No matter how tough the growing conditions are, these are the warmest, friendliest and most caring people. Today, along with the images, I'd like to share some sage words from Joel Salatin, the founder of Polyface Farm, first made famous in Michael Pollan's seminal book 2006 about food, "The Omnivore's Dilemma." and now an author in his own right.

“A farmer friend of mine told me recently about a busload of middle school children who came to his farm for a tour. The first two boys off the bus asked, "Where is the salsa tree?" They thought they could go pick salsa, like apples and peaches. Oh my. What do they put on SAT tests to measure this? Does anybody care? How little can a person know about food and still make educated decisions about it? Is this knowledge going to change before they enter the voting booth? Now that's a scary thought.”
― Joel Salatin, Folks, This Ain't Normal: A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens,
Healthier People, and a Better World

Sunny Shin and friend of Solano Mushroom Farms in Vacaville

Another of Joel Salatin's quotes that I love:

“A farm includes the passion of the farmer's heart, the interest of the farm's customers, the biological activity in the soil, the pleasantness of the air about the farm -- it's everything touching, emanating from, and supplying that piece of landscape. A farm is virtually a living organism. The tragedy of our time is that cultural philosophies and market realities are squeezing life's vitality out of most farms. And that is why the average farmer is now 60 years old.
Serfdom just doesn't attract the best and brightest.”

Featured chefs of the day!

Thanks for watching.

You can find my verification post here.