Soieeee!
âSoieeee!â flew out of my gut and the stampede of black and white, biological perfection came rushing.
Warning: Non- Food Geeks Beware
This was the product of a passion for good food and self preservation. Having expressed a knack for pleasures of the paunch, owner Daniel Pike of Pike Valley Farms Kentucky introduced the masterpiece of polyface farming with a tour. What followed was a dirty day of tending to the beautiful beef⊠cows that is, knowledge on why itâs good for you, and how it happens.
Letâs dice up this concept of polyface into why itâs important for you. Itâs a Virginia born farming method rotating animals over the same land over time utilizing the full advantage of each beastial benefit as one. This is the Megazord of farming. Using this method, the soil and the animals are effectively empowered with vital nutrients, not just to simply exist and be shoved in consumers mouths, but to properly develop the animal on genetically intended materials. This produces nutrient-dense and optimally profiled meat that is actually fit for human consumption. When you eat what your ancestors used to eat, your geneâs (same as your ancestors) reward you with good health. Hereâs the kicker: this stuff significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseaseâcurrently the worldâs leading cause of death at 17.5 million annuallyâtastes phenomenal, and the method is totally geekable. So when you are opening and closing shop, the sweat-equity side of a restaurant ownership, or like to pound down fermented grainulars, this is a good way to at least mitigate your risks.
Being a physics guy at heart, I couldnât settle with the simple, âBuy this stuff, itâs healthy. Promise!â. I had to know the how. How, if all this stuff is so good for you, is it made? Letâs start with a field: soil, grass, air, and light. Out of these components soil and grass are the focal points: Soil, holding any level of nutrients, organisms to move the nutrients, and water. The grass is very dependent on nutrients, water, and sunlight. Hereâs the catchâwe canât digest grass. Here we are, fire power up the wazoo and our stomachs canât digest it. Next, weâll introduce cows to the field. They roll in there and eat the grass. Luckily our humble heifers have a four-chamber stomach capable of metabolizing grass and storing it as, you guessed it, MEAT CANDY! So, the cows eat the grass and poo all over the field. Cows move out. In come the chickens.
TMI (Too Much Information) Warning! Donât say I didnât warn you.
Hens scratch through the dung, eat out the fly larva and grass (Thatâs right! Chickens are naturally omnivores, vegetarian fed chickens be damned), and scatter the nutrients into the soil. These magical sanitizing spirits produce delicious eggs coming to a food market near you. Finally in come the pigs to aerate the compost and eat acorns from glens.
This gorgeous symphony is finished up with organic grass-fed beef, organic chicken/ eggs/ meat, organic bacon, and a wonderful farmer-buddha-zenness. There is a load of details to this, so if you want to hear more, let the guys at Southern Grit know. Best news, you can get these modern marvels in Hampton Roads from âVirginia Gardensâ on Dam Neck. If you want to really get in the fray check out www.polyfacefarms.com for opportunities to tour, work, and volunteer on a polyface farm. Send any questions to me at any DenDining forum and Iâll be intouch.
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