2015 is the International Year of Soils, as defined by the United Nations, and people all over the world are waking up to the integral solutions found in our earth’s fragile, but potent soil system. Healthy living soil can sequester carbon in the atmosphere, and as Joel’s website says, “Stimulating soil biota is our first priority. Soil health creates healthy food.”  In this time of climate chaos, soil degradation, and deepening food crises, it is low-income communities that are hurt first and worst.

As soil-lover Nikki Silvestri reminds us, “resilience is not about bouncing back, but about strengthening communities that have been historically under-resourced.” Now is the time to create jobs, grow healthier food, and build equitable communities. And as David Rose says, “The soil is everything. The fate of our bodies, our species and our ecosystem is the same and must all be healed together.”

Learm more about: Nikki Silvestri, Joel Salatin & David Rose.  Moderated by: Alli Chagi-Starr

Joel Salatin, 57, 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 5,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits, pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing. He holds a BA degree in English and writes extensively in magazines such as STOCKMAN GRASS FARMER, ACRES USA, and FOODSHED.

The family’s farm, Polyface Inc. (“The Farm of Many Faces”) has been featured in SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, GOURMET and countless other radio,television and print media. Profiled on the Lives of the 21st Century series with Peter Jennings on ABC World News, his after-broadcast chat room fielded more hits than any other segment to date. It achieved iconic status as the grass farm featured in the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA by food writer guru Michael Pollan and the award-winning film documentary, FOOD INC.

A sought-after conference speaker, he addresses a wide range of issues, from “creating the farm your children will want” to “making a white collar salary from a pleasant life in the country.” A wordsmith, he describes his occupation as “mob-stocking hervbivorous solar conversion lignified carbon sequestration fertilization.” His humorous and conviction-based speeches are akin to theatrical performances, often receiving standing ovations.

He has authored nine books, five of them how-to types:

• PASTURED POULTRY PROFITS: Net $25,000 in 6 months on 20 Acres
• SALAD BAR BEEF
• YOU CAN FARM: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Start and Succeed in a Farming Enterprise
• FAMILY FRIENDLY FARMING: A Multi-Generational Home-Based Business Testament
• HOLY COWS AND HOG HEAVEN: The Food Buyer’s Guide to Farm Friendly Food, is an attempt to bring producers and patrons together in mutual understanding and appreciation
• EVERYTHING I WANT TO DO IS ILLEGAL: War stories from the local food front.
• THE SHEER ECSTASY OF BEING A LUNATIC FARMER
• FOLKS, THIS AIN’T NORMAL: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World
• FIELDS OF FARMERS: Interning, Mentoring, Starting, Continuing

His speaking and writing reflect dirt-under-the-fingernails experience punctuated with mischievous humor. He passionately defends small farms, local food systems, and the right to opt out of the conventional food paradigm.  Four generations of his family currently live and work on the farm.