues and to focus on solving the environmental, social, and economic problems caused by today’s corporately controlled, industrial agri-food system. The same case could be made for thoughtful Democrats to join forces with Republications to demand government programs and policies that incentivize and support small-scale, regenerative family farms and locally controlled, community-based food systems. Current US farm and food policies are the work of both Democrats and Republicans, and it will take a bipartisan consumer-taxpayer revolution to change them. Klar’s Small Farm Republic is a clarion call for the revolution to begin.”—John Ikerd, agricultural economist; professor emeritus, University of Missouri; author of Small Farms Are Real Farms

From the Publisher