Here it is! The narration for which so many people have such wonderful expectations; and who, having read this, will say, “That was it?!” I have now written my narration of Joel Salatin’s talks at Vision Forum’s Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, which dealt with general business principles as well as sustainable agriculture. I have chosen to limit myself to the farming part, because that is Mr. Salatin’s area of expertise and is certainly enough information for one post.
Joel Salatin (Sall’-uh-tin) is a Christian libertarian capitalist environmentalist who farms 100 open acres in Swoope, Virginia, which is located in the Shenandoah Valley. He has developed several farming models which have proved highly successful, profitable, and sustainable including Salad Bar Beef, Pastured Poultry, Pigaerator Pork, Eggmobile Eggs, and forage-based rabbits. He is now developing a Ewego to raise lambs, which then will finish their growth in a Lamborghini. His farm supports four full-time white collar salaries.
Sustainable Agriculture is a method of agriculture which builds the fertility in the soil and increases the production as time passes, both through the addition of organic material and careful husbandry. Most conventional agricultural practices today destroy the complex webs of organisms in the soil and require large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides because the soil has been killed. Thus the scientists are only one step ahead of disease and pests with their deadly chemicals (remember, the suffix -cide means death), and the plants must rely on artificial fertilizer for nutrients because there aren’t any in the soil.
The meat-raising industry today is a horror. The meat isn’t nutritious; it’s unhealthy and, in some cases, dangerous. The conditions animals are raised under won’t allow anything nutritious. Most grocery stores now have drugstores- notice a connection? Not to mention the fact that it is extremely unprofitable to build a $250,000 chicken house that returns about $10,000 a year and has to be rebuilt in 25 years- and that isn’t an imaginary situation. A short description directly from Mr. Salatin describes the conditions in a laying hen confinement house:
“I once walked into an egg layer house. Here were three tiers of cages as far as the eye could see. The cages were 14 inches by 22 inches. Inside were 8 chickens. They didn’t even have enough room to sit down. They just milled around the cages all the time. No nest. They just squatted and dropped the egg on the slanted wire mesh cage bottom and the egg rolled down onto a conveyor belt. The birds were debeaked so they wouldn’t cannibalize and most cages had at least one dead bird in some stage of decay. Finally, after the other birds walked over the carcass long enough, the decomposed carcass fell through the wire floor and went out with the manure.”
It doesn’t take much to see that something is wrong with such a model. Mr. Salatin’s models try to recreate in farming the habits of an animal, or similar animal, in the wild. It works off of the assumption that no one can do better than God, which is certainly true. With these models, a chicken can be a chicken, a cow a cow, etc.
Also, he calves in the spring, when deer are fawning, instead of trying to get an earlier start in winter when the weather is colder. The weight gain is the same in the end. He never builds silos (bankruptcy tubes) to fatten cows in winter because he fattens his calves on pasture in spring and summer, and then sells them in the fall, only keeping the breeding cows. Winter is the natural off-season for herbivores, and they don’t eat as much. Since they aren’t designed to eat much in winter they don’t gain weight very well at that time, tending to just want to maintain status quo.
By adding plenty of carbon to the manure in winter or in composting, and by moving the animals across the ground in the warmer months ammonia is prevented from vaporizing, which simply means that it doesn’t smell bad. The result is an aromatically pleasing farm. Have you ever smelled the sweet aroma of compost? If something smells bad, something is being done wrong.
Most of the profitability from a farm like this is from direct marketing. By selling retail you can control your own prices. Wholesale prices for farm produce vary widely at different times, but retail prices are comparatively steady. By selling retail at honest prices, you can avoid price swings (except for inflation, but that isn’t really a problem here, and it’s a long story anyway.)
Pasturing chickens allows them to move daily off of the soiled patch of the day before onto a clean, fresh “salad bar”. This keeps parasites and disease away. Portable pens allow a confined area on which they can graze, get water, and feed (chickens can only get 35% of their diet on grass). The result is a chicken high in Omega fatty acids and vitamins, and low in saturated fat, that tastes better than anything bought at the local supermarket.
The rabbit, pig, and lamb are all raised in a healthy way as well. Rabbits are fed plenty of forage, pigs are rotated every 20 or 30 days to a new area, and lambs are pastured. All of this operates on grass and, in the case of pigs, other natural vegetation. That’s why there is a magazine called The Stockman Grass Farmer- it’s simply a profitable, healthy way to do things.
