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NW IL | Numerically speaking, it wouldn't surprise me if Joel has more small farms that go to him for advice than there are general commodity farms. He's a huge name with the homesteading crowd, and about anyone selling direct to consumer has run into him, his books, or ideas. Over the many years he has also had dozens of interns that went on to build successful small scale farms and currently hold areas of prominence in the direct to consumer world.
I agree he's not kind to corn and bean farmers. I've visited his farm. He has an "open door" policy. Anyone can show up and walk anywhere they want. I saw they were sorting cattle the day I pulled in. They saw me, and said nothing as I hiked up the mountain and checked out their chicken and hog setup and poked around the winter layer house. I came back and watched them finish up. They were fine with a stranger hanging out. He says he doesn't have time to talk to everyone that stops by but welcomes people to poke around. Way more open than I'd be if someone came and wondered around our dairy and feed lots. Or my crop fields for that matter.
If you follow much of the direct to consumer world, especially their talks on "how to set your prices" they are big on knowing your costs, and paying yourself a fair wage for your work. They harp on people trying to sell too low because then no one can make a living. "Set a fair price, raise a quality product, find the customer that matches who you are and what you do." They know they aren't trying to feed the world, just grow what their customer wants and is willing to pay to get it. Something us row crop guys find hard to fathom in our effort to grow a lot and force the market to take whether they want to pay us the cost to grow it or not. | |
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joel Salanti and PolyFace Farms
