Still on a high ...

I read a blog recently that described the Joel Salatin workshop to a Tee! I was impressed by just how much the lady remembered! He jam packed the day with so much information and good stories that I couldn't possibly write fast enough!

I love him! I want him to adopt me or at the very least let me be an intern to get down to the nitty gritties and really learn what makes Polyface tick! To say the least - Yes I was impressed.

I also got to see and hear a little bit from our very own Costa - who is a lovely hairy dude from Sydney! He reminds me of an elf or something! So very charming too. Plus I heard from a Councillor from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council (who was a sponsor of the event) - Just as an aside - {{From their region the amount they export - if they were a country in their own right - they would be ranked 141st by GDP}}. That is impressive and just shows you how much wonderful land we have up in the hinterlands of Queensland and how well our Aussie producers are doing. Onya!

Here is a pic of Joel and Costa just when the good byes were happening!

I was bubbling so much I didn't know where to start when I told my hubby all about the day! I so wish he could have been there with me - two sets of ears is better than one! and he has so much better retention than I  - yes the only thing he does better - haha! But alas he was off earning the dollars so I can keep expanding my Longanic empire! (in my dreams)

But..... Oh how I wish for at least another 500 acres so I may enjoy the benefits of a pigerator!, salad bar beef and pasturised poultry! coz it works! Just 3 of the things that Polyface do everyday of the year and do it well.

Joel (and his dad) brought this property back from bare rock - to having soil on it! when they first purchased the property 50 years ago it was bare rock (a far cry from the 12 foot high grasses and wild animals that used to roam the land a century before that), and they couldn't even bang a pole in the ground. Now it is lush, fertile and they are making a very very good living off it.
What I get from that - everything can be saved! and with hard work, determination and a bit of nouse anything can be achieved.

He doesn't do it alone tho! He has a lovely wife, 2 hard working children and a host of interns and apprentices - who some I might add have over the years been helped onto a lease/share property nearby where they too are beginning their adventures as farmers the Joel Salatin way.
He has veggies, rabbits (a business that his son started when he was 8), and turkeys too.

Is that self sustaining? is that being a locavore?
you betya!

Oh and one last thing - he sells something obscene like 400,000 eggs to local restaurants and at farm buyers! Purely and simply - ammmmmazing!

Alas one must be happy with 7 graves! (lol a friend described my veggie plots as "it looks like she has buried 7 bodies in her backyard)!!. Better not be my enemy then! lol

Must away - I know I haven't told you much - but my advice is - if you EVER get the chance to see him speak - pay whatever it takes and do whatever it takes - it is so very very much worth it.
PS - for those lucky to live in the USA - you can buy his produce - he is in Virginia.
Now for those on a suburban block - go and plant something - its one less thing that you have to buy from the supermarket and it makes you feel good. I am about to plant corn, beans, watermelon and squash and I can't wait (I just have to wait for a grave to become vacant!) bhahahaha

Bye for now
BW