Polyface – Platform Design

Introduction

Joel Salatin ran an economically and environmentally sustainable family-owned farm and strove to mimic nature’s bio diverse template. Joel Salatin’s approach to farming recognized animal’s natural inclinations and took advantage of their physiological distinctiveness.

The demand for Polyface products was growing at a rate that Salatin would never have anticipated. Moreover, customers were willing to pay more for local and pasture foods. Salatin has to decide on how he will grow his business to meet the demand while staying small scale and serving local markets and staying away from quick and reckless growth.

Polyface currently served individual customers directly and also sold to retail outlets and restaurants (see table below).

Individual Customers Retail Outlets Local Restaurants

2000 10 50

Polyface – Platform Design

Polyface mimic’s nature’s design and exploit commonalities and synergies to create products that are healthy, high in demand and incur low costs. Salatin has created an operating environment in the farm that takes advantage of natural patterns. Salatin is also exceptional in managing and executing tasks at the farm

Polyface value cycle

Grass is the most important material for Polyface as is the primary food and therefore effectively managing grass growth is instrumental to Polyface’s success. The value cycle below shows how animals’ natural inclinations are used to effectively manage the entire value cycle. Salatins use livestock to create fertility in the land by carefully planning movements through a paddock system. The intersection of three ecosystems i.e., forest, pasture and water creates maximum diversity.

Polyface Value Cycle ©Group N

Polyface Guiding principles

Polyface has six guiding principles as shown in the figure above. Polyface believes in transparency and maintains no trade secret. The livestock and poultry are moved to new pasture areas thereby creating landscape healing and nutritional superiority. The plants and animals are allowed to express their individual distinctiveness. Polyface supplies to local markets that are closer to home and does not ship food. Natural patterns are followed to grow and feed animals. Finally, earthworms are considered with high importance to maintain healthy soil.

Deep-loop and Shallow-loop – Platform tactics

Polyface uses both deep-loop and shallow-loop for effective, efficient and sustainable farm operations. In deep-loop value cycle Polyface uses grass as common food material and land area is