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Joel Salatin.

mytfarms

mytfarms

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Whatcha all think of him? I think he brings up some very, very excellent points. The again, me being the type that can't stand our wonderful government and want the least amount of them as possible, he agrees pretty good with me. I figured there might be a little bit of arguing about him, so I put it in here. I hear that you hafta have a tougher hide here than in PB, so I came prepared for grilling. Welp, go ahead and voice your opinions on him and what he stands for. I wanna get a few different takes.
Thank ya kindly.
 
Joel is great. I have a couple of his books and they encourage people to do some of the things that they should do. It is a different perspective than most of us have grown accustomed to but why listen to Joel Salatin when you have Robert Mac?
 
EDIT:
I reckon a good thing ya could take RM for Joel. At least we have more than one person thinking thatta way.
 
I met Joel last year at a Stockman Grass Farmer conference he was speaking at, he has a lot of great things to say with a very differenct perspective. He farms the way he does for a profit, and a high one at that. His sales in 2007 were over 5 million.
 
Ben H said:
I met Joel last year at a Stockman Grass Farmer conference he was speaking at, he has a lot of great things to say with a very differenct perspective. He farms the way he does for a profit, and a high one at that. His sales in 2007 were over 5 million.
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5 Million!?!? :shock: Well, I reckon gross, but I could stand his kind of ideas, I think. :D
 
I'm flattered, Tex, but I'm no where near the same class as Joel. Only a fool would argue with the success he has!!! I've taken a lot of inspiration from Joel...if I were younger and had somebody to leave it to, I would implement more of his ideas.
 
My wife and I have met Joel twice. He is someone we all can learn from. His books make good additions to the library. He is bright enough to get several of us to pay for his knowledge and think we got our monies worth. We use his pastured poultry model and try to layer enterprises on top of each other.
 
I must say, the deeper I get into Everything I Want to do is Illegal, the more I learn about our swell government. I knew they were inefficient..... But not as bad as Joel Salatin has had to deal with. :?
 
I could be wrong, I can't think of an exact example, but I think there were a few instances where he over-exaggerates a little, IMHO. Maybe I'm just blind to some things, I've been Pro-NAIS since the beginning, I registered for my Premise ID's and got the fancy tags (since I could use them for weight automation if I ever upgraded) Now I'm having second thoughts and considering unregistering.
 
I'm not so sure Joel over-exaggerates...I talked to Jenny Drake (a former FSIS Federal meat inspector) at the 2000 SGF conference...she had some real horror stories about how they tried to shut her down.
 
reader (the Second) said:
That would be "sell" not "see". I type too fast for my brain nowadays.
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Reader, that "edit" button on your post will let you correct such things. :wink: But don't do it too much, it will confuse Big Muddy!!! :lol:
 
reader(2nd) I believe it is Michael Pollan, which might be important if you want to look him up someplace.....or maybe not. Interesting....but like many, there is a Personal agenda/vendetta, IMO.

mrj
 
I have read Omnivore's Dilemma, I highly recommend reading it. It caused an explosion in the grassfed beef demand.
 
Simple, the USDA used the grading system to reward the amount of corn fed and therefore add value to the corn they're subsidizing. It's a giant government scam, ag subsidies are just another way of the government making you think you need them. Say good bye to subsidies, let the market work itself out, and we will be a lot better off. New Zealand did it, I would like to learn more about their experience.
 
Ben H. your reasoning seems a bit simplistic. And your bias for your own product may be showing a bit.

Some believe ag subsidies are more about keeping food costs to consumers low as possible......and no denying, with food costs STILL in the 10% of income range, they are low and allow people to buy luxuries they could not have if paying comparable to many nations for their food.

Cattle were quite a bit different back when feeding corn began, including much older when first sold, often at age two to four years or even older. Not many years ago, "grass fat beef" was probably a critter more than four years of age, brought in off the range in the fall and processed. Most likely it didn't turn many people on to grass fat beef. That beef probably needed some corn to improve eating qualities, as do many current breeds/grades of cattle.

There is the fact that many consumers have come to prefer the flavor of corn fed beef. Now, some like the flavor of grass fed, and others like the novelty or 'green' reasons for eating grass fed beef.

It is good that there are getting to be many types of beef to suit various tastes of consumers and even the life-style or 'feelings' of the consumer. It seems unnecessary to knock other styles/preferences to promote ones own product, IMO.

mrj
 
Yes, I may in fact have some bias. Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe we first saw corn being fed to cattle as a way of adding value to the corn, then the corn fed flavor was promoted after that. I could be wrong here, but that is my impression. By all means, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I find that when I try corn fed beef after eating grass fed it lacks flavor, this is especially true when I compare one of my burgers to one at McDonalds or even a CAB burger at a reastraunt.
 
Ben H said:
Yes, I may in fact have some bias. Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe we first saw corn being fed to cattle as a way of adding value to the corn, then the corn fed flavor was promoted after that. I could be wrong here, but that is my impression. By all means, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I find that when I try corn fed beef after eating grass fed it lacks flavor, this is especially true when I compare one of my burgers to one at McDonalds or even a CAB burger at a reastraunt.
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Well Ben, your beef or my beef or anybody's beef SHOULD taste better than that cardboard filler that McD's calls burgers. And as for CAB burgers at any fast food outlet, you really can't compare products with them because who knows what flavouring goes into their product.

Nobody can make a burger that even close to compares with the ones the cook around here can put together and it ain't grass fed/finished beef. At least, that is my opinion. :wink:
 
mrj said:
That beef probably needed some corn to improve eating qualities, as do many current breeds/grades of cattle.
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I'd like to hear your explanation of this.

Ben, you are right...feeding grain to livestock had the same effect on grain prices as the recent ethanol subsidies...increase consumption, the price goes up.
 
I think Joel Salatin's models are great,and his sucess supports that notion.Have two of his books and the poly face video.I think all the interwoven dynamics of his operation are good,but probably more labor intensive then the average farmer/rancher wants to take on.I really like the way he uses pigs to promote more pasture in forested areas.
 

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