PIVOT TO PIDS

            Yesterday, with great disappointment, I announced the Mother Earth News fair at Polyface postponement until next summer due to Covid-19.  That was our educational component for the season.

             We normally do a small, intimate and comprehensive educational component called the Polyface Intensive Discovery Seminar (PIDS).  Limited to about 30 people and spanning two days including 6 meals (it's worth coming just for the food), these have become our signature platform for in-close and personal teaching the principles that make Polyface what it is.

             Normally, these seminars are already sold out by May so it's late in the game to resurrect anything, but we're going to do it anyway.  We're only going to do two rather than three or four and they'll be July 17-18 and July 31-Aug. 1.  Our longtime friends and co-conspirators in ecological farming at ACRES USA magazine handle registrations: www.acresusa.com or you can call them at 512-892-4400.

             Everything is outdoors but because we ferry around on hay wagons and show things up close, we can't and won't do social distancing.  If that's uncomfortable, exercise your freedom of choice and don't come.  I'm being very up front about this because it's now a thing.

             Right now the plan is to do these two this year and then not do any again until 2022; we'll take folks first come, first served.

             These are two very long days; sun up to sun down; we don't take breaks and we go straight through an agenda that starts with processing chickens and goes through all the production, composting, pigaerating, forestry, sawmilling, pond building, water systems, animal moving, genetics, collaboration, leasing land, marketing, apprenticeship--did I say it was pretty comprehensive?  So if this interests you, please call ACRES and get in on it.

             Do you think coronavirus is going to make people more interested in learning how to produce their own food?