Many of you Charlottesvillians are probably used to seeing Polyface Farm labels on meat at specialty stores or in your local restaurant menus, maybe you’ve eaten a bite or two…if you have you must know how delicious it is…but do you know what makes it really special?
Polyface’s proprietor, Joel Salatin and his family on their farm in Swoope, Virginia practice ecologically conscious, sustainable small-scale farming, also known as permaculture. Permaculture is a portmanteau word that combines ‘permanent’ with ‘agriculture’ as well as ‘culture’ which essentially means that farmers who practice permaculture focus on creating an ecological system that works with nature rather than against it.
In the case of Polyface, Joel Salatin has created a system of intertwined cycles—cows forage on fresh grass in their mobile enclosure each day, chickens follow behind them and eat the freshly clipped grass sprouts as well as the bugs in their cow paddies all while spreading out the manure. His animals are happy, his land is healthy, and we get delicious, clean meat…what could be better?? If you’d like to learn more about permaculture and its application in Central Virginia, check out the courses offered by the Blue Ridge Permaculture Network.
We’re proud to announce that Retail Relay has joined Polyface’s ecological system by offering fresh chicken breasts, tenders, legs and thighs to our site! So support your local farmer, your local business, the welfare of animals and the land.
UPDATE: Joel Salatin was just named "Person of the Year" by the Hook- Check out this great article about him and Polyface.
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Joel and his farm was featured in Food, Inc., a fascinating documentary every consumer should watch.
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