My Father and Other Animals: How I Took on the Family Farm

by Sam Vincent

A moving and hilarious fish-out-of-water memoir of a millennial leaving his inner-city life to take over the family farm.

Sam Vincent is a twenty-something writer in the inner suburbs, scrabbling to make ends meet, when he gets a call from his mother: his father has stuck his hand in a woodchipper, but ‘not to worry – it wasn’t like that scene in Fargo or anything’. When Sam returns to the family farm to help out, his life takes a new and unexpected direction.

Whether castrating a calf or buying a bull – or knocking in a hundred fence posts by hand when his dad hides the post-driver – Sam’s farming apprenticeship is an education in grit and shit. But there are victories, too: nurturing a fig orchard to bloom; learning to read the land; joining forces with Indigenous elders to protect a special site. Slowly, Sam finds himself thinking differently about the farm, about his father and about his relationship with both.

By turns affecting, hilarious and utterly surprising, this memoir melds humour and fierce honesty in an unsentimental love letter. It’s about belonging, humility and regeneration – of land, family and culture. What passes from father to son on this unruly patch of earth is more than a livelihood; it is a legacy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Australia, Environment

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2022

About the author

Sam Vincent is a writer, farmer and the author of Blood and Guts: Dispatches from the Whale Wars.

His work has been published in The Monthly, The Saturday Paper and Griffith Review. He won the 2019 Walkley Award for longform feature writing.

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always want to read more stories from the region in which I live, and this one, which deals with sustainable farming, sitting with dispossession and working out who you want to be, is a great, and thought-provoking, read. In his family, Vincent captures some of the transitions happening in small-scale farming, as generations and values shift, and climate change places increasing stress. Vincent captures all this without ever claiming to do more than tell a very specific story.
Canberrans will likely recognise some of those Vincent engages with - a sensation I found surprisingly disconcerting. Serves me right for whinging that not enough books are written about the gorgeous region.

[Kym Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part memoir and part argument for regenerative farming (as opposed to conventional agriculture). This book is an easy and enjoyable read, and would make a good introductory text for people interested in regenerative agriculture—in fact given the importance of this for the world everyone should be interested in this topic.

Vincent makes some interesting points, including that without ruminants (cows, sheep) or similar grazing animals you actually can’t have a stable environment (unless we reverted the environment to a pre-human state, with no land cleared for crops) because the cycle of growth and soil regeneration requires some level of grazing and returning of nutrients via dung.

Very interesting and worth reading. Overall: recommended.

PS: I thought it was a bit harsh that the sisters expect to take an equal share of the farm after the parents die, even though the author will have spent many years of his life by that point putting his labour into the soil itself; as he makes the point again and again, the main thing being being farmed is the soil, the crops and animals are just outputs, therefore his sweat and blood is tied into the soil itself, why should they get an equal share of his blood and sweat over years and decades of effort?…there is a brief chapter on this side of things but it could easily make a book of itself.

[Sherry Mackay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book which is more of a look at how we do modern agriculture than a look into the author’s family life. Though there is plenty of that as well.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir about growing up on a farm, Gollion, which Sam’s father a retired economist runs on common sense lines which remarkably parallel to the regenerative farming established by Charles Massy. This is the most interesting and important part of the book: his father worked out, for instance, that if you have a bare hill, plant the right trees on the crown, that will stop run off and flooding; fence the creek from cows and place obstacles across, which will sow the flow of water and regenerate the land, brining plants and wildlife; allow grass to regenerate after cows overgrazing cropping, and so on, in defiance of “traditional” practice, which relies on chemicals, overstocking and insufficient circulation. Massy had turned dry ruined land into lush land, as happened at Gollion. There is also an interesting section on First Nations people who had been settled on Gollion way back. The remainder of the book is the details of about farming practice, bushfires, cropping, calving, buying cattle, with the focus on his father and his egocentric ways. Sam eventually marries and eventually Lauren is entirely reconciled. The memoir part is okay because Vincent is a good writer, allowing for some sentimentality, but the 4 stars comes from the importance of what he is talking about, how current farming practices should be changed, how and why.

