Inventory Fluctuations

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November 5, 2024

"Why can't I get sausage? You've never been out of sausage!" the patron exclaimed. Or eggs in November?

One of the biggest differences between Polyface and Wal-Mart is that we don't fill inventory gaps from a warehouse.

Harvard Business Review analyzed craft versus commodity and the contrasts are significant. Craft is all about differentiation while commodity is all about sameness.

Industrial chicken is the same everyplace in the world. Ditto pork, tomatoes, whatever. Commodity industrial food is homogenous; a bushel of commodity corn is the same no matter what field it came from.

But craft is all about something different.

The business analysts determined that while both craft and commodity are viable models, neither works in crossover. In other words, when a commodity tries to paint itself as a craft or when a craft tries to become a commodity, it just doesn't work.

Because Polyface is a craft business, we can't call up any old warehouse and shore up inventory valleys. Part of our distinctive is flowing with the seasons.

This is most obvious with eggs. Our laying hens aren't in a confinement factory under light control. The sun actually wakes up our chickens and puts them to bed.

When day length shortens, they naturally reduce production and when it lengthens, they increase production. That's why in the spring we have eggs running out our ears and in November and December, we're always short.

Some pastured producers put lights on them even out in the field, but we don't. We believe the natural cycle is important to let the bird rest from her high production labors, regain strength and stamina, and build up a reserve for the flush of spring production.

Last spring, for the first time, we began freeze-drying those excess spring eggs and now offer them in little baggies to help fill the early winter shortfall.

Believe me, everyone around here lives for Dec. 21, the shortest day of the year. Within a week, we see the hens perk up and by early February production is wonderful.

The industry uses lights to extend day length from the beginning of laying until lights are on them nearly 24 hours a day and the birds burn out (lay themselves to death) within a year. How much energy can your egg offer you if the hen's nutrition can't keep up?

Beyond seasonality is the lag time between birth and harvest. Different animals have different grow-out times. Broilers are the fastest at 8 weeks. Turkeys are next at 16 weeks. Pigs are 8 months and beef is 2 years or more.

If more patrons come our way and product demand increases, we have to adjust our pipeline on the front end. That means calling a hatchery for more chicks. Or contacting our handful of farrowers for more piggies. Or in the case of beef, finding more pasture to be able to handle more cows to birth more calves.

In other words, we can't turn inventory on a dime.

Over the course of our history, we've had overages and they aren't fun. When you're throwing away perfectly good food, like feeding 1,000 dozen eggs to pigs in the spring, it makes you conservative toward expansion. The only thing worse than saying "we're out" is taking what we've already produced and dumping it.

Because craft producers can't access the industrial inventory pool, we have to invest and adjust based on our best guess looking a year or two in the future. Sometimes our estimate is on the mark and other times it's off. But we don't have salvage buyers to take overages and we certainly aren't going to call any conventional outfit to supplement our shortfall. (When we have those overages, we do donate to all the local food shelters etc. as a way to help the community.)

This year several things have come together to create some inventory shortages.

One was our revamped website in January 2024. The upsurge in purchases has been both gratifying and surprising. We didn't realize the dramatic effect we'd see by addressing website clunkiness. We listened to you; we adjusted; you responded; thank you.

As purchasing became easier, patrons became more confident to encourage friends to get better food from us. Nobody wants to recommend something frustrating. Making our website easier to use encouraged endorsements. Again, thank you.

The other thing that happened was a year of recalls. Whenever people die or get sick from pathogens in industrial food (federally inspected, by the way) our phone rings off the hook. The last few months have seen some dramatic pathogen outbreaks in the industrial sector, highlighting the Polyface refuge.

Inventory is like a huge slinky. With media attention and the speed of electronic access, the ability of the market to change is much faster than a craft supplier can adjust. So what do YOU do?

My suggestion is to eat what's plentiful.

No inventory gets short across the various items all at once. While we may be short of ground beef, for example, we might have a mountain of chuck roast.

While we may be out of boneless skinless chicken breast, we might have a mountain of whole broilers.

Obviously, we try to foresee the various flows of the various options, like an inventory within an inventory. But when you suddenly have someone ask for 100 ribeye steaks in a month, you can't foresee that. Also, keep in mind we can adjust the shorter growth period animals faster than the longer growth.

Right now we anticipate being low on beef for a while due to its long production horizon. Thankfully, chicken and pork will be fine fairly soon.

At our house, we tend to eat what's plentiful. That's how we determine our menu. Look in the freezer and whatever stack is the highest, fix that for supper.

This is one reason many craft livestock producers only sell set shares, also known as "boxes", where you don't get to pick what you want. You get what the farmer puts in the box. At Polyface, we have elected to give you more choices, but the flip side of that choice is that we use our best future-estimating to adjust the various options going into our inventory.

We don't want to tell you what you'll eat. To do that, we need you to partner with us in responding to what we have.

I encourage all of us on this land-and-nutrition-healing team to think that way. Let's all challenge ourselves to step out of our routine a bit. Reach out to our patron support team and we can steer you to those items plentiful in the current season.

