A New Year

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posted on

January 14, 2025

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here on the farm, we're reeling from the equivalent of a run on the bank. A combination of things created a run on our inventory after mid-season, 2024.

Unlike industrial food systems, we don't go out and buy inventory in the market when our inventory runs low. We grow our animals, harvest them, store them, and it's a seasonal cycle that has a replenishment lag if we misjudge.

At Polyface, we try to plan to grow enough animals to meet the market, but not too much over that. Feeding eggs to pigs is expensive. We've done that.

As 2024 moved into late summer, we realized we had underestimated our market. In a perfect world, we'd hit our inventory expectations on the nose, every time. But this isn't a perfect world.

I'm here to explain, in full transparency, how we got into a deficit inventory.

Be assured that the 2025 season will see some major production increases to respond to this exciting new reality.

So here we go, three things.

First, our new website.

Throughout 2023, we invested in revamping our website to make it more intuitive, to flow better, and to capture more precisely all the different faces of Polyface. We had no idea how that investment would pay off.

Once those improvements were made, a trickle of efficiency turned into a gusher.

Second, MAHA.

MAHA is Robert F. Kennedy Jr's (known as RFK Jr) movement to "Make America Healthy Again".

The media, podcasts, and conversations surrounding the MAHA agenda created an unprecedented interest in everything health-related, especially the "unorthodox". People found us.

The entire alternative health community, from crunchy moms to herbalists to naturopaths to functional medicine doctors to acupuncturists and iridologists is enjoying new interest like never before.

On the heels of Covid, the quest to bolster immune function awakened a new cultural search for wellness. People are asking: What is wellness? How do I stay well?

The MAHA discussion is now launched in earnest, and it's not over by a long shot. At Polyface, we did not foresee the magnitude of this discussion nor the effect it would have on our late summer sales.

Third, reputation and podcasts.

I'm lumping these together because they are absolutely related. The podcast phenomenon, or what is called non-mainstream media, is taking over Americans' informational conduit.

Joe Rogan's podcast reaches millions more people than all the mainstream TV networks combined.

RFK Jr. told a funny story about something he'd seen on TV news and his son asked, totally serious, "Dad, is there news on TV?" For real. People under 40 don't get their information from TV.

The Polyface brand is now a sought-after voice in the podcast world.

Often the podcast hosts ask "Where can people get your stuff?" The answer is simple: "Polyfacefarm.com."

Suddenly, we see a bump in sales.

Here's a Polyface fact:

Our "production pipeline" is long. This is the time it takes to start with a young animal and end with food on the shelves or the website for you.

For beef it takes three years. Pigs are nearly a year. Chickens are about four months old.

Right now, we're planning all the animals we'll raise for all of 2025.

The fastest item we can "restock" is broilers (meat chickens). They grow the fastest once spring arrives. Second is pork and third is beef.

We have the capacity to increase everything except beef. (And we're continuing to work on the issue: enough land to raise them.)

Both over- and under-inventory are problematic, so it's a delicate balance. Be assured we are doing everything in our power to adjust; to eliminate disappointment without creating an overage problem.

Thank you for hanging in there with us. This is a good opportunity to try something perhaps you haven't used before. We always have some things; just not everything at every moment.

Be adventuresome and try a new cut, a new product. You might be surprised what a joy it is to add it to your culinary portfolio. Feel free to reach out to our team if you need ideas for how to use one of our meats. We have so many cooks among us.

Again, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thank you for your loyalty and faith in us. Polyface is working hard to earn and keep your trust.

Blessings to you and yours in the coming year.

-Joel

inventory

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beef

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Chicken

poultry

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

A New Year

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