Polyface Farm Tour~Salatin~My experience (pics on page 3).

[justusnak]

Hmmmm.....QA...you got me thinking. 10.50 per head. Lets see....last week I had the boy scouts out here, learning Animal husbandry skills. There was supposed to be 6 little 8yr olds..and it turned into about 12 kids, and 10 or 12 parents. ALL of which learned about poultry, sheep, goats, gardening, canning, and spinning wool. DANG, I missed the boat for sure!!!!! Everyone had to walk...yeah, but they were warned about it ahead of time, and most came with mud boots....ready..well, all except one woman...she wore crocks...and for some reason...my sweet little Mary and Albert....didnt like her, and was continuously head butting her. It came to the point where I had to escort her from the pasture, for her own safety! Thats ok, I didnt care for her much either. LOL

 

[TanksHill]

Animals have such good instincts!!!

 

[Buster]

Could it be he was pinching pennies and does not want to spend money on the straw for the wagon or gravel for the drive?

Frugality is for the most part a lost and unappreciated art in this country.

 

[TanksHill]

I appreciate frugality as I think most of us on this forum do. It is a way of life when you try to live a modest SS lifestyle.

 

[dacjohns]

. . . Thank you and I hope you enjoyed your farm tour today!

I enjoyed the tour, thank you.

 

[Wifezilla]

On biosecurity, only the factory farm system requires such nonsense as making people take off their shoes or restricting human access to the animals. It is required there because the animals are so crowded, their immune systems so compromised, that entire operation can be wiped out by even a minor infectious disease. You don't need it if your system of farming is sustainable.

Agreed. I think biosecurity is a myth anyway. Do you know how many wildlife "friends" my birds have?

Squirrels, sparrows, crows, robins, bluejays, etc.....
I live in the burbs and my backyard looks like a freaking bird sanctuary.

 

[Beekissed]

You guys are a hoot!

You know....conceivably, this could be done...... :/

 

[Farmfresh]

On biosecurity, only the factory farm system requires such nonsense as making people take off their shoes or restricting human access to the animals. It is required there because the animals are so crowded, their immune systems so compromised, that entire operation can be wiped out by even a minor infectious disease. You don't need it if your system of farming is sustainable.

Agreed. I think biosecurity is a myth anyway. Do you know how many wildlife "friends" my birds have?

Squirrels, sparrows, crows, robins, bluejays, etc.....
I live in the burbs and my backyard looks like a freaking bird sanctuary.

I agree that a healthy flock should not be wiped out by "minor infectious diseases". Even a healthy flock can take some hard loses, however, if we let that biosecurity guard down, by bringing strange birds into our flocks with out a proper quarantine period or by not limiting wild birds access to our feeders and water containers.

Who wants to lose their best hen to an outbreak of coccidiosis when all you would need to do to lessen the chance is keep the feeder hanging in the coop to reduce the amount of wild birds that feed from it? Who wants to deal with the problems and costs involved when a bird infected with poultry mites is introduced into your healthy flock? Who here is so brash that they would knowingly place a snotty nosed poofy eyed bird from and auction in their healthy flock?

Sure we are going to have exposure to wild birds and the occasional bio hazard whether we want to or not, but I for one will maintain at least SOME semblance of bio-security on my "farm". My healthy animals should have resistance, but why risk it?

In my opinion Polyface has biosecurity issues that none of the rest of us will ever have to face. How many of us are visited by hundreds of people each year that want to tromp around in our animal pens and have come to us from airports around the world? I think his total lack of caution is simply careless.

 

[Iceblink]

In 'Hit by a Farm' the author tries a lot of his ideas on a large scale, and she found they didn't work very well. She suggested JS makes more money by selling his ideas than actually using them.

It seems to me that overcrowding in the chicken houses makes more work, as you would have to hunt for all the hidden eggs, and wash them all. I wonder about the freshness of his eggs.

I bought eggs from the Farmers Market a few years ago, and one had a developed chick in it. When I complimented the farmer on his luck on having a broody hen, and he said it couldn't possibly be, that I was mistaken, or that it had 'taken a long time to be laid' and had started developing in the hen. This indicated to me that he had poor management, and was selling eggs that were old. Also, a basic lack of respect for customers by lying to them. It sounds like JS does the same.

 

[BeccaOH]

Seein' as how my tractor is an old John Deere lawn tractor that is approximately 20 years old, I don't know if it would be very impressive.....

Let's see....my farm tour would consist of you all walking out in my back yard and me pointing at the chickens and saying, "There are my free ranged, noncertified organically raised chickens....be careful to watch where you walk as they will mug you for any suspected food items. My advice? Don't feed the chickens as it will turn them into nuisance chickens and they may have to be shot later. "

Now, folks, if you will look towards the orchard you will see my hair sheep on rotational grazing...see them eating? This is good. They will get fat and look pretty. The chickens follow them and eat any parasites, the dogs follow the chickens and eat their parasites and the chickens will eat the dog's parasites....so, you see, it is all a symbiotic relationship, just like in nature!"

If you look in the garden you will see noncertified organically grown veggies that will be canned, dried, preserved, sold at a normal price, and given away to anyone who needs them and cannot afford. Or even given to anyone who just cannot grow their own. For this I will receive much riches, both spiritually and mentally.

The bottom line? Life is not a race to see who can earn more money, but a journey and we will all leave here naked and empty-handed. The only thing that will journey beyond this life with us is love.

Please try to stop by the farm store of love on your way out and take as much as you can carry....please pass it on and on, as you will find your cup will runneth over with love being returned to you.

Thank you and I hope you enjoyed your farm tour today!

Thanks for the farm tour. I loved it. The best farms do grow love.