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A
rare opportunity to learn from one of the best. For two days you'll
see it all, get all of your questions answered, and dine on the
farm's own fare. No knowledge or techniques held back. Register
early as space always sells out quickly.
Polyface
Farm Intensive Discovery Seminars
Swoope,
Virginia (just south of Staunton in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley)
About
Polyface Farm
 Polyface
is a family farm established by William and Lucille Salatin. Located
southwest of Staunton, Virginia, in the scenic Shenandoah Valley,
the farm is currently operated by Lucille Salatin, son
Joel and his wife Teresa, their daughter Rachel, and their son Daniel
and his wife Sheri. William’s father, Frederick Salatin, was
a charter subscriber to Organic Gardening and Farming magazine,
and was a master gardener and craftsman from Indiana.
When William and Lucille Salatin moved
to the Virginia farm in 1961 they brought the Salatin tradition
of organic farming with them. Joel and his family are the third
generation to continue the principles based on the belief that God
created the  Earth
and humanity as its steward, to nurture, protect and embellish.
This philosophy precludes the
use of toxic chemicals, debasing substances, and erosive practices,
and instills instead an insatiable thirst for agricultural truth.
The truth manifests itself in natural
principles of plant and animal life. The farm should capitalize
on these laws rather than fight against them. Roughly 550 acres,
the farm is about 100 acres of open land and the balance is wooded.
Polyface Farm produces "beyond-organic," grass-fattened
beef, home-grown broilers, pastured turkeys, firewood, eggs, rabbits
and vegetables. The Salatins are full-time farmers who are not independently
wealthy; they rely on the farm for their sustenance, and have developed
production, processing and marketing systems that make an end-run
around agriculture’s roadblocks.
 The
Salatins are enthusiastic and optimistic about farming. Joel has
written six books, Pastured Poultry Profits, Salad Bar Beef,
You Can Farm, Family Friendly Farming, Holy Cows and Hog Heaven
and Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal, describing how his
family manages their farm and how anyone willing to work hard can
farm successfully
and healthfully.
Now, the world is learning about Polyface
through the award-winning documentaries Food, Inc. and Fresh,
the Movie.
What
you will learn . . .
 Visit
the Salatins & learn firsthand about enterprises such as . .
.
- Pastured broilers
- Moveable range shelters protect chicks from predators and weather,
while giving fresh daily forage and lounge areas. The farm's centerpiece
enterprise. Net $1,500 per acre in 6 months. Pastured turkeys
in feathernets too.
- Pastured layers
(Feathernets & Eggmobiles) - Two models; two objectives. Portable
hoop schooners attached to automatic watering and bulk feeders
surrounded by electrified netting reduces chores and increases
control. One person working 7 hours per week on 5 acres nets $10,000
per year. Eggmobiles follow cattle to sanitize paddocks and convert
insects to cash.
- Salad bar beef
- Mimicking natural grazing principles of herbivore herds, forage-fattened
cattle create healthy land and healthy people. Fencing, corrals,
and grazing management double or triple production per acre without
large input costs.
- Pigaerator pork
- Compost-turning and forest-to-savannah conversion, the ultimate
workaholic. Net $3,000 per acre and get rid of the heavy metal
machinery.
- Forage-based rabbits
- Drug-free and linebred, Daniel Salatin's meat rabbits incorporate
stacking and symbiosis in the "Raken" house, and lots
of grass.
- Portable bandsaw
mill - Enjoy utility logs turned into first rate lumber for
sale or on-farm building projects. A small farm profit center
at $400 per day.
- Ponds & irrigation
- Silt for fertilizer. Flood prevention. Harnessing more solar
energy to synergize the biomass decomposition cycle. Hyper grass
growth. Drought-proofing pastures. It's the next big thing.
- On-farm processing
- Poultry and rabbits can be processed on-farm. See how the Salatins
perform this task efficiently and cleanly.
- Relationship marketing
- On-farm customers, weekly restaurant deliveries, metropolitan
buying clubs, agent-designated farmers' markets and special wholesaling.
Utilizing agents, subcontractors, and other connections, Polyface
farm moves nearly $300,000 worth of products from 100 acres per
year.
- Leasing farms &
adding subcontractors - Scaling up production in an anti-Wall
Street business model utilizes nearby farms and former apprentices
in a grand land healing performance. You will visit one of these
operations.
Browse the archive section of our website and you'll find several
great articles penned by Joel Salatin.
Articles by Joel Salatin available
free in our Toolbox
Visit Polyface Farm's
updated website . . .
Polyface
Farm website
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