Face of New Farming Joel Salatin in Town Thursday

By Amber Lester Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Joel Salatin is superstar.

He doesn’t play an instrument or date supermodels. He doesn’t wear motorcycle jackets or sunglasses indoors. In fact, he sticks to a uniform of a cowboy hat, outdated glasses and jeans held up by suspenders.

But this Virginian was recently deemed a “superstar” by the Dallas Morning News when he was mobbed after a speaking engagement in Plano, Texas. Salatin is world-famous for his innovative ideas about farming and meat production in America. At Polyface Farm in the Shenandoah Valley, Salatin raises grass-fed livestock and poultry, moved frequently with the help of moveable fencing his family developed. His ideas are simple, but have made him into arguably the most famous farmer in the country.

InJoy Foods will host the superstar in Williamsburg this week. Salatin will be speaking about his vision of farming at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Williamsburg Christian Academy. Prior to his discussion, the movie “FRESH,” which focuses on new ideas in the farming industry, will be screened. Doors open at 6 p.m. and tickets, which cost $10 per person, can be purchased by e-mailing injoyfresh.salatin@gmail.com.

InJoy Foods is a Williamsburg-based education company that teaches importance of integrating whole foods into the daily diet, according to its website (http://injoybread.com). The company started as an “educational ministry” promoting the use of freshly milled flour. Now, InJoy connects Williamsburg area residents with foods from local sustainable farms.

Salatin’s name first became known outside of Augusta County when writer Michael Pollan featured Polyface Farm in his best-selling 2006 book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Pollan highlighted Salatin’s small farm as a model for how farming should be done. Salatin’s farm adheres closely to natural conditions, feeding livestock chemical-free grass instead of other animals or grain.

When a patch of grass gets thin, Salatin and his employees move fences to a new area of pasture where the animals can feed. The chickens are moved in portable coops so they can eat fly larvae in the cow droppings and in turn, fertilize the land with their own droppings. He also refuses to send food to locations beyond a four-hour drive of his farm, because he believes prospective customers should look for farms in their own areas.

Since gaining fame from Pollan’s book, Salatin has been featured in two documentaries, “Food, Inc.” and “FRESH.” “Food, Inc.” examines corporate farming in the U.S. and “FRESH” interviews farmers and business people reinventing the U.S. food system.

Before the movie screening Thursday, attendees can browse tables for information and products from InJoy Foods and Polyface Farm. Because of the high demand for Polyface food products, no items will be available at the event; orders will be taken, however, and will be available for pick-up on May 5.