This method of farming is also family friendly. Children can be integrated into all of the operations. There aren’t any dangerous chemicals or equipment (when used reasonably). A child could eat the compost, in reasonable amounts, and it wouldn’t hurt him. When a farm is developed, along with its direct-market clientele, later generations can continue with it and build it up to higher productivity than their parents and grandparents ever achieved.
A farm following these models is profitable, family-friendly, aesthetically and aromatically pleasing, a beautiful example of working in symbiosis with Creation, and it’s fun. That about sums it all up.
~Sherlock
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
The Alamo
Below is a narration on the battle of the Alamo by Smokestack. We hope you enjoy it!
Texans were rebelling against Santa Anna, the president of Mexico. Houston sent Colonel Travis to hold Santa Anna back long enough for him to gather an army. Travis had 100 hundred men, many different states, with him. Many were from different countries in Europe.
The Alamo is in San Antonio Texas, and is the place that Travis stationed his men. They worked and made the old Spanish mission into a fort. They constructed walls and placed batteries of cannon. They also gathered weapons, filled the powder rooms, stored food......and waited.
One day it was reported that Santa Anna's army was seen marching towards the Alamo. Travis sent men to their posts, but Santa Anna did not attack. The next few days were spent at their posts, until , at last, the Mexicans attacked. The courage of the Texans, however, was too strong for the Mexicans, and they forced them to retreat.
Jim Bowie was shot, and could not walk, so he lay in his bed for the remainder of the battle. Davy Crockett was guarding a long wall that his men had built. They were the best men fighting at the Alamo. Travis sent out messengers asking aid, but none could arrive in time.
Then, Santa Anna ordered "Charge and capture, no matter how many be the losses." [Ed. Note: Those aren't his exact words. He spoke Spanish.] The whole Mexican army attacked the Alamo. Travis was brave, and was one of the first to die. Though they knew it must come, death had no hold on them. Davy Crockett, the famous King of the Frontier, lay dead with 11 dead Mexicans around him. Bowie was found dead in his infirmary bed, and had resisted to the last, having killed the men who first tried to kill him in his bed. The bodies of the men who died at the Alamo were burned.
Later, Houston crushed "Santy Anny", as he was called, going into battle with the cry "Remember the Alamo!". Thus, the massacre at the Alamo was revenged.
~Smokestack
Wealth
I'm flattered that my posts are so well appreciated. Before I begin this one, however, please let me remind you that I don't have a spirit of "I am (nearly) sixteen! I am the fount of all wisdom- hear me speak!" My father could tell these things infinitely better, but he must work and go to meetings and such while I, after I have finished school, have some spare time to sit around and blog.
My previous posts have talked about wealth some and how it can build inside a family that lives so as to benefit the next generation. Now I intend to go a little deeper lest you think that I'm a heartless diehard capitalist that wants to squeeze every penny he can get out of the business deals he makes. I hope there aren't many such misers.
At the Bootcamp, Mr. Phillips discussed how many modern Christians believe that to be poor is to be holy. This is an illusion that is easily countered by reading scripture. Deuteronomy 6 and 7 are good chapters in dealing with this. Those that serve God with their lives will be blessed. They'll have problems and failures, sure, but God blesses those that seek his glory.
There are only a certain amount of resources in the world. Other than mining gold and silver, wealth cannot really be created. Money can be earned, but you can't print a billion dollar bills and be rich- it must be backed by gold or it will simply cause inflation. Therefore, wealth must be earned that already exists (unless, again, you mine gold, but most people don't do that).
If the Christian community shuns wealth and chooses to live in poverty in order to be holy, who else will get the resources? The world will! If the secular communtiy controls the resources, they'll simply use it to do what they are doing with it now- they'll make Godless movies, back Godless politicians and use it for worldly things in general. If the Christians control those resources (particularly Christians with a vision), then they will be used to glorify God and impact the culture in a Godly way.
Therefore, since it is God who gives resources to control, it is not wrong for us to seek wealth. It isn't money that is the root of all evil. Money is morally neutral; it is the love of that money that is evil. The purpose of seeking the wealth is to live debt-free and to allow later generations to live debt-free. Being out from under the bondage of debt creates more freedom. The borrower is the servant of the lender.
Scripture says that it is hard for a rich man to get to heaven, but the Bible does not say that it is hard for a man going to heaven to get rich. Of course greed is a sin and wealth can be a temptation that produces greed. I refer to resources gained which will be used to glorify God, not to please selfish love of lucre. Samuel's sons fell into this sin, and it's a sad story in 1 Samuel 8.
If the Lord should see fit to bless me with wealth, I wouldn't consider myself a sinner-that's absolutely ridiculous! Isn't it neat how just about any subject can be traced back to the issue of God's sovereignty? However, if I sought that wealth for love of gain, I'm sinning- just like Samuel's sons. It's a matter of why I seek it- for God's glory or my gain- and then if God blesses me with that wealth, how I use it.
~Sherlock
My previous posts have talked about wealth some and how it can build inside a family that lives so as to benefit the next generation. Now I intend to go a little deeper lest you think that I'm a heartless diehard capitalist that wants to squeeze every penny he can get out of the business deals he makes. I hope there aren't many such misers.
At the Bootcamp, Mr. Phillips discussed how many modern Christians believe that to be poor is to be holy. This is an illusion that is easily countered by reading scripture. Deuteronomy 6 and 7 are good chapters in dealing with this. Those that serve God with their lives will be blessed. They'll have problems and failures, sure, but God blesses those that seek his glory.
There are only a certain amount of resources in the world. Other than mining gold and silver, wealth cannot really be created. Money can be earned, but you can't print a billion dollar bills and be rich- it must be backed by gold or it will simply cause inflation. Therefore, wealth must be earned that already exists (unless, again, you mine gold, but most people don't do that).
If the Christian community shuns wealth and chooses to live in poverty in order to be holy, who else will get the resources? The world will! If the secular communtiy controls the resources, they'll simply use it to do what they are doing with it now- they'll make Godless movies, back Godless politicians and use it for worldly things in general. If the Christians control those resources (particularly Christians with a vision), then they will be used to glorify God and impact the culture in a Godly way.
Therefore, since it is God who gives resources to control, it is not wrong for us to seek wealth. It isn't money that is the root of all evil. Money is morally neutral; it is the love of that money that is evil. The purpose of seeking the wealth is to live debt-free and to allow later generations to live debt-free. Being out from under the bondage of debt creates more freedom. The borrower is the servant of the lender.
Scripture says that it is hard for a rich man to get to heaven, but the Bible does not say that it is hard for a man going to heaven to get rich. Of course greed is a sin and wealth can be a temptation that produces greed. I refer to resources gained which will be used to glorify God, not to please selfish love of lucre. Samuel's sons fell into this sin, and it's a sad story in 1 Samuel 8.
If the Lord should see fit to bless me with wealth, I wouldn't consider myself a sinner-that's absolutely ridiculous! Isn't it neat how just about any subject can be traced back to the issue of God's sovereignty? However, if I sought that wealth for love of gain, I'm sinning- just like Samuel's sons. It's a matter of why I seek it- for God's glory or my gain- and then if God blesses me with that wealth, how I use it.
~Sherlock
Monday, August 21, 2006
Application of a Vision
Since my last post told the importance of having a vision and the blessings which it brings, this time I will get a little more personal and talk a little about my vision up until the time that I marry. I hope that this will serve three purposes:
1) It will allow me to collect my own thoughts further,
2) It may help others understand more about the subject, and
3) When I tell some of these things to my extended family, I can print this and give it to them as explanation after we've helped them off the floor and unhooked the defibrillator.
So, here it goes. The path I have chosen to take is very unfrequented among young men. VERY unfrequented- I could probably walk the whole way without meeting anyone on the same route. This is because I, first, don't plan on going to college and second, I plan to farm (more on that later.)
College is certainly thought of extremely highly nowdays. I've discussed with my parents how people will either think that I'm dumb or that I'm wasting my intelligence (wouldn't that be a flattering opinion?). However, I think the wisest way to think about college is how we think of most things. If it looks like it will be beneficial, then invest in it; but it is a waste of alot of time and money to go to college simply to "go with the flow" if it doesn't seem to be beneficial. Therefore, I have decided to invest the time and money in building a business and beginning a family instead of going to college.
The way my credits fall out, I will finish everything except for history and literature in 11th grade. That pretty much means that I'll finish everything in 11th grade because I'll be doing history and literature my entire life. You've heard the story about Mr. Phillips' father sending him hundreds of pages of material to read every day? It'll be nearly the same with me. Leaders must be readers!
