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Locally Laid: How We Built a Plucky, Industry-Changing Egg Farm—from Scratch Audiobook
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How a midwestern family with no agriculture experience went from a few backyard chickens to a full-fledged farm—and discovered why local chicks are better
When Lucie Amundsen had a rare night out with her husband, she never imagined what he’d tell her over dinner—that his dream was to quit his office job (with benefits!) and start a commercial-scale pasture-raised egg farm. His entire agricultural experience consisted of raising five backyard hens, none of whom had yet laid a single egg.
To create this pastured poultry ranch, the couple scrambles to acquire nearly two thousand chickens—all named Lola. These hens, purchased commercially, arrive bereft of basic chicken-like instincts, such as the evening urge to roost. The newbie farmers also deal with their own shortcomings, making for a failed inspection and intense struggles to keep livestock alive (much less laying) during a brutal winter. But with a heavy dose of humor, they learn to negotiate the highly stressed no-man’s-land known as middle agriculture. Amundsen sees firsthand how these mid-sized farms, situated between small-scale operations and mammoth factory farms, are vital to rebuilding America’s local food system.
With an unexpected passion for this dubious enterprise, Amundsen shares a messy, wry, and entirely educational story of the unforeseen payoffs (and frequent pitfalls) of one couple’s ag adventure—and many, many hours spent wrangling chickens.
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“Written with candor, sarcasm, and humor, Locally Laid is, to pluck a phrase from the book, an immersion into ‘a loud, flustery poultry tsunami.’ It cures one of any residual romantic notions of playing farmer; makes one appreciate afresh how grueling and risky it is to operate a midsize family farm; and explains why their products are more expensive.”
— NPR
Quotes
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“I absolutely loved Locally Laid! Read it in two days and enjoyed every minute. Funny and informative.”
— Sue Grafton, #1 New York Times bestselling author -
“Locally Laid is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. With candor, humor, and a distinctly midwestern irreverence, Lucie B. Amundsen chronicles her family’s earnest effort to bring some sanity back to the food system.”
— Liz Carlisle, New York Times bestselling author -
“Narrator Kate Reading is excellent at capturing Amundsen’s emotions…During the more technical passages, Reading slows the pace and reads with crisp enunciation, making the material easy to understand.”
— AudioFile -
“In this honest, chronological memoir, Amundsen shares her knowledge and wisdom as co-owner of Minnesota-based Locally Laid Egg Company…Her first-person narrative makes her experience as a business owner in this industry informative yet accessible while also including humor.”
— Library Journal -
“[A] rollercoaster pastured-poultry farm start-up memoir. Locally Laid is a perfect example of why farm apprenticeships are so important. Seldom will nonfiction keep you from going to bed at night: Locally Laid will definitely keep you up!”
— Joel Salatin, author of You Can Farm -
“As a ‘remedial adult’ with chickens, I heartily commend you to the words, wisdom, and knowledge of Lucie B. Amundsen, an author whose voice is as earthy as a chicken run, as goofy and bright as a pasture-raised egg yolk at sunrise, and as down-to-earth as barn boots in mud.”
— Michael Perry, author of Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting -
“Witty and eye-opening, Locally Laid is a gem. I found myself rooting for this couple of lunatics who get into the egg business in the most unlikely of places, in the most unlikely of circumstances. Lucie B. Amundsen, aka Bird, is utterly uninhibited and quite hilarious.”
— Novella Carpenter, author of Farm City -
“Lucie Amundsen’s refreshingly honest account of starting a mid-sized farm will resonate with any business owner. She brings the perfect measure of levity to her tale, keeping the reader laughing during even the most tense moments of this true-to-life story.”
— Anastasia Cole Plakias, author of The Farm on the Roof -
“The author’s skepticism and her husband’s optimism collide to create a laughable, empathetic tale of re-education for (wo)man and beast…Don’t let Amundsen’s self-deprecating humor fool you into taking this book lightly. In between capers, she makes a nuanced plea to respect local farms and the animals that populate them.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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Winner of the 2016 Midwest Booksellers Choice Awards for Nonfiction
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A 2016 GoodReads Readers’ Choice Best Food Book Award Nominee
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About Lucie B. Amundsen
Lucie Amundsen is a writer, marketer, and reluctant farmer. She co-owns Locally Laid Egg Company, a farm that provides pasture-raised eggs in Minnesota, Iowa, and Indiana.
About Kate Reading
Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.