Pastured Poultry Profits [Paperback]

Joel Salatin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1996

A couple working six months per year for 50 hours per week on 20 acres can net $25,000-$30,000 per year with an investment equivalent to the price of one new medium-sized tractor. Seldom has agriculture held out such a plum. In a day when main-line farm experts predict the continued demise of the family farm, the pastured poultry opportunity shines like a beacon in the night, guiding the way to a brighter future.

"All of us interested in seeing an American rural revival should thank Joel and Teresa Salatin for going to the effort and expense to share their experiences and recommendations for pastured poultry with you." —Allan Nation, Editor, The Stockman Grass Farmer

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joel Salatin is a fourth-generation farmer and co-founder of Polyface Farm Inc. He is the author of "$alad Bar Beef", "You Can Farm", "Pastured Poultry Profit$", and "Family Friendly Farming".

Product Details

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea Green Pub Co (July 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963810901
• ISBN-13: 978-0963810908
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Home Based
  • #16 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Animal Husbandry

More About the Author

About Joel
Joel F. Salatin (born 1957) is an American farmer, lecturer, and author whose books include You Can Farm and Salad Bar Beef.

Salatin raises livestock using holistic methods of animal husbandry, free of potentially harmful chemicals, on his Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley. Meat from the farm is sold by direct-marketing to
consumers and restaurants.

In high school, Salatin began his own business selling rabbits, eggs, butter and chicken from his family farm at the Staunton Curb Market. He then attended Bob Jones University where he majored in English and was a student leader. He graduated in 1979. Salatin married his childhood sweetheart in 1980 and became a feature writer at the Staunton,
Virginia newspaper, The News Leader, where he had worked earlier typing obituaries and police reports.

Tired of "having his stories spiked," he decided to try farming full-time after first getting involved in a walnut-buying station run by two high school boys. Salatin's grandfather had been an avid gardener and beekeeper and a follower of J. I. Rodale, the founder of regenerative organic gardening. Salatin's father worked as an accountant and his mother taught high school physical education. Salatin's parents had bought the land that became Polyface after losing a farm in Venezuela to political turmoil. They had raised cattle using organic methods, but could not make a living at farming alone.

Salatin, a self-described "Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-capitalist-lunatic-Farmer" produces high-quality "beyond organic" meats, which are raised using environmentally responsible, ecologically beneficial, sustainable agriculture. Jo Robinson, the author of Pasture Perfect: The Far-Reaching Benefits of Choosing Meat, Eggs and Dairy Products From Grass-Fed Animals (2004) said of Salatin, "He's not going back to the old model. There's nothing in county extension or old-fashioned ag science that really informs him. He is just looking totally afresh at how to maximize production in an integrated system on a holistic farm. He's just totally innovative."

Salatin considers his farming a ministry, and he condemns the negative impact on his livelihood and lifestyle of what he considers an increasingly regulatory approach taken by the agencies of the United States government toward farming. Salatin now spends a hundred days a year lecturing at colleges and to environmental groups.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 148 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Only Step-By-Step Guide to Small-Farm Broiler Production, December 15, 2000

By 

Robert Plamondon (Blodgett, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pastured Poultry Profits (Paperback)

Salatin gives a step-by-step guide to his innovative method of raising meat chickens on pasture. This book has been used by hundreds of total novices to build up profitable small-farm broiler businesses. Salatin gives clear descriptions and makes lavish use of photographs to get his points across.

Pastured broilers taste better than store-bought, and the manure left behind by the pastured chickens has rejuvenated our pasture. The work is pleasant and isn't strenuous.

The hardest part is becoming proficient at butchering. Salatin lays out the method, but learning to do it quickly takes practice.

My wife studied this book, followed the instructions carefully, and has had three successful seasons of broiler production, and is looking forward to season #4.

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raising poultry in my back yard?, July 15, 1998

By 

D. New "History Traveler" (Republic of Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pastured Poultry Profits (Paperback)

Back yard growers or for a full time income, Saladin offers a unique approach that anyone can use to supplement income or just improve their diet with meat and eggs grown your way. Fascinating approach that makes poultry a cottage industry once again.

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INFO! Info! Info! Info! INFO!, February 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pastured Poultry Profits (Paperback)

From a family who is proving it's still possible to make a good living on the American small farm.

Includes an index and excerpts from marketing newsletters. This workable production model covers every aspect of pasture-grazed chickens from building pens to processing the meat to how to talk to your customers.

Don't let the price throw you: what you are buying in this book is information - & valuable information at that for anyone serious about profitable alternatives in agriculture. There is also a 45 minute video available.