Anyway, that last year will be spent in studying things that will benefit my business endeavors for my entire life- from soil science to business math, or whatever else seems profitable. That should give my business a great boost so that I'm earning a good income to allow me to marry a few years before the median age. This is part of my vision. I'll be able to raise many children to glorify God and impact the culture.
If you didn't already know, you now know that I intend to farm. However, I don't intend to be a farmer. I will be an entrepreneur. If it's God's will for me to become a billionaire through my business endeavors outside farming, that's fine with me; but, Deus volentem, I will still farm.
It's more than wanting to make money. Using Joel Salatin's methods I think that you really could become rich farming; however, I want to farm to produce clean, healthy food in a family friendly, environmentally friendly way. The truth is that I love animals, I love the countryside, and I believe that an office of lush grass and tall oaks, rolling hills and streams is better than any other I know of. Let me know if you've found a better.
Another reason I choose to farm is that it is very family friendly. What better place to be raised than a farm like I envision? I know it will take alot of hard work and sacrifice, but I believe it's worth it to be home with my wife and children 24/7, and to breath clean air and eat clean food. As I age the farm can be passed over to one of my sons- or more than one, who knows what the Lord has in store?
In all this I am not referring to the traditional modern farm of fecal-particulate factory confinement houses or dangerous manure lagoons. Read Joel Salatin's books if you really want to see what I see. I hope to be a part of breaking the D-student, tobacco spittin', trip over the transmission in the front yard farmer stereotype. I enjoy art and classical music very much. In short, I think the farmer stereotype alienates city people and country folks. I'd love to play piano while a cow is contentedly chewing her cud not far outside the window. Most people would think the phrase "cultured farmer" is an oxymoron.
Well, there it is. I've spilled it out, and it's really helped me see how my plan looks on paper (well, a computer screen, anyway). I hope that seeing how I have, with much help from my parents, taken the principles of multi-generational vision and applied them to my immediate future will help you to see more of the big picture.
Of course, all of this planning must be subject to the fact that it may not be God's will. Man proposes, God disposes; if the things in my plan are not his will, I don't want them. There is certainly much to learn still. I know an infinitesimal amount compared to all I need to know, but I'm learning more every day.
~Sherlock
1) It will allow me to collect my own thoughts further,
2) It may help others understand more about the subject, and
3) When I tell some of these things to my extended family, I can print this and give it to them as explanation after we've helped them off the floor and unhooked the defibrillator.
So, here it goes. The path I have chosen to take is very unfrequented among young men. VERY unfrequented- I could probably walk the whole way without meeting anyone on the same route. This is because I, first, don't plan on going to college and second, I plan to farm (more on that later.)
College is certainly thought of extremely highly nowdays. I've discussed with my parents how people will either think that I'm dumb or that I'm wasting my intelligence (wouldn't that be a flattering opinion?). However, I think the wisest way to think about college is how we think of most things. If it looks like it will be beneficial, then invest in it; but it is a waste of alot of time and money to go to college simply to "go with the flow" if it doesn't seem to be beneficial. Therefore, I have decided to invest the time and money in building a business and beginning a family instead of going to college.
The way my credits fall out, I will finish everything except for history and literature in 11th grade. That pretty much means that I'll finish everything in 11th grade because I'll be doing history and literature my entire life. You've heard the story about Mr. Phillips' father sending him hundreds of pages of material to read every day? It'll be nearly the same with me. Leaders must be readers!
Anyway, that last year will be spent in studying things that will benefit my business endeavors for my entire life- from soil science to business math, or whatever else seems profitable. That should give my business a great boost so that I'm earning a good income to allow me to marry a few years before the median age. This is part of my vision. I'll be able to raise many children to glorify God and impact the culture.
If you didn't already know, you now know that I intend to farm. However, I don't intend to be a farmer. I will be an entrepreneur. If it's God's will for me to become a billionaire through my business endeavors outside farming, that's fine with me; but, Deus volentem, I will still farm.
It's more than wanting to make money. Using Joel Salatin's methods I think that you really could become rich farming; however, I want to farm to produce clean, healthy food in a family friendly, environmentally friendly way. The truth is that I love animals, I love the countryside, and I believe that an office of lush grass and tall oaks, rolling hills and streams is better than any other I know of. Let me know if you've found a better.
Another reason I choose to farm is that it is very family friendly. What better place to be raised than a farm like I envision? I know it will take alot of hard work and sacrifice, but I believe it's worth it to be home with my wife and children 24/7, and to breath clean air and eat clean food. As I age the farm can be passed over to one of my sons- or more than one, who knows what the Lord has in store?
