The wealth of any ecosystem is its perennials. The primal herbivore-predator-disturbance-rest dance is literally the breath and pulse of the earth. Grasses recycle oxygen far more efficiently than trees. The turnover is faster. Grass reaches out and turns solar energy into carbon. Tillage hyper-aerates the soil, burning out carbon. But because a plant creates bilateral symmetry at the soil horizon, it sloughs off root mass when the top gets chopped off.
Joel SalatinMy advice to anyone who wants to join in on farming is diversify. Nature is diversified, and I know you'll always have a core thing that you'll really like, but hang stuff around the edges of it. It will make your place more interesting for people to come to, and it's a lot easier to sell something else to an existing customer.
Joel SalatinIf everybody walks into the room wearing crutches you don't know who can stand on their own two feet.
Joel SalatinYou know what the best kind of organic certification would be? Make an unannounced visit to a farm and take a good long look at the farmerโs bookshelf. Because what youโre feeding your emotions and thoughts is what this is really all about. The way I produce a chicken is an extension of my worldview. You can learn more about that by seeing whatโs sitting on my bookshelf than having me fill out a whole bunch of forms.
Joel Salatin