Country Grit

Scottie Jones lived a typical suburban, professional life in Phoenix until her husband, Greg, got into a near-fatal car accident. While recovering, he became convinced that they needed a change and a simpler way of life, one more connected with nature and with each other. So, driven by a desire to cut ties with a material and convenient suburban life that had left them feeling empty, they bought a peaceful-looking farmhouse on sixty acres in Oregon and said good-bye to everything they knew. But though the grass may look greener, the road to pastoral bliss is fraught with financial woes, relentless rural roadblocks, and colossal failures. When the burden becomes almost too much to bear, Scottie hits on the idea of turning a house they initially built for their daughter into a Farm Stay, where people could visit and learn about Leaping Lamb Farm. The Farm Stay becomes the niche that rescues them from foreclosure—having found both a sense of purpose and a sense of place, the couple now finds the means to sustain it. In a world increasingly filled with questions of where our food comes from and dissatisfactions about our modern lives, Country Grit is a story that will resonate with countless people itching to get back to the land. Told with humor and hard-earned wisdom, it is also an account of what small-scale farmers across the country experience everyday and a warning that the farming life is not for everyone.

Scottie Jones is the executive director of the US Farm Stay Association, which started as a guest house on her farm. Funded by two USDA grants, it has grown into a nationwide network of farmers whose website has over 600,000 users. Scottie has built a new travel market in the United States and has become a nationally recognized speaker at both tourism and farm conferences across the country. She has written articles about Farm Stay for many magazines including Country, Dressage Today, and Southern Farm & Garden. She is also a founding member of the Oregon Agritourism Network. She still lives at and operates Leaping Lamb Farm in Alsea, Oregon.

"Humor-filled . . . The book focuses on the various joys and travails that came their way as they figured out farming: lambs roaming onto the lawn, broken fences, trying out turkeys, wasp stings, barn building, lambing, changing sheep breeds, scared horses and harvesting.."—Register-Guard

“Scottie Jones and her husband bought an Oregon farm despite lacking agricultural experience and proceeded to encounter every setback in the book. . . . Her memoir recounts her experiences with abundant humor.”—Oregonian

"Scottie writes with vulnerability and honesty about the reality of making it as a farmer today. Creating an experience for visitors while following a dream is clever and inspiring! This book has heart." —Jenna Woginrich, author of Cold Antler Farm: A Memoir of Growing Food and Celebrating Life on a Scrappy Six-Acre Homestead

"In Country Grit, Scottie Jones narrates her inventive and rocky quest for sustainability in the troubled landscape of today's small American farm, crafting what should not only be a primer for all who dream of returning to the land but also an entertaining tale for all packed with quirky characters, hilarious and heartbreaking challenges, and the pursuit of happiness against all odds. Her ultimate success on the heels of repeated disasters inspires us all to find our own 'heart of a farmer,' wherever we may be." —Suzanne McMinn, author of Chickens in the Road: An Adventure in Ordinary Splendor