Interview with Polyface Summer Stewards!

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May 26, 2026

We have a crew of 11 Stewards at Polyface this Summer; and two of them are here with me today on the blog to answer some questions about their first month's experience at the farm!

Our Stewardship Program is a 5-month opportunity to be an integral part of the farm: to work on the land, become a skilled farmer (in all things cattle, pigs, turkeys, chickens, rabbits, grass, hay, and more!), to learn the multifaceted Polyface techniques hands-on, and to soak up wisdom from directly from Joel and Daniel Salatin. All the while knowing that each day of work is not only an educationally abundant time--but also to have the satisfaction of being a tangible part of the real-life mission of putting clean, nutrient-dense meat on the tables of America.

The sunrises, sunsets, stunning Virginia mountains, and marvelous chef-cooked meals are icing on the cake. Very good icing too, I might add. As a Virginia transplant myself (much like many of our Stewards) I feel compelled to mention just how lovely the mountain backdrop behind the farm is. Those of you who have visited Polyface know exactly what I mean--it is a literal frame that visually "sets the stage" for the masterpiece of a regenerative farming symphony that goes on in the fields every day.

But I digress.

Our 2026 Stewards will have been here for a full month on Sunday. With the first several weeks under their belts, they are well into the program.

So, without further ado, let's hear from Ben Sheilds and Holly Mitchell!

What is your first impression?

Ben: "There is always something that needs to be done on the farm. I am consistently impressed with the intentionality of operations, and the thoughtfulness of the processes that are in place. It has been pretty awesome to experience how fast the 11 of us have been formed into a team and enfolded into operations."

What surprised you the most?

Holly: "The thing that surprised me the most starting as a steward at Polyface Farm is the amazing people that live and work here. Everyone I meet is passionate about what they do and incredibly kind in sharing it with others. Every time I meet a Polyface staff member or apprentice I leave thinking to myself "wow, there goes another incredible Polyface person."

Ben: "I think what has surprised me the most is the pace of learning here at Polyface. The exposure to the farming lifestyle and the expertise/knowledge of every member of the Polyface team really enables you to hit the ground running. The family culture and relationship-centered farming that has been developed here truly optimizes learning opportunities for us aspiring regenerative farmers."

Most enjoyed task?

Holly: "The enthusiasm they [Polyface crew] bring to every task makes chores that don't sound like they would be fun into the highlight of my day. It isn't until you set out on a day processing broiler chickens that you realize how group mentality and passion changes what could be a challenging task into a fun and valued calling"

Ben: "Personally, my most enjoyed task has probably been working with Daniel on the water systems. Coming from an engineering background I love getting hands on experience with waterlines and ponds… Although, I must admit: “working” with the chipper is also mighty enjoyable…"

You are most proud of...?

Holly: "Even after only three weeks at Polyface I can truly see how the duplication of this farm is a noble calling. To create a place where passionate, enthusiastic, and simply amazing people feel called to work and live out their dreams is quickly becoming a life goal and aspiration of mine."

Ben: "I’m most proud of my wife and family. They have been so supportive and encouraging with my time here. I absolutely adore them. We prayerfully sought out Polyface to speedily learn, and gain experience in the type of farming that resonates with us. I am extremely grateful to the Polyface family for their hospitality, kindness, patience and willingness to share their knowledge and experiences. Looking forward to being able to demonstrate and show my family some of the skills I have developed here."

Duplication

"How does this scale?" Whenever someone asks me that question, the underlying assumption is that production volume requires consolidation, concentration, and centralization. In other words, the only way to feed the world is to make bigger chicken houses in one place, bigger canneries in one place, bigger machines and bigger warehouses. I remember well being vilified by a Smithsonian historian at a food conference where he and I were both on a panel. When I dared to suggest bigger is not always better, he interrupted me and ranted for 10 minutes on why bigger is always better. "A bigger fort was always bigger than a smaller one. A bigger gun was always better than a smaller one." He went on and on about how historical accuracy and authenticity demands addiction to bigger. But biology is not forts and guns. It's not mechanical. Critters have an optimal size. As animal behaviorist guru Temple Grandin says, living things demand energy for three things: reproduction, growth, and immunological function. All three must be in balance. When anyone selects for only one of those traits, the other two suffer. That's why American dairy cows only have two lactations on average. When they milk as heavily as our one-trait genetic selection asks, they don't breed and have all sorts of sickness problems. Nature does not scale through concentration; it scales with duplication. If nature wants more oak, it doesn't make one big tree; it makes acorns. If nature wants more milk, it doesn't make a great big cow; it makes calves. If nature wants more tomatoes, it doesn't make a monster tomato plant; it makes a bunch of seeds that make more tomato plants. Nature scales with duplication. At Polyface, rather than having a chicken house big enough for 15,000 chickens, we have 170 little 120 square foot portable shelters holding 75 birds apiece and giving us cumulative capacity for 15,000. But they're spread out in modules, duplicated, to give us the production volume. We run pigs in groupings of 35-50. A Smithfield confinement facility might house 5,000 hogs in a bigger-than-football-field-sized facility. The stench is unbearable. By spreading these pigs out across the landscape in small groups we get the same scale without any of the ecological, immunological, or animal welfare dysfunction. This could even be said of farming in general. People see the massive corn, soybean, and alfalfa farms in the mid-west and wonder how we would possibly survive without those massive, single-species outfits. The fact is they aren't even producing food. Half the soybeans are exported to other countries; those markets are drying up rapidly with competition from other countries like Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Nearly half the corn goes to taxpayer-subsidized ethanol. The alfalfa goes to Japan and Saudi Arabia to feed racehorses. By and large, all that production isn't even food. The fact is we don't need to produce all those commodities and even if we needed it all for food, we could do it in a more spread out, diversified platform. America has 35 million acres in lawns. We have 36 million acres housing and feeding recreational horses. All of this could be turned into duplicative production, like acorns for oak trees. My point is this: scale as commonly understood in modern American lexicon is completely anti-ecological. The real mechanism for scale is duplication. A more democratized production creating volume through multiplicative nodes is the way nature works. This is why farms like Polyface, with spread out infrastructure in repeated modules offers multiple advantages. Polyface can't feed the world by itself, and we have no desire to build an empire trying to. But thousands of Polyfaces can feed the world. Indeed, they're the only way to do it for the next 500 years. This is one reason why we invest heavily in germinating new young farmers. Our stewardship and apprenticeship programs are all about this kind of duplication. In fact, Aug. 21-22 we're hosting the Stockman Grass Farmer's Launching Young Farmers conference where we'll feature 8 of our graduates who were 20 years old, no money, no land, and at 40 are full-time farming without government subsidies. If you ever dreamed of bootstrapping a farming career, you should come. We still have room. It will be the most profound agricultural conference in America this year. Information is on our website on the education tab. For most of you, the fact that you keep us in business to duplicate production and the farmers who will carry these principles forward, indicates your heart investing in an authentic food and farming model. Thank you for making it all possible.

Interview with Polyface Summer Stewards!

What is your first impression?

What surprised you the most?

Most enjoyed task?

You are most proud of...?

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Events of The Month

Duplication

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