A farm located in Swoope, Virgina, has made a mark in the industry of animal products by adopting a compassionate approach to animal rearing. Run by the Salatin family, the Polyface Farm has a long history of challenges and achievements, towards one goal: a farm designed in the image of the natural ecosystems.
The Polyface mission statement is “to develop agricultural enterprises that are emotionally, economically, and environmentally enhancing and facilitate their duplication throughout the world.” When the Salatin family purchased the property in the spring of 1961, it was the most rundown, gullied rockpile in the area. Using off-farm income to pay the mortgage, the family began the land healing process by planting trees, building water diversions, and developing mobile livestock infrastructure to mate with pastured production systems. Conservation and experimentation dominated the first decade. The second decade included prototypes and direct marketing.
A rebirth
Afterwards, when Joel and Teresa Salatin returned to the farm fulltime in September 24, 1982, they began leveraging the family’s 20-year experience. For the first time, the farm generated a salary, then another, then another until today, it supports about 22 incomes producing pastured poultry, pigaerator pigs, salad bar beef (moved daily on perennial polycultures), and forestry products like lumber, firewood, and chips. But no venture succeeds at the get go, does it? The original plan was somewhat different, Joel says, “Our biggest challenge was government food regulations. My first plan was a raw milk dairy, but as that was illegal, it kept me out of farming for a while; until we saved enough money to live for one year without an income. Teresa and I made an apartment in the farmhouse attic, drove a $50 car, never (still don’t) had a TV, never ate out, never went on vacation, ate nearly 100 percent from our garden. When the kids came along, we never bought an ounce of baby food, used cloth diapers, never had a stroller or carry pouch, and never hired a babysitter. They were the happiest days of our lives. When the bedroom is also the kitchen, what’s not to love? Fall out of bed and into the biscuits.”
Joel reminisces the rough yet joyful days and continues, “Another challenge was getting traction with customers. This was 1982; the organic movement was nascent. Fortunately, our low living expenses at $300 per month meant that even a $100 sale was a big deal. I built some fence for a fellow, planted trees for another, and those little cash injections kept us afloat while the customer base built. The worst part was selling beef in November and not getting another dime until mid-May when the first pastured chickens were ready. Cash flow was a big hurdle, but we pinched pennies and got through. Then the food police arrived and told us everything we were doing was illegal. Butchering chickens, pre-selling sides of custom beef—it was all illegal, according to bureaucrats. We fought that battle through our elected legislators and finally won. Then of course we had predators, weather events, broken machinery—the regular stuff every farmer enjoys.”
Miming Nature
The Polyface Farms have adopted many ways to set them apart. Their distinctive features include ‘mob stocking herbivorous solar conversion lignified carbon sequestration fertilisation’ where soil is built by duplicating the moving, mobbing, and mowing template seen in wild herbivore herds from around the planet and throughout history. This daily-moving technique using high tech electric fencing builds soil, increases biodiversity of vegetation, insects (pollinators), and wildlife, and stimulates hydration in both land and atmosphere (evapotranspiration). At Polyface, all omnivorous animals enjoy clean, fresh outdoor living with either daily or frequent moves to new pastures instead of confining them to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. The pigs at the farm turn compost rather than machinery. Eggmobiles follow cows; laying hens spread cow pats and eat out fly larvae, acting as a biological pasture sanitiser. Here, “animals do the work.” Polyface uses no wormers, vaccines, or antibiotics because these habitats and hygiene protocols build immune systems. When animals are housed, deep bedding (carbonaceous diaper) absorbs manure and eliminates noxious odours.
Moreover, Polyface hasn’t bought a single bag of chemical fertiliser, ever. A commercial chipper converts tree limbs left over from forestry operations into valuable carbon for composting and animal bedding. This monetises forestry work by integrating forest and open land management. Compost increases organic matter (OM) in the soil; since 1961, the farm has gone from an average 1 percent OM to more than 8 per cent. The founders have strived to expand the knowledge and practices at Polyface, Joel says, “Our foundation is 16 book titles over the years that chronicle both our worldview and practical how-to. With the advent of video and the internet, we now have an active Polyface website, the ‘Lunatic Farmer’ blog, ‘Farm Like a Lunatic’ video curriculum, and the Polyface ‘Intensive Discovery Seminars’. Knowing that you’re eating animal proteins from animals that have been respected and honoured is a big deal; most organic certified animals are still raised in CAFOs and organic beef still gets fattened on grain, which changes fats and nutritional ratios.”
Sharing Knowledge
The farm services nearly 40 urban monthly drop points within 4 hours, some specialty retailers and food co-ops, as well as restaurants. An on-farm store stocks additional items from surrounding food and fibre crafters. Polyface also ships nationwide each Tuesday. Some 15,000 visitors a year come to the farm to buy food, attend gatherings in the Lunatic Learning Center, and participate in workshops and tours. A formal summer stewardship program and year-round apprentice program offer mentoring opportunities to germinate new young farmers. In addition to the home farm, Polyface manages more than 15 properties in the immediate area to extend Polyface land healing principles to nearby farmland.
The Salatin Family’s objective is to produce food that is safe, secure, dense, and stable. Despite their tireless hardwork, Joel says, “I have no idea what the future holds. Our country has turned upside down politically, morally, economically. I’d like to think that with the war in Ukraine and probably another manufactured pandemic, not buying fertiliser and doing more independently of the system will prove resiliency in the future like it has recently. But if compost instead of chemicals makes bankers cancel your account and the World Economic Forum with Bill Gates accomplishes its agenda, we’re in for a bumpy ride. Ask yourself this question: If Bill Gates actually believes his public statements that two-thirds of the world’s population needs to be exterminated in order for humans to survive on this planet, what would be morally and ethically off the table to save the human species? Nothing.”
A note to the Dreamers
The intriguing discussion with Joel comes to an end with his message to aspiring farmers and entrepreneurs, “Start small. Ask “how small can this be?” not “how big can this be?” Our culture is enamoured of bigness; what we’ve seen in the last three years is that smallness is the resilient model. When you’re navigating a rocky shoreline, you want to be in a speedboat, not an aircraft carrier. Ask advice from people you’d like to be like. Don’t ask advice from academics or experts or government agents. Seek counsel only from people who have successfully done what you want to do; all the rest of them don’t have experience or wisdom that comes from the trenches.” He continues, “make sure you have your mission statement in one sentence, and then post it everywhere to remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. Build a team. Cultish independence is a quick way to fail. The gifts and talents necessary to be successful don’t grow on the same pair of legs; you need folks who have strengths where you’re weak. Cultivate collaborators. Don’t quit. Much of our success is because we refused to quit. The toughest going is often right before the breakthrough. Mastery requires years of experience.” Finally, he quotes, “you have to stick it out until you finally stick out.”
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