8/6/2019 Beyond Organic

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/beyond-organic 1/2

Polyace arm services more than 1500 amilies, 10 retail outle

30 restaurants using relationship marketing. Customers can vis

Polyace’s on-arm store on Saturdays, or join a local buying clu

They’re welcome to visit the arm and many have taken up the

Others regularly visit the website or news and recipes. Custom

excited not only by the good ood, but by the stewardship on t

Every six weeks, buying club customers order on-line. They c

rom Polyace’s range o salad bar bee, pasture-based poultry

eggs, pig-aerator pork, orage-based rabbits and pasture-base

The day beore the drop, orders are pulled together in coole

boxes and stored in the walk-in reezer. On the day, orders are t

by bus to dropsites, and exchanged or payment with custome

In 30 minutes to an hour, 30 to 80 orders are handed over.

Joel Salatin might call himSelf

rd-r u

rr, bu s wrs ’s

u r d r

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i US, J s rwd r

uv r ds

pys s y r, Py,

Sd Vy, Vr. S-s

rss rrs prz J’s -ss

bks, ud Pastured Poultry Profits,

Salad Bar Beef d Holy Cows & Hog Heaven.

 ts r w pr s

d sr us r s.

“evry w d s py ur

urr ruur wsd,” ds.“W spur dvs w

dv pru-bsd rsrs,

psds, rs d bs. W

ur rd prs ur.”

Practising what you preach

Py fr, “ r

w y s”, s w J rs

“byd r”. tr wbs www.

pyrs. sys, “W’r

rdp busss: d,

d, y, d uur.”

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ury d r y d wu

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ps ws. e sps

r s dpd r.

 t r s y pr. J

(52) jus r wrk w spk

pps d s wr s

sv bk. hs w trs ds

bkkp. tr 28-yr-d s

D rus dy--dy prs

d s w Sr ds rk.

cu J’s r rddr

d s r, ur rs v

ry w ur Py.

Py ws 200 rs (81) d

d rs r 400 rs (162). i

supprs xd b r-r

s. au prdu us

bu 900 d , 30000 brr

ks, 4 000 yrs, 800 ps, d 1 000

rbbs, pus 450 rs (182) br.

Salad bar bee J rrs s psur s “sd br”

r r s d s b r rss-

d , “sd-br b”. “our s

pprx ur s sy s pssb,”

sys. “our ws y r d r

vd wy r r ur d

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W us prb r kp

rdd y, s s r s.

“ts ur d s

d, ks r, rdus

wds, sus rwrs,

rdus ps d rss

’s ur qus.”

J bvs sd-br b vs

sr b rrs d, sy

s pr ur xpr, rrdss dy pr

vs. h rks 95% US w- 

prdurs wud b y br  

w sd br b pryp

s dy vs r yrs.

c r prd by prb

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psur by “w dys” pr r. W

w s dy drs w

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Stocking your salad bar

a d sd br rs u p

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b. “W s

eature

38 5 Ju 2009 |   farmer’s weekly

Continued on page 40

Dr usr rk

US armer J S advocates a holistic, pasture-based approach

and ocuses on the local market. By arming multiple livestock species,

he’s managed to cut down on artifcial inputs. Rby Jubr reports.

Joel Salatin, the brain behind o Polyace.Polyfacefarms

ABOVE: Animals are movedbetween pastures daily, usingportable electric ences.

ABOVE: Jordan Winters’ pasture-raisedchicken in portable chicken houses.

apprs y dspsMore than 40 people have served year-long

apprenticeships with Joel over the past 20

years and his gospel is spreading as past

apprentices set up arms throughout the

country. Jordan Winters took up a one-year

apprenticeship in 2006. During his year in the

Shenandoah Valley, Jordan saw irst hand

the application o methods and principles

he’d read about in Joel’s books as a teenager.

“Perhaps one o the most important lessons I

learned was the need to be innovative and to

keep costs down by reducing the dependency

on the large equipment necessary in

industrial arming,” says Jordan. “This, and

direct customer marketing, are what allow

pasture-based arming to be proftable.”

Jordan, who is 23, has since started raising

his own animals on Winters Grass Farm in

New York State, which he’s working hard at

growing into a ull-time business based on

Joel’s model. Jordan has a small but growing

base o loyal, regular customers who are quick 

to share the benefts o his product with

others. In addition to local armer

he has customers who buy directl

the arm and who buy rom buyer

“For the consumer, one o the m

o pastured arming over “actory

they can get to know the armer p

check out the arm, and know how

is raised. I they don’t like what the

look elsewhere. This is why the loc

movement has grown alongside t

movement. Rising transportation

course, make local ood more com

While ew people know about g

arming, making public education

necessary, Jordan says support o

ood is defnitely growing. “A rien

runs a vegetable community-supp

agriculture (CSA) project. He has t

down a lot o orders as they can’t k

with demand and Polyace can’t e

“The answer isn’t to get bigger.

what Walmart does. We’d rather se

small arms than just a ew big arm

farmer’s weekly  | 5 Ju

Going ‘beyond organic’ makes small farms profitable

Jordan Winters, onethan 40 apprentices Joe

has trained in 20 yehis cattle in New Yo

Photos:s te

Cows,chickens,pigs,

rabbitsandturkeysareallfarmedtogetheronpasture.

