ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of Ben Holmes, the founder and director of the Farm School. He and the wonderful teachers at the school (namely animal experts Josh Pinkus, Bradley Teeter, and Amber Johns) helped to guide and clarify the instruction in this book.

I’m grateful to Amanda Jezek Martinot, D.V.M., M.P.H., Ph.D., for sharing with me her encyclopedic medical knowledge, as well as to Rosario Delgado-Lecaroz, D.V.M., who answered countless questions about sheep and goats. Thanks to Susan Roy for lending her adorable pygmy goats for a photo session and thank you to young 4-Her, Kelsey O’Brien, for gamely stepping in as our cover girl. A clucking, neighing, and mooing thank-you to my own animals for letting me practice on them throughout the years—which reminds me to thank my father, Jim Rudick, for not letting me get a horse until “I was ready” for one—a qualification that I cursed for years, but for which I am now grateful. A bottomless thank-you to my mother, Dr. Kathryn Jansak, for teaching me how to think critically and explain simply. She is always my first and best reader, and I truly could not have written this book without her support. And, to the men in my life: I thank my wonderful husband Erik for … well, everything. His pragmatic idealism, constant love, and incredible sense of humor make me feel that anything is possible—including starting an organic farm, a family, and writing a book all in the same year. And, to our baby boy, Wendell, who can enthusiastically mimic the calls of any barnyard creature, this book is for you.