Wade C.
Yelp
The first part of this review is going to be about the local delivery option and the second part is about the actual farm visit.
I have made a few orders from Polyface over the past years and have been satisfied with the eggs, bacon, and whole chicken. there are designated pickup areas throughout the DC/northern VA area and the pickup was pretty seamless. they threw in a copy of joel's book "holy cows in hog heaven", which was a very nice surprise. I enjoyed the eggs greatly. The bacon was good did not have that super smoky flavor you get from grocery store bacon. it was a bit saltier than expected, but it was still quite good. the fabled chicken (from Omnivore's Dilemma) was really good - granted i took a litlte extra care in preparing it so i wouldn't waste a $20 bird.
The part that blew me away about Polyface Farms is the "open door policy" described in Omnivore's Dilemma. I went two weekends ago on saturday. Please read the "visit" instructions and print out the directions. my phone (verizon) lost coverage so my maps didn't load. my car GPS luckily came close, but it was the paper instructions that were most useful. When you turn onto the farm, it looks like any other farm. a big beautiful farm house, barns, and plenty of fields
Some notable things about the farm:
Store: you park by the store and you can go in and buy any meat or eggs (remember, it is CASH ONLY). there is also a map inside the store that has pictures on it which tell you where the animals are that day. you can use this to plan your walk around the farm. they have the pigs, eggmobile/henhouse, cows, and rabbits all over the place. they also have other merchandise to bring home with you.
Rabbits: they're friendly rabbits that are in these covered cages which appear to be moved across the field so the rabbits can eat/fertilize new areas. they're really nice and you can pick some grass and feel them through the cages. we didn't open any cages, but they looked like they had a lot of space to eat and lounge about
Chickens: they're in larger cages than the rabbits, but the same idea - where they can be moved across the field. you can actually see the cages staggered across the field to cover every inch. the chickens are different ages. some are full grown roosters, and some still have patchy white feathers. they are a bit more skiddish than the rabbits, but still cool to see up close.
Pigs: they are out in the field in a fenced off area. they seem pretty happy exploring and laying about. they're HUGE and are pretty friendly. we happened upon Joel Salatin speaking with some people and he encouraged a child to go right up to a pig to pet it.
the Egg mobile: this is my favorite thing on the farm. it is chock full of hens. it is just as the book described. we got really close to the entrance of the hen house and were able to look in. it was unlike anything i've ever seen.
the Compost Barn: there is a barn that is near a stack of pallets which has chickens all over the floor and rabbits suspended above them. it looks like this is where the farm lets their fertilizer mature/compost.
wood cutting: they have a giant wood planer/cutter that looks like its used to cut all the planks and boards for the farm. kind of cool to see they take these steps to be so self-reliant.
chick house: the baby chicks are all in one place. it is kind of awesome to see all these little fluff balls running around inside.
Piglet barn: if you go around to the giant barn where they store the hay (past the electrical/mechanical storage barn), you will find a pen which has pigs in it. on one side are the bigger pigs, and the other has a pen of small (20-30 lbs) pigs.
the open air chicken processing area: it is on the side of the store. you can see the machines involved in processing chickens, even the metal cone described in the book. it is humbling and good to know that Polyface really does meet/exceed expectations from the description.
The gardens: these covered outdoor gardens are amazing. tons of tomatoes and peppers, herbs, squash, zucchini are all over the place. there is so much produce and food, the Salatin family must eat better than your Whole Foods regular.
The bottom line:
i took photos while i was there, so you can kind of get the visual:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pillpusher/sets/72157630215740534/
go to the farm. it's an incredible experience which really puts your food into perspective (especially if you're already a Polyface customer). stay in Staunton for a weekend of farms and vineyards. if you see Joel (most notable is is hat, glasses, and larger than life personality), he's super friendly and impassioned for his work.