Gaining Ground

A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm

By: Forrest Pritchard

Narrated by: Roger Wayne

Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

One fateful day in 1996, after discovering that five freight cars' worth of glittering corn have reaped a tiny profit of $18.16, young Forrest Pritchard vows to save his family's farm. What ensues - through hilarious encounters with all manner of livestock and colorful local characters - is a crash course in sustainable agriculture. Pritchard's biggest ally is his renegade father, who initially questions his son's career choice and rejects organic foods for sugary mainstream fare. But just when the farm starts to turn heads at local farmers' markets, his father's health takes a turn for the worse. With poetry and humor, this inspiring memoir tugs on your heartstrings and feeds your soul long after you've finished.

©2013 Forrest Pritchard (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"By the end of his wonderful book, Pritchard lies in a field pondering his own slim margin of success from slowing things down in our fast paced world; a well-deserved moment of happiness for this important new spokesperson of the future of agriculture and poet of the earth." ( Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Roger Wayne's warm, lively reading of Forrest Pritchard's memoir of saving his family's farm in the Shenandoah Valley is a hopeful and conversational experience.... integrity is heard in Wayne's performance." ( AudioFile)

Loved his book.

I'm not a farmer but I loved the points Forrest made that really make me think about where my food came from and why it's worth paying a bit more for organic.

perfect 4 beginning farmers

great story highly recommend this book. check this one out if you are a beginning farmer like me

faith renewed, yeah for the little guy!

very enjoyable- good to know that there are people out there who care about what goes in us. So happy he was eventually successful, boy did he work for it!

Terrific journey to the Farm!

Would you consider the audio edition of Gaining Ground to be better than the print version?

Hard to say. Roger Wayne didn't take anything away from Pritchard's fantastic narrative, but he did not add to it, either. For the most part, the narration was terrific, though there are a few odd places where the emphasis was misplaced, or the tone was off. I would recommend it to audiobook readers, or those who choose to read the print book... but the performance doesn't make me scream out, "You HAVE to listen to this in audio!"

Who was your favorite character and why?

Forrest and his family. Forrest for his grim determination, for falling and getting back up... again and again and again.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book! As someone who receives their beef, chickens and pork raised in this manner, it was an illuminating expose into the life of a farmer, particularly one who is attempting to reinvent the wheel. Forrest is up-front about his mistakes along the way, and presents a compelling - though not preachy - look at "old-school" farming.
Terrific book!

Addictive

Once I started listening it was an effort to stop. So well-written and performed.

Great story

Not so much a how-to, but a great store. Touching and inspiring. I recommend it.

Fantastic!

I truly enjoyed listening to this book. Thank you for sharing your journey. I learned so much from your analysis of every failure. The chronological format in which you explained things made it a true pleasure to read, understand your failures, and celebrate your wins. This book came at the right time. I just retired from the practice of law to start a sawmill/woodworking business. Went from Lawyer to Sawyer. I am learning from all my mistakes and hope to avoid other ones after listening to this book.

Well written , well read, useful info

Honest memoir of becoming a farmer and sticking to your values. Loved it! The joys and challenges of farming

Great story

I enjoyed listening to the story, though some of the voices the reader to on were kinda laughable. Otherwise, entertaining and a nice look at what's happened/ is happening to family farms everywhere

Solid, well rounded, balanced,optimistic,

I started rebuilding our family farm in 1996 with a pick up and a chainsaw clearing ground when I’d come home from college every weekend, and over the years have built it into a full time farm self sustaining farm, even though it looks very different than I first dreamed of. Forrest is the first author whose work I have read who didn’t think his way was the only way, and didn’t condemn me for taking a different path when the “organic sustainable way” wouldn’t work in my area at the time. It will take farmers like Forrest who are willing to meet others where they are at presenting the alternative solutions and pathways to make such changes to the current food production models without condemning the life’s work and very different but vast knowledge of other farmers in order make lasting change and turn the tides. I hope to meet and work with this Farmer some day.
David Morrow
MorroWood Farms Ltd
Southeastern Ohio