In keeping with the Friday teasers introducing my collaborative new book titled POLYFACE DESIGNS with guru engineer and former apprentice Chris Slattery, today I want to focus on some of the ancillary material.

             It's not just drawings, but also supporting text.  For the first time, Chris has forced me to articulate some of the specifications for numerous things.  For example, how many square feet per pig per day in a pig pasture?

             How many nest boxes per hen in the laying operation?  How many linear inches of feeder space per chicken?  How many square feet of loafing area per cow equivalent in the hay shed?

             As anyone knows, not only is the Devil in the details, but the success is there too.  A seemingly innocuous element can often be the make or break piece for functionality.  These formulas for proper function allow everything to scale either up or down.

             I'm hoping this winter to crank out another project (to be launched at next year's Mother Earth News Fair at Polyface July 16-17) with the working title THE HOMESTEADER'S LIVESTOCK HANDBOOK.  It'll be great to be able to refer folks to POLYFACE DESIGNS for some of the tedious ratios and formulas so I don't have to re-invent the wheel.

             The pandemic catapulted interest in farming, homesteading, and gardening.  Self-sufficiency seminars and how-to information enjoy unprecedented popularity, which is a positive thing.  This information is now more important than ever and we're excited to be part of a renaissance in the integrity food and farm space.

             POLYFACE DESIGNS will go on pre-order the first of August.  This week I'm choosing the printing company we'll use and hopefully by the end of next week we'll be formally in a line-up for the press.  Exciting days.