The video is a day‑in‑the‑life vlog at Polyface Farm, where host (likely Joel Salatin) guides a group of young interns—Sadie, Ashley, Ryan Rhodes, Tim Bell, and others—through a series of morning chores. They move chicken nets, set up cow and sheep fences, feed livestock, and perform a hands‑on milking demonstration comparing goat and cow techniques. The interns also help clean and maintain equipment, such as the Everflow waterer, and prepare garden squash for the chickens, showcasing a zero‑waste approach. A shared farm breakfast featuring cultured cream, pancakes, and fresh watermelon provides a social moment where the interns discuss their motivations: Sadie loves knowing where food comes from, Tim plans to start his own regenerative farm with broilers and turkeys, and Ryan envisions a direct‑market beef and chicken operation with a sawmill and community blacksmithing. Throughout, the host emphasizes practical skill‑transfer, the philosophy of regenerative agriculture inspired by Joel Salatin, and the hopeful future of farming driven by enthusiastic young people.
Chapters
Back up, Jonah, all the way back. They can jump it if they want to. You scared them? They're weird. We got, we got guests and everything. All right, everybody, let's back up even more. Polyface interns visiting this weekend. Y'all move nets, right? Okay, I can't not have them move net. That would just be wasted talent. So just like Joel, we're moving our chickens 3 days behind the cows. But in a homestead system, small acre system, you gotta net them because even if they're way over there at our furthest point, you know where they're gonna come? To that pine tree by the creek. They're not gonna scratch the manure. Look at this. Man, by that time I put the Energizer in the Chickshaw, they've already got it up. You might be able to go to 4 and then 8. You understand what I'm saying? 4 links that way and then 8 out. We're putting up, uh, cow fence now. We're now putting up the sheep fence for the day. This was yesterday. Coming in here today, they're gonna really like that. Look at that with the, uh, walnut trees. It's a nice paddock for them. How are your sheep doing?
They're doing really good, actually.
Good.
Oh, there it is. Isn't this so nice, guys? Animals on new grass. We've done that 3 times— chickens, sheep, and cows. Yeah, y'all are over it. That's our whole summer, right?
It's still amazing.
Yeah, no, it never gets old.
No, it doesn't.
Almost 9 o'clock, we gotta pick this freight!
All right, let's do it! Let's do it, boss!
Hurry!
Hurry, he says. So we're putting scrap ones in this wheelbarrow, good ones in here to go up to the porch. Load number 1, look at that! Beautiful! Load number 2. How's it going up here? It's going great. We're gonna run out of space. Sit real— whoa, you already filled up the rack? We still got the top rack. Wait, you've raised dairy goats? Oh, you haven't just piddled around?
No, I was here.
This is why you're so good at this. But you've never milked cows?
I've never milked a cow.
So how was it compared to a goat?
It's a lot easier. Teeth are bigger.
Yes. Yes, that's what I want to hear. Say no to devil eyes. Good job getting in. So let's see how this goater does. Oh yeah, you're crushing it! You got to save some for the other guys.
All right, Sadie, you want to give me some instructions?
Give her a lot of—
no pressure, Sadie.
It's really just the side that you just—
you can just cut off the top of the teat with your forefinger and thumb and then squeeze the rest. There you go.
Come on, get up, guys, get up! Come on, he's stubborn.
He is gonna go on his first walk.
He's worse than Bear was.
No, I'm glad you guys are doing it now before he gets too big.
Oh, let's stand him up.
Come on, Nose, you are stubborn.
Come on, come on, grab him by his balls and rip them off.
There we go.
There, I'll grab onto his tail.
Yeah, he's stubborn. Hold it short. Yeah, hold it close to the fence.
Oh, well, because you just never know.
That's a neat trick, except it's going to spin him around.
Get up, boy. Get up, boy. Get up, boy. Well, this is how you train a horse.
Breakfast from the farm.
You guys can have it.
Rebecca's favorite cooked tomatoes from the volunteer, our eggs and bacon, strawberry coconut cream, berry sauce, cultured cream on pancakes. And for the first time, fresh watermelon from our farm. So Ashley, have you had cultured cream before?
No.
Okay.
Alright, give it a try. Should I eat it with the pancake or without?
Yeah, do what you're going to do. Ryan.
Yeah.
Nice big plate, good for you. There's plenty, guys. There's plenty. There'll be more if you want it. That's really good. You like it?
Mm-hmm.
Okay, good.
It's the best.
That's really good.
Okay, good. What is it like? How would you describe it?
The cultured cream?
Yeah, it's a lot like yogurt.
Okay, yeah, yeah, I would say yogurt, but it also has that slightly sour creamy tendency, but a little bit cheesy. Oh yeah, yeah, that's good.
Mix of all the dairies. Sunday morning chore time. Ryan helping me with the chick— chicken feed.
I'm Ryan Rhodes. I'm from Bedford, Virginia.
If one of you has a knife, can you cut up just a few? