By David Liechty

Wednesday I had the chance to amble on over to The Farm, with the blessing of organizers Greg Landua and Ethan Roland, to attend the last day of the Ecovillage Training Center Tennessee Carbon Farming Course. I picked that day in particular because it featured my hero Joel Salatin, the self-described “mob-stocking, herbivorous, solar-conversion, lignified-carbon-sequestration, fertilization” guru from Polyface Farms in Virginia.

Joel’s “beyond-Organic” farming techniques are legendary, from “salad bar” beef to “egg mobiles,” “Millennium Feathernests,” and “pigaerators,” Joel employs systems that capitalize on the natural behaviors and interactions of animals with their surrounding ecology and brings out the best in both – happy critters and healed landscapes. His dedication to local food and local economies is also legendary. His system of delivery clubs and subcontractor-business-incubation has led to a thriving network of cottage industries associated with Polyface.

Joel’s farming model is not only healing for the land and good for the animals (other than “one very bad day”), it’s highly profitable as well, and he’s worked hard to make it a turn-key system that can be easily replicated. The overall positive total economic return is huge. Big thanks to Joel for making the trip out to Tennessee and bringing all of his expertise, experience, wisdom, and wit, and big thanks to the Ecovillage Training Center and to The Farm for hosting him.

David Liechty is an attorney who is currently studying for a Phd in Constitution Studies. He is interning with Solari this summer.