Thelocalmarketand localrelationshipsareprioritised.

Theaimistofarminharmonywithnature.

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8/6/2019 Beyond Organic

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sd br s ky ppss

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w wys s dssr rs. fr w,

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s k r d bw

r d vr.” t pr ss

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r rz sys w ws

bz rw p’s y.

“ts rs r r rw

p rw S urv,” xps.

“ts rw b pd by

p rw svr s br ’s y

rzd, d w rrw

s br ’s rzd .”

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s b rs, ks -

y s w ws, sr

rud ds d sprd

ur s y sr r s d

rv. ty y r s ds

J’s spy-dsd “bs”

– prb uss 3,6 x 6,1.

 t fr s sr p.

 t brds r surd sd r

rd , vd vry r

dys r r psur.

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prb d srs, us

bu 75 brds. Brrs r surd

bu wks. “ir ws

w d srs srs

rss d urs ks

dr, rs sprus,” sys J. “W

w vry s u r

r s s p ws.”

Animal-prepared compost

i d Vr wr, r r

brs. “ev s ds rsbus rss w

sp,” J sys. cws r srd

p-sdd sds d prvdd w wr

bdd srw. mur d ur r

vrd dy w rs wd ps. as

r v rss udr, y rus

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r krs r xd w bdd.

eature

farmer’s weekly  | 5 J40 5 Ju 2009 |  farmer’s weekly

Pastured livestock and poultry

moved requently to new pastur

or “salad bars”, oer landscape

healing and superior nutrition.

Plants and animals should be

provided a habitat that allows th

express their distinctive behavio

We should all seek ood closer

home, in our bioregion. This mea

enjoying seasonality and reacqu

ourselves with our home kitchen

Mimicking natural patterns on

commercial domestic scale ensu

human ingenuity is given moral

and ethical boundaries. Cows ar

herbivores, not omnivores.

Stimulating soil biota is our ir

priority. Soil health creates healt

•

•

•

•

•

 t Py s

Polyace Farms appears in a ort

documentary,Food Inc , due to o

in the US in June. It takes a critica

look at the American ood system

contrasting industrial agribusin

with operations like Polyace. Th

movie has the same fnancial ba

as Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth

c US tV

Move aside organic and ree-ran

new buzz-word on the block is “

“Local has certain connotatio

Joel. “It means your business is lo

That you don’t bring in undocum

oreign workers. That you allow

That your scale is neighbourhoo

riendly. It’s more than just how

miles rom kill to plate. It’s abou

perception o lie and worldview

also using the word “transparenPolyace has a 24/7/365 open do

I you think we’re doing somethi

wouldn’t like at 2am, you’re welc

to come out and see. Don’t wake

up, but you’re welcome to visit.”

l s lekker 

The eggmobile, a portable hen houthat lets layers orage ater cows.

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s sprd bk ds rw y

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spr psurs rd vry w

dys w r s. ty ss

r k ps r rs.

fr-bsd rbbs d urkys r

w “s” Py. a prb

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r rd- pddk d

brds r vd vry w dys rs

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w supps r r r.

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-brd bs r rbbs

w r rdy d r

wu drr. ty r

usd vd srs bv

ks us-d sruur. t

brd sk rvs udd

ps d y r rs rs.

i ss, y rbbs r

sd prb, sd-rdd srs w r vd dy.

A way o lie

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d d w’ prdu u

d d rw , J

dsrs. h sys s r ds r

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ds rqur r bur. “S-s

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rdus rspr ss d vurs

rr. csurs r s sr

p rr vu vry d

rs d rs r,” sys.

J w’ sp s d s

urr wy ur-ur drv.

 t r dvrs ub drp- ps

ry w dz ws Vr

d mryd d srvs r 36

r rsurs, rrs, bkrs

d s d srs r ( see

box: Direct customer marketing).

“W w pp suppr rs

s d kp y

r us,” sys J.

“W k r’s rr sr

b drsd d sprd u

rr b rd d

rsd” (see box: Local is lekker ).

J s r x r

bk r by r wy k

d v w r w d d prdu , urus

d. t , s s ppr s’

 jus uur, ’s r wy r.

“t rs rdy s s wy  

r s s s br,” uds.

Contact Polyface farms on (001) 540 887 

8194, e-mail polyface@northriver.coop

or go to www.polyfacefarms.com.  |fw

•

ABOVE: During summer and autumn, pigs orage in separatepastures, rotated every ew days with electric ence.

LEFT: Pasture-based chickens ollow the cows, oraging or their ood.

Joel with his “pig aerators”. By rootingaround in old winter bedding in thecow sheds, the pigs help aerate it andspeed up the composting process.

‘We want people to

support farms close to home.’ 

‘Salad-bar beef givessmaller beef farmers an edge.’ 

ABOVE: A cow enjoyingthe “salad bar”.

RIGHT: Joel Salatin with hisbee herd on Polyace Farm.

Joel Salatin has developed a pasture rotationsystem that produces nutrient-rich grass andmaximises the composting o animal waste.Photos:P olyface farms