• The Accidental Farmers: An Urban Couple, a Rural Calling and a Dream of Farming in Harmony with Nature

  • By: Tim Young
  • Narrated by: Don Moffit
  • Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (236 ratings)

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The Accidental Farmers: An Urban Couple, a Rural Calling and a Dream of Farming in Harmony with Nature  By  cover art

The Accidental Farmers: An Urban Couple, a Rural Calling and a Dream of Farming in Harmony with Nature

By: Tim Young
Narrated by: Don Moffit
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Publisher's summary

This audiobook is the personal memoir of an urban couple's journey to farming rather than a how-to guide and is sure to delight those interested in moving to the country or simply learning more about the struggles of sustainable farming.

When Tim and Liz Young decided to leave their comfortable suburban life and become first-time farmers in rural Georgia, they embarked on a journey that would change their lives. The Accidental Farmers reveals how the couple learned that hamburgers, bacon, and eggs don't come from the supermarket but from real animals that forge emotional bonds with their human caretakers. Seeking a middle path between a meatless lifestyle and the barbarism of factory food, Tim and Liz created Nature's Harmony Farm, a sustainable oasis where rare-breed animals and humans live together, searching for something nearly lost by both humans and the animals...how to live naturally off the land.

©2011 Tim Young (P)2015 Tim Young

Critic reviews

"With wit, humor and precision, Tim mesmerizes the reader as he and Liz learn how to achieve a life of harmony with the natural world." (Mildred Armstrong Kalish, author of Little Heathens)
"Tim and Liz Young describe the many benefits of a return to agrarian life.... In a most compelling way, they present that beautiful equation: healthy soil equals healthy animals equals healthy human beings." (Sally Fallon Morell, author of Nourishing Traditions)

What listeners say about The Accidental Farmers: An Urban Couple, a Rural Calling and a Dream of Farming in Harmony with Nature

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Not So Much

I can see now why some people have criticized this guy. The book overall is entertaining enough but it's definitely on the bottom of the list for this genre.

The author suffers from having had some success as a businessman in his prior life and subsequently brings a kind of smugness to his farming and writing. Starting with a substantial bank-roll, he fails to appreciate what it is really like to start a farm with an eye of actually needing to be a successful farmer in order to survive - as a farmer. I've read plenty of testimonies from true, bootstrapping homesteaders who shared this zeal for natural food, etc and there is always a sincere humility in their learning process.

All in all he doesn't seem to have set out to be a full time farmer inasmuch as someone who writes about farming and maybe builds a small brand of sorts so he can do seminars, etc. i.e. it was never about farming for farming's sake but rather to create a kind of farming brand for himself.

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12 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Redundant and boring.

It started out promising and exciting. It could have been half the length. A lot of the information was shared multiple times especially with the inclusion of blog post readings at the end of each chapter. There was a whole chapter done in the third person which was almost unbearable. Knowing that these two accidental farmers no longer farm makes it much less enchanting.

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8 people found this helpful

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disappointed

rich man playing should be listed as fictional I have spent a life time in ag and the last 15 years in organic farming. this book will send several people down the wrong road and bankruptcy

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5 people found this helpful

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only good things to say.

I have been looking for a point of view of farming that was not built on idyllic americana, not hugely pessimistic view either. I found it with this book.

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4 people found this helpful

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Too many dead animals!

Too many dead animals in the wake of his 'learning' to be a farmer. Should have read the reviews before downloading

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A good read

Would you consider the audio edition of The Accidental Farmers: An Urban Couple, a Rural Calling and a Dream of Farming in Harmony with Nature to be better than the print version?

That's hard to know since I didn't read the print version, but for me, the story was told in the emotions of the reader, who transmitted the author's angst at the loss of animals in the early years of the farm.

What did you like best about this story?

The good, the bad, and the ugly - the story moving to the country wasn't made to sound like a sweet or banal withdrawal from the rat race, but a challenging change of life style.

What does Don Moffit bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The story was told in the emotions of the reader, who transmitted the author's angst at the loss of animals in the early years of the farm.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Too many chicks.

Any additional comments?

I've been telling all my friends about this book -- it really made me think about where my food comes from.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Gives a whole new outlook on an organic homestead

I couldn't push pause on this book. It put into words what we are trying to do here.

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Hmmmm...

What could Tim Young have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I'm very interested in sustainable farming as a lifestyle, and have read a number of books / memoirs on this topic. This book starts out ok, but turns into a smug diatribe of the authors mediocre accomplishments. I especially could not tolerate the portrayal of his wife as an emotional mess that needs constant support and guidance from him, especially with him being a novice himself.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Inspiration for Farmers & Homesteaders alike!

My husband and I have started a small homestead and aspire to live off the land. I love the way the author expresses exactly how the land and animals affects us. Even greater, though, is the way in which he discusses all aspects of their farming methods in ways that is applies to a human farming, not necessarily in the ways it affects the farm itself. I enjoyed this book very much and I learned a lot from it. Highly recommended.

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Great read

this is a well written and well read reality story on farming. No sugar coating while remaining poignant and engaging. And i still want to walk this path, but with my eyes open.

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1 person found this helpful