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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer by Brian Reisinger tells the story of his family's four-generation farm in Wisconsin, beginning with his great-grandfather, Alois, who emigrated from Europe in 1909. The Reisinger family faced numerous hardships over the years, including the Great Depression, the 1980s farm crisis, and ongoing economic pressures from larger agricultural enterprises. Reisinger speaks on the emotional toll of his father's battle with alcoholism and the burdens of managing the farm. Despite efforts to sustain the family farm, including a decision to sell their cows in 2001, the farm's future remained uncertain. In 2019, Reisinger returned to assist his sister, but the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated matters, leaning into the decline of family-run farms and the deep personal and financial costs of maintaining such a legacy.
In his family biography Land Rich, Cash Poor, Brian Reisinger gives us a truly honest and affecting overview of one family's multi-generational fight to hold on to their calling in the face of economic instability, industry pressures, and everyday complications. Reisinger does a wonderful job of pulling readers in with writing that is conversational, and we get a real sense of the inextricable link between the people and the profession through his own history, as well as through the broader issues affecting small farms. Biographies can be tricky when we do not know the writer or know of them, but as Reisinger is tied to the backbone of what made America so economically and socially strong since its infancy, I really could not put this book down. And I'm a city girl who lives in London, so that says quite a lot. The standout is Reisinger's portrayal of his sister Malia in a male-dominated field. Overall, this is a deeply human story about the resilience needed to sustain both a family and a struggling farm, with great ideas on what can be implemented to save them. Very highly recommended.
