Meet the Farmers

	Joel Salatin is a full-time farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. A third generation alternative farmer, he returned to the farm full-time in 1982 and continued refining and adding to his parents’ ideas.The farm services more than 3,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, and pigaerator pork using relationship marketing.
	Chuck Wirtz is a lifelong farmer based in West Bend, IA. He farms with his two brothers, and with his son Carson. They operate a farrow-to-finish commodity hog operation and recently converted a small portion over to welfare-compassionate production.
	Dr. Fred Kirschenmann is a long time national and international leader in sustainable agriculture who shares an appointment as Distinguished Fellow for the Leopold Center and as President of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pontico Hills, New York. He also oversees management of his family's 2,600-acre certified organic farm in south central North Dakota.
	Daniel Salatin, son of Joel, has gone from carrying freshly processed chickens while in diapers, to running and over-seeing the day-to-day workings of Polyface. As a seven-year old he started a pastured rabbit enterprise, which has had its ups and downs but continues today. Starting the rabbit business gave him first hand experience with marketing, processing, research and development, and the costs of a new business.