WEforum Health and Wellness Conference 2018
Joel Salatin – Keynote Speaker, Owner of Polyface Farms
“It Ain’t Normal”
Wednesday, November 14 9:00-10:15 AM – KEYNOTE MORNING KICK-OFF PRESENTATION (LECTURE HALL)
Cows, Carbon, and Climate
Wednesday, November 14 3:20-4:20 PM – KEYNOTE LECTURE – COWS, CARBON, AND CLIMATE (LECTURE HALL)
The planet’s deepest, most productive soils that sequester the most carbon is in grasslands managed by herbivores. Moving, mobbing, and mowing describe the choreography. Mimicking that model on a commercial domestic scale yields the same result, but few cattle herds duplicate that template. By
violating the moving, mobbing, and mowing template, the ecologically enhancing herbivore turns into a destructive agent. Fortunately, we have the know-how and the technology to duplicate these ancient patterns and rebuild soils, sequester carbon, and increase nutrient density and balance to diners. It can be win-win rather than lose-lose.
Joel Salatin, 56, is a full-time farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. A third generation alternative farmer, he returned to the farm full-time in 1982 and continued refining and adding to his parents’ ideas. The farm services more than 5,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs; with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits, pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing.
The family’s farm, Polyface Inc. (“The Farm of Many Faces”) has been featured in SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, GOURMET and countless other radio, television and print media. Profiled on the Lives of the 21st Century Series with Peter Jennings on ABC World News, his after-broadcast chat room fielded more hits than any other segment to date. It achieved iconic status as the grass farm featured in the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA by food writer guru, Michael Pollan, and the award-winning film documentary, FOOD INC.
A sought-after conference speaker, Joel addresses a wide range of issues, from “creating the farm your children will want” to “make a white collar salary from a pleasant life in the country.” A wordsmith, he describes his occupation as “mob-stocking herbivorous solar conversion lignified carbon sequestration fertilization.” His humorous and conviction-based speeches are akin to theatrical performances, often receiving standing ovations.
He holds a BA degree in English and writes extensively in magazines such as STOCKMAN GRASS FARMER, ACRES USA, and FOODSHED. He has authored eight books, four of them how-to types:
- PASTURED POULTRY PROFITS: Net $25,000 in 6 months on 20 Acres
- SALAD BAR BEEF
- YOU CAN FARM: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Start and Succeed in a Farming Enterprise
- FAMILY FRIENDLY FARMING: A Multi-Generational Home-Based Business Testament
- HOLY COWS AND HOG HEAVEN: The Food Buyer’s Guide to Farm Friendly Food, is an attempt to bring producers and patrons together in mutual understanding and appreciation
- EVERYTHING I WANT TO DO IS ILLEGAL: War stories from the local food front.
- THE SHEER ECSTASY OF BEING A LUNATIC FARMER
- FOLKS, THIS AIN’T NORMAL: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World
His speaking and writing reflect dirt-under-the-fingernails experience punctuated with mischievous humor. He passionately defends small farms, local food systems, and the right to opt out of the conventional food paradigm. Four generations of his family currently live and work on the farm.
