3 Reasons we love SPRING

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posted on

March 28, 2024

Spring is always a sweet time of year. The trees start budding, the grass starts growing, the peepers start peeping and the days get warmer and longer. The world starts to wake up after the cold, still days of winter. There are many reasons to love this special time of year, but I would like to share with you three reasons we love spring at Polyface.

1.) Compost!

Here at Polyface, we are grass farmers, which means that during the spring, when the fields start to turn a vibrant green, we all start to get excited. New energy returns to the farm as we start the process of transitioning our animals from their cozy deep bedding of winter to the sunny pastures. As the animals start their spring grazing, the hoop houses and barns where our chickens, pigs, and cattle were during the winter get emptied and we spread the beautiful compost that they left behind on our fields. Spring is the perfect time to do this with the spring rain soaking all of the nutrients down into the soil.

Our cows are on deep bedding all winter and when they come out of the barn, the pigs then move in to aerate (we call it pigaerating) and stir it all around for us. We incentivize them by spreading a layer of whole corn on every third layer of bedding. As the pigs dig for the corn, they simultaneously get our compost ready for us!

The bedding from the chickens can get spread on the fields immediately. We like to spread compost on fields where we will be making hay or areas that need the extra boost of nutrients. As our hoop houses empty out and the compost gets spread, the space can then be used on the farm for fertile gardens, summer storage or as space to host our many guests!

2.) Baby Animals!

Spring also begins our growing season. With the warmer weather, we are able to start raising our broiler chickens. In preparation for beginning our on-farm processing in May, we receive our first chicks in March. If you visit Polyface right now, you will find full brooders with both baby broiler chickens and young pullets who will grow to be our laying hens. Soon we will have young turkey poults too. We love watching our baby chicks grow!

Additionally, spring is when our cows are calving! Every year, the cycle continues as we finish off some of our fat cows and add new calves to the herd. During calving season (which is a period where all our cows are “due” to give birth), we check the cows closely, tagging any new calves and keeping track of the cow/calf pairs. These pairs will be together until the fall when the calves are weaned. Every year it excites us to see our herd grow with all these new additions and, bonus, they are pretty cute!!

3.) Inspiration!

Polyface is open all year long for visitors but summer is when we host the majority of our large gatherings and our lunatic farm tours. The springtime is when we start to prepare ourselves for the great task of inspiring others around us. Every spring, we gather as a team for a “season kick-off” meeting where we discuss changes, big events, and enjoy fellowship as a farm family. But most important is our vision to inspire people. We hope that if you interact with us in any way, whether you receive our food for your family, or visit the farm, you too will catch a little bit of that Polyface magic.

Spring is an invigorating time of year for these reasons and more. As new life blooms and grows all around us, may you feel the blessing of this lovely time of year!

Why Choose Fermented Foods?

My grandparents on my father’s side used to make sauerkraut in wooden barrels in the basement. My mother’s side made cheese and salami. I could smell these concoctions throughout the entire house. Fermenting is part of your national heritage, no matter your family’s country of origin. Alongside nourishing grass-fed/grass-finished pastured meats like Polyface raises, every person should include real fermented foods into their diet. This method of food preservation goes back farther than most realize, reconnecting us with ancient traditions, long before the refrigerator-freezer was invented. Every culture consumed something fermented every day. Here are the reasons why I like fermented foods. Fermentation preserves food without using high pressure, high heat, or chemicals, so it both conserves and increases them. The nutritional value of fermented foods lies mostly in the pro-biotic bacteria that are present, and byproducts of their digestion. The bacteria’s digestive “waste” is a collection of vitamins, enzymes, and co-factors needed for every system of the body. These include: Vitamins B1, B6, B12, C, and K2 Superoxide dismutase (SOD, an antioxidant) GTF chromium (assists sugar metabolism) Glutathione (a potent detoxifier) Phospholipids (cell membrane building blocks) Digestive enzymes Beta 1,2 glucans (present in shiitake mushrooms; modulates immune system) Fermentation neutralizes or eliminates these: Phytic acid (present in seeds, nuts, beans, legumes) Enzyme inhibitors (also present in seeds, nuts, beans, legumes) Nitrites Prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) Oxalic acid (binds minerals) Nitrosamines (known carcinogen) Glucosides Probiotics and enzymes in whey neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, allowing your digestion to access the nutrients in the food. Enzymes are proteins. Proteins are delicate molecules with very complex structure and shape. The structure of the enzyme gives it its function. Without structure and form, the enzyme will not do its job of catalyzing biochemical reactions. Without enzymes, biochemical reactions would cease. Enzymes are denatured (unraveled or broken down) by high pressure, high heat, acidic conditions, toxic chemicals, and electrical disturbances. Once denatured, they lose their form and shape, therefore they lose their function. Unlike canning and commercial processing, fermenting occurs at atmospheric pressure and room temperature, encouraging beneficial bacteria to thrive. Temperatures above 117 degrees Fahrenheit denature enzymes and kill probiotic bacteria. If you wonder what 117 degrees feels like, it’s the temperature at which you cannot touch an object with your bare hands and hold it for a few seconds. If it’s hot, but you can still touch and hold it in your hand and not pull away, it’s under 117 degrees. This innate protection mechanism (i.e., reflex) prevents your own protein (i.e., skin on your finger) from being denatured. It’s also a good indicator of when your food is hot enough to kill probiotics and denature enzymes. For best results, fermented foods must be eaten raw, never hot or cooked. Fermented foods are safe and protective against pathogens. USDA scientist Roger McFeeters, who oversees a fermentation laboratory, says, “The lactobacilli can number a billion per gram of tissue at the height of fermentation. The bad bacteria can't compete." According to McFeeters, lacto-fermentation has caused no known food-borne illness. "As far as we know, it's been going on for thousands of years. It's perfectly safe.” The sauerkraut that my grandparents made had a layer of raw pork chops embedded in the salted cabbage. When the sauerkraut was done, you could safely eat the pork chops raw! They were pre-digested by the bacteria, and “cooked" by the organic acids in the kraut. Probiotics prevented pathogens from establishing. None of us ever got food poisoning. My grandmother lived to be 100. Fermented foods have anti-carcinogenic properties. They normalize blood pressure and heart rate, help to break down fat in the liver, and maintain healthy systemic pH. And they are quite tasty. In the supermarket, look for fermented foods in the refrigerated section, not on the shelf with canned foods. Shelf-stable canned foods were subjected to high temperatures. The probiotics and enzymes have been denatured. Look for “live cultures” or “live probiotics” on the label. Eat something lacto-fermented every day, like your ancestors did. Just a tablespoon or two of sauerkraut or an ounce or two of cheese is enough to have the desired effect. Choose a salad dressing made with raw apple cider vinegar, or a tablespoon of a fermented condiment such as ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise. Try a fermented beverage, like kombucha, beet kvass, or ginger ale. (Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon has some great recipes for all of these.) The original condiments were digestive aids. They’re easy to make. Try it. May you be deeply nourished! Susan

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3 Reasons we love SPRING

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