Daily Chores

written by

posted on

May 23, 2024

“Chores” is a word you may hear farmers use a lot. The main reason for this is because farmers do a lot of them.

The word “chore” simply means a routine or everyday task. There is nothing derogatory about this word around here! Doing chores repetitively is one of the main ways that Polyface has trained up generations of young farmers, teaching them how to care for the land and the animals well.

The chores that need to happen daily change a bit as the seasons change.

Currently, chores include: moving, feeding, and watering the broilers (meat chickens)/pullets (young egg-laying chickens)/poults (young turkeys) in our chicken tractors, moving our "Feathernet" and "Eggmobile", feeding and watering the rabbits and moving "hare pens", gathering, sorting, and cleaning eggs from both the ducks and chickens, feeding and monitoring the chicks in the brooder, checking pigs, moving cows and more.

These daily tasks happen rain or shine. Every day is different as we step out the door at dawn to do our work.

One morning this week, I ended the morning very wet, due to the heavy mist and soaking dew on tall grass. The next morning felt worthy of poetry as the sun rose in hues of orange and pink splendor, wisps of clouds slowly unveiling the lush mountain backdrop.

I may not feel like getting out of bed every single day in the dark but I know that I have the privilege of meeting the new day head-on as I start my day with chores. Spending your early morning out in nature, caring for the animals' needs as they awake gives you a little “sneak peek” of the day ahead of you.

After thinking about it, a lot of the other work we do exists to support our daily chores, whether it be bringing feed out to the broilers or fixing electric nets for our "Feathernet" paddocks.

Never underestimate the little jobs. It may seem a small thing, but Polyface has seen the simple chore of moving chicken tractors one space each day transform landscapes and bring fertility and nutrients to barren ground.

Far from being rote and boring, chores bring a new adventure every day.

It is an intimate act to care for something day in and day out, to monitor your birds' health and notice how they're growing, to know a stretch of land as you cover the ground on a regular basis, to give of yourself in order to make something else prosper.

Daily chores may require faithfulness, perseverance and love but I have found it produces in me a sense of joy, beauty, and gratefulness that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Here’s to early morning chores!

Priscilla

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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The older I get, the more grateful I am for my parents who embraced different. Indulge me in a couple of stories from our family's past to illustrate how we relished "maverickness".

Daily Chores

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