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  • Published: 18 June 2019
  • ISBN: 9780143789390
  • Imprint: Viking
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $35.00

Who's Minding the Farm?

In this climate emergency




A call to arms from Patrice Newell who has dedicated her life to land management at Elmswood in the Hunter Valley.

In an era of rapid climate change, this vital account of how agriculture can address major issues is an Australian story with global ramifications. Patrice is at the frontline of enormous challenges, from water scarcity and land stewardship to food security and the rural-urban divide. The devastation of drought and the crises created by industrial-scale chemically-dependent primary production are discussed and alternatives proposed – along with bold ideas for new sources of energy.

Patrice has travelled the world exploring best practice and invested heavily in organic methods on her farm. She believes we can produce enough good food to feed the world without further environmental wreckage or loss of bio-diversity. With glimpses of the individuals who make working the farm so rewarding, Who's Minding the Farm? provides a window into the pains, pleasures and politics of life on the land, and promotes new ways of thinking, no matter where you live.

Who’s minding the farm? A shared responsibility for us all.

  • Published: 18 June 2019
  • ISBN: 9780143789390
  • Imprint: Viking
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $35.00

About the author

Patrice Newell

Patrice Newell was born in Adelaide. After careers in modelling, journalism and television, she bought a farm in Gundy, New South Wales with her partner Phillip Adams, where she produces biodynamic olive oil, garlic, honey, soap and beef. Her books include Tree to Table, Ten Thousand Acres: A Love Story, a heartfelt call for sustainable land use; The Olive Grove, her bestselling account of leaving the city for life on the land; and The River, a critically acclaimed examination of water-management issues facing rural communities. You can follow the life of Patrice's farm at patricenewell.com.au

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Praise for Who's Minding the Farm?

A heartwarming informative and engaging account of sustainable farming down under.

Tim Flannery

Patrice Newell's account of life on the family farm in this era of climate change is as evocative as ever, but written with new urgency. This is the raw, unadulterated truth for all of us to absorb, because this is as basic as it gets. The future for our land and our food.

Kerry O'Brien

Throughout Who’s Minding the Farm? Newell offers a critical appraisal of our current fossil-fuel powered agricultural and industrial systems. More than criticisms, however, Newell offers a multitude of suggestions as to how we can make nutrient-rich and healing foods right here in Australia by restoring healthy soil and improving our agricultural practices. Moreover, Newell suggests that by using local, holistic knowledge, and by encouraging more young people back onto the land, regenerating the land will also mitigate the effects of climate change by storing carbon in the soil.

Michael McLoughlin, Readings Carlton

Newell’s rhetorical title question is a vital one. She can’t give us a conclusive answer, but by giving her readers knowledge of different farming practices and asking them to think about their effect on this wide brown land, she is doing the soil she loves a great service.

Candida Baker, The Age

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Patrice Newell explores humanity’s relationship with the earth itself.