In all this I am not referring to the traditional modern farm of fecal-particulate factory confinement houses or dangerous manure lagoons. Read Joel Salatin's books if you really want to see what I see. I hope to be a part of breaking the D-student, tobacco spittin', trip over the transmission in the front yard farmer stereotype. I enjoy art and classical music very much. In short, I think the farmer stereotype alienates city people and country folks. I'd love to play piano while a cow is contentedly chewing her cud not far outside the window. Most people would think the phrase "cultured farmer" is an oxymoron.
Well, there it is. I've spilled it out, and it's really helped me see how my plan looks on paper (well, a computer screen, anyway). I hope that seeing how I have, with much help from my parents, taken the principles of multi-generational vision and applied them to my immediate future will help you to see more of the big picture.
Of course, all of this planning must be subject to the fact that it may not be God's will. Man proposes, God disposes; if the things in my plan are not his will, I don't want them. There is certainly much to learn still. I know an infinitesimal amount compared to all I need to know, but I'm learning more every day.
~Sherlock
Friday, August 18, 2006
Eternal Blessings from a Vision
After reading my father's essay on the purpose of a vision, I thought that I should add my comments- after all, I'm part of the second generation. I am extremely grateful to the Lord for blessing me with parents who see the value of a vision and have passed their insight to me. I believe that a vision is an extremely important part of a Christian family.
At the Bootcamp, Mr. Botkin talked further of his 200-year plan. He made several points of how the plan is beneficial- which I think the following summarizes: The 200-year plan guides the patriarch in making decisions in raising his children, allows later generations to see their place in the plan and to work further towards its goals, and allows several generations of Christians to impact the culture by cooperating in effort over centuries.
A vision also allows a family to better equip their children to impact the culture, and allows them to better equip their children, ad infinitum ( that is, until Christ returns.) Thus, the resources in that family grow, and are used in God-honoring ways. Please don't think I'm endorsing wealth for wealth's sake alone- the goal is to glorify God, and to impact the culture for Christ, with the resources God has given for your family to control.
My Dad made an important point recently. We were talking about Matthew 6:33. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." He said that you don't seek the kingdom of God so that all these things shall be added to you- then you're merely seeking the things. You must seek God's glory first, and God will bless you.
When one generation lives below their means to equip the next generation, and then that generation does the same, I think God will bless that family- if they are doing this for his glory. My own father has a vision for which he is willing to sacrifice, and I am willing to do the same for my children. When my father makes that sacrifice, I certainly think that he should deserve that I care for him in his old age, instead of sending him to a nursing home- and I will. I hope my children do so for me.
I'm certainly still learning alot about the importance of having a vision, and the rewards of it. In this post I have simply quoted the wisdom of men whom I greatly respect. I hope someday to have a better understanding of these things, and learning important things such as this is definitely a part of my vision!
~Sherlock
At the Bootcamp, Mr. Botkin talked further of his 200-year plan. He made several points of how the plan is beneficial- which I think the following summarizes: The 200-year plan guides the patriarch in making decisions in raising his children, allows later generations to see their place in the plan and to work further towards its goals, and allows several generations of Christians to impact the culture by cooperating in effort over centuries.
A vision also allows a family to better equip their children to impact the culture, and allows them to better equip their children, ad infinitum ( that is, until Christ returns.) Thus, the resources in that family grow, and are used in God-honoring ways. Please don't think I'm endorsing wealth for wealth's sake alone- the goal is to glorify God, and to impact the culture for Christ, with the resources God has given for your family to control.
My Dad made an important point recently. We were talking about Matthew 6:33. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." He said that you don't seek the kingdom of God so that all these things shall be added to you- then you're merely seeking the things. You must seek God's glory first, and God will bless you.
When one generation lives below their means to equip the next generation, and then that generation does the same, I think God will bless that family- if they are doing this for his glory. My own father has a vision for which he is willing to sacrifice, and I am willing to do the same for my children. When my father makes that sacrifice, I certainly think that he should deserve that I care for him in his old age, instead of sending him to a nursing home- and I will. I hope my children do so for me.
I'm certainly still learning alot about the importance of having a vision, and the rewards of it. In this post I have simply quoted the wisdom of men whom I greatly respect. I hope someday to have a better understanding of these things, and learning important things such as this is definitely a part of my vision!
~Sherlock
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