[Morag Thorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare treat

The author had no intention of taking over the family farm from his parents, but finds himself gradually seduced by the blend of challenges and rewards of having to come to grips with the changing demands of farming in the time of climate change. Appreciation for how Aboriginal people view and protect the land is part of learning how to farm regeneratively in Australia, and this book also gives the reader an insight into the personal and family dynamics of life on the land.

[Pip Snort · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Dad was an awful lot like Sam's dad, except he grew things with engines, not leaves, so this book evokes a great deal of nostalgia. Even if your dad wasn't a crazy independent and resourceful type, there are many things to love about this ode to farm, family and wholistic agriculture. Hopefully, the government and lots of Aussie farmers read it and try a new way of loving the land that is in their blood and is their (and our) bread and butter.

[Katie Snell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read that give an unique insight into life on the land, farming families, sustainable farming and the future of our food. Sam was able to talk about some very complex subjects around food and farming in an easy and accessible way. Highly recommend this book if you want to better understand modern farming.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warm and witty telling of a journey to love and understand the author’s father, as well as his own journey to find his place in life.
The symbolic feature of the farm being representative of the relationship proves the golden thread of the narrative. Very easy to read.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book. A mix of family memoir associated with a farm managed over the last 40 years, better farming practices, and the Aboriginal links to the farm.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm ready to pack up and buy a farm!😊

[Robyn Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Sam Vincent’s creative non-fiction writing style. Easy to read, full of information which is mostly hidden inside an engaging narrative. Great story about regenerative farming and time spent moving through life with his economist-farmer dad. It’s a Canberra city boy’s journey as he wanders around the paddocks and observes his dad, becoming a thoughtful fig and cattle farmer.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Easy to read. Engaging story of the author and his dad. Plus lots of stories and info about implementing regenerating farming. Great for those new to this and learning about it.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read with many laughs along the reading journey.and informative about regenerative agriculture.

[Chris Halpin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

[Alexandra Daw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this account of taking over the family farm.

[Wendy Marchment · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable easy read. Brought back memories of growing up in the country.

[Josephine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally absorbing and a beautiful important share

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A humorous look at how Sam tackled a return to farm life after his father had an accident. While earlier Sam had wanted to "escape" the farm, this new experience found him growing to appreciate all it had to offer. With his father to guide him, he learnt about sustainable, regenerative farming, and how an Aboriginal connection to part of his land would not be an obstacle to his conservation plans.

A moving and hilarious fish-out-of-water memoir of a millennial leaving his inner-city life to take over the family farm. Sam Vincent is a twenty-something writer in the inner suburbs, scrabbling to make ends meet, when he gets a call from his mother: his father has stuck his hand in a woodchipper, but ‘not to worry – it wasn’t like that scene in Fargo or anything’. When Sam returns to the family farm to help out, his life takes a new and unexpected direction. Whether castrating a calf or buying a bull – or knocking in a hundred fence posts by hand when his dad hides the post-driver – Sam’s farming apprenticeship is an education in grit and shit. But there are victories, too: nurturing a fig orchard to bloom; learning to read the land; joining forces with Indigenous elders to protect a special site. Slowly, Sam finds himself thinking differently about the farm, about his father and about his relationship with both. By turns affecting, hilarious and utterly surprising, this memoir melds humour and fierce honesty in an unsentimental love letter. It’s about belonging, humility and regeneration – of land, family and culture. What passes from father to son on this unruly patch of earth is more than a livelihood; it is a legacy.

[Dominique Heriot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam’s relationship with his dad, family and the family farm was honest and insightful. Most importantly, Sam was able to explain in a clear and concise way, how farmers are bringing or can bring, health and vitality back to the land we farm.