Description

Beth Hoffman, author of "Bet the Farm: the Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America," will present and read from her book at 2 p.m. on August 27 at the Marshalltown Public Library. 

Copies of her book will be available for purchase and can be signed by the author afterwards. Beth Hoffman was living the good life: she had a successful career as a journalist and professor, a comfortable home in San Francisco, and plenty of close friends and family. 

Yet in her late 40s, she and her husband decided to leave the big city and move to his family's 530-acre farm in Iowa—all for the dream of becoming a farmer, to put into practice everything she had learned over decades of reporting on food and agriculture. There was just one problem: money. 

Join Beth as she talks about her book Bet the Farm: The Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America which chronicles the challenges of farming in America through Beth’s eyes as a beginning farmer. She must contend with her father-in-law, who is reluctant to hand over control of the land. Growing oats is good for the environment but ends up being very bad for the wallet. And finding somewhere, in the midst of COVID-19, to slaughter grass-finished beef is a nightmare. 

The couple also must balance the books, hoping that farming isn’t a romantic fantasy that takes every cent of their savings. Bet the Farm is a first-hand account of the perils of farming today and a personal exploration of more just and sustainable ways of producing food. Beaverdale Books will be here to sell books after the presentation.