Thank you for partnering with us.

-Joel

Why Good Food Costs More - and Why It Matters

Many people wonder why foods grown with care for the land, animals, and farmers often cost more than the industrial options that line grocery store shelves. It’s an important and honest question, and it deserves a thoughtful answer. Let’s start with the basics: food affects everything. Our health, our communities, and the land that sustains us are all tied to how food is produced. Unfortunately, problems begin when the cheapest foods tend to be the most processed, the most subsidized, and the most aggressively marketed. It's easy to feel boxed into these choices, especially when you look at the price tag. But sometimes, and for lots of folks, it's easy to forget that those cheap foods come with a much higher price tag later on, whether it's just how we feel as processed foods affect our bodies, or the bills that stack up after doctor's visits. I know that after I eat ultra-processed foods (often full of unspecified additives, dyes, stabilizing ingredients, etc.), I don't feel great. I'm so thankful to say that I grew up eating mostly grass-fed beef. As a child, I remember wondering why "grocery store" beef was so different and "yucky". (I just thought only my grandpa could raise good beef.) As I've spent the last decade and a half eating mostly pastured chicken and pork, too, I can tell a definite difference when I do eat less "expensive", commercially raised foods. My grandpa definitely raised good beef, but I've realized now that it was his methods that made all the difference. Sustainably raised, grass-fed, pastured meat is meat that is being raised as it was intended to be, and therefore, it can do for our bodies what it was intended to do: nourish, fill, and bless. When I make better choices with my meals, I'm less tired, experience fewer mood swings, don't get hungry again as soon, experience less brain fog, and have fewer stomach and digestive issues. I've realized that the true price of food is how it affects my body and makes me feel. I can choose foods that come with a 'price tag,' and will help me to feel my best, or I can choose food with a hidden cost later on, as it takes a toll on my body.At Polyface, we have a simple belief: when animals live the way they’re designed to live, they, the land, and the people who eat from it thrive. Compared to conventional, industrially raised meat, regeneratively raised, grass-fed meat offers: Healthier fat profiles — Cattle and poultry raised on diverse pastures often contain more omega-3s and fewer inflammatory omega-6 fats than animals fed grain in confinement. Higher micronutrient density — Pasture-raised meats and eggs contain more vitamins A, D, and E, along with minerals like iron and selenium—thanks to clean sunlight, fresh grasses, and good exercise. Cleaner food with fewer inputs — Animals raised on pasture don’t require routine antibiotics, growth promotants, or chemical inputs that are standard in confinement systems. Food that nourishes more with less — Nutrient-dense food tends to be more satisfying, meaning people often feel full sooner and stay full longer. These aren’t abstract ideals. They’re real, biological outcomes from raising animals on living landscapes rather than in industrial warehouses. At Polyface, we consciously invest in people and animals—not gadgets, not chemicals, not complex machinery that distances the farmer from the land. Instead of giant tractors, Polyface invests in skilled team members who know how to read the land, interpret animal behavior, and respond with nuance and care. Human eyes, human hands, and human intuition cannot be replaced by equipment if the goal is health and regeneration. Instead of confinement buildings that require ventilation systems, antibiotics, and elaborate waste-handling equipment, Polyface invests in animals raised outdoors in fresh air and sunshine, rotated across pasture so they can express their natural design (while fertilizing the soil). Instead of relying on chemical crutches, Polyface invests in biological solutions like rest periods for grass, multi-species grazing, composting systems, and portable shelters. These things help us follow natural patterns rather than fight them. This kind of farming is people-intensive. It’s observation-intensive. It’s relationship-intensive. It's a very different type of farming than what is most often seen or illustrated. So, why does this matter? You don’t have to raise chickens or move cattle across pastures to be part of this work. Honest, regenerative farming is a partnership between the growers and the eaters. Every time you choose food raised with care and transparency, you cast a vote for the kind of world you want: A world where animals live in a way that honors their design. A world where farmers can make a living without compromising their values. A world where the land becomes healthier, more fertile, and more resilient each year. A world where food strengthens bodies instead of breaking them down. When you choose Polyface, you become part of this regenerative story. You help restore soils, revive rural communities, and support a type of agriculture that heals instead of harms. You help build a food system rooted in transparency, nutrition, stewardship, and hope. I've heard it said that the path forward begins with honest conversation and mutual learning. The same holds true for moving toward better food and better farming. Thank you for asking hard questions and caring enough to look deeper. We want to stay accountable, curious, and committed to improving what we do. Whenever you’re able, the Salatins welcome you to the farm so you can see these principles in action for yourself. I always tell people that there’s nothing quite like walking the pastures, watching the animals, and witnessing regeneration firsthand. Together as farmers, families, and communities, we can cultivate a future where food nourishes everything it touches: the land beneath our feet, the animals in our care, and the people around our tables. I like the sound of that future, don't you? Hannah

Inventory Fluctuations

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