Countryside magazine

[QUOTE=katlupe]Sure enough! Thanks, Katlupe!

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I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.

Yes the quality has gone down hill. I hesitated to admit this as I've enjoyed Countryside for so long. When the Nov/Dec. 06 issue came I read thru it once then I felt like I was betraying an old friend as I thru it in the trash. I guess I'll re-new one more time to see if things improve. I sure hope so.

Just a general comment it is difficult to be all things to all people. If they emphasize the basic how-tos, likely they get complaints from old timers - or they don't renew. If they emphasize articles for the old timers likely they get complaints from beginners that information is too advanced for them - and they likely don't renew. When you compromise too much you get a camel - the horse put together by a committee.

Like any other subscription publication they live or die by their readership numbers, which determines, in large part, their advertising revenue.

Well said I agree. It is still my favorite magazine though.

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marching to the beat of a different drummer

Sweet. Cowgirl, I read that ,and I have numerous issues of countryside going back to 1988.

Like everyone else, I have found the last couple of issues redundant. I would like some more tight wad ideas. Yes, countryside is starting to be gasp like mother earth. On the other hand, the older issues are informative

Ken, didn't you open a salvage grocery business?

tnborn: Yes, it lasted about a year. In retrospect I made some very poor decisions. End up donating most of the inventory to a food bank. Essentially broke even on it. But it was a valuable lesson. Wrote an article on why it closed for Countryside.

I haven't gotten the mag that long so I really enjoy reading it from cover to cover.

Great idea!

So if we write something to submit, what addie to we send it to? (Thought it might be good to have it in this thread.)

No, you're not out of line. I used to love Countryside but it has become very stale. I do feel like I am reading articles that have been printed before in the magazine. I still go to the book shop and pick up my copy but I am finding that I am reading less and less of the articles. Too many of the longer articles seem to be written by the same author's and that sometimes is good and other times it is bad. I sort of look at Countryside magazine as being a family magazine but it doesn't really bring the reader in like they are part of the family. The last good article I read was an ongoing story of an older woman who grew up during the depression. The lady in the story was the author and I found her stories very interesting.

The quality of stories in Countryside aren't quite what they used to be.

I wrote to them about a year ago asking where the articles about animal husbandry had gone. I mean, the name of the magazine is "Countryside and Small Stock Journal," so where's the small stock? Then I picked up a few of my older issues, like 2004 and earlier, and found that indeed, they had many, many more articles on stock in comparison. I can't remember exactly what year JD stopped doing it, but I think it wasn't too long after that when they started to lose their focus.

Also, as some have mentioned, the editing quality seems to have gone downhill for the last couple of years. For example, there was an article on rabbits where the picture showed, left to right, an English Lop, a Mini Lop, a Dutch, and what looked to me like a Netherland Dwarf. The caption read: "Left to right: French Lop, Californian, Dutch, and Mini Lop." Hey, at least they got the Dutch right. But how does an editor let something like that publish?

You know, I've been subscribing to Countryside, with the occasional small lapse, for over 10 years, and I've gone to the library and read through most of the back issues. Even so, I still enjoy fresh articles on small stock. After all, if you ask 10 goat keepers how to feed their goats, you'll get 10 answers, right? So print 10 articles (or more) on feeding goats! There's bound to be something new in each article, even if it's only the writer's style. When I got the March/April 2006 issue of the small stock journal and found that it contained only five and a half pages of articles on livestock in the entire magazine, not including advertisements, I made the decision not to renew.

I don't recall hearing anything back on my letter.

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The basic message of liberalism is simply: The true measure of a society is how it treats the weak and the needy. A simple Christian message (Matthew 25:40). -Garrison Keillor

Two things:

First: maybe some here have outgrown the needs/ideas in Countryside mg. Ever consider that?

Second: Why don't you all write to the magazine expressing your disapointment with the recent issues?? Or donload this thread & mail it in.

The rough draft is done: with luck I will get it e-mailed in today. I was not QUITE ready to write about the no-work garden, but Countryside magazine is written by its readers.

If it needs something fresh and new, it is up to the readers to write it.

A good question, that. I haven't sent anything in over a year so I do not rememer.

I e-mailed them to ask, but it is Saturday. I might not get an immediate response. When they SO respond, I will post it here.

Good for you Terri!
I'm glad to see someone taking action and writing in.

Thanks Terri!! Can't wait to read it.

Woo Hoo!! I had the issue! I read it last night, good information, at the end of the article it said you were trying some in tanks. Did that work & would you share that experience with me? I read in an old Farm Show magazine about raising fresh water lobster in plastic kids swimming pools in the basement but was unable to make contact with the writer for more information and haven't had time to do further research on it. I don't have a pond or suitable area for one but tanks might work for me.

This is a difficult subject - I have subscribed for a long time, I still like the magazine, there isn't anything else like it out there, but I do agree something has changed.
I think it might be something to do with some of the people who used to write in, don't any more - Two I can think of are, Bev Sanderlin and Intentional Peasant. Bev was so inspirational, I always enjoyed reading what she was doing at her homestead. Ditto for IP. There don't seem to be so many true homesteaders writing in anymore, but I wonder if that is the fault of the magazine, or there just aren't many people out there living that lifestyle anymore.
I love to read about people who start from nothing and build their place up, their way. That issue with the 42 stories was my all-time favorite. I guess I miss the stories like that.

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[COLOR="Blue"]Expect Little - That way you will be seldom disappointed.../COLOR]

I agree with you, Laura. I would like to see more articles on small stock. There are too many articles on tire homes, underground homes and homes made from bottles etc. Too many of us already live in a house and aren't going to build another house just for the heck of it. A lot of us do raise livestock and are willing to try new things if the article is encouraging enough. I also like different gardening methods and how to can, freeze and store foods from the garden, woods and farm. I would also like articles on how to make better use of the land whether it be one acre or 100 acres, flat lant, slope land, wet land or rocky land. Maybe someday I will sit down and try to write an article (I just have to figure out what I'd write about).

A bit OT, but does anyone subscribe to Farm & Ranch Living http://www.farmandranchliving.com/ ? I remember finding this one years back, & loving the personal stories...

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I also don't enjoy the magazine as much as I used to and I honestly don't know if it't me or them. Sometimes I think it's just not new after 25 years of reading it. I already know alot of the things written about and have already done alot of itand know what works for me and what doesn't. Also I may not be as idealistic as I once was so some of it is not relevant. But, I still subscribe and still also yearn for Jd to return if only for a monthly beyond the sidewalks essay.

I pick it up occasionally, I too love the diaries. Had someone about 15 miles from me get featured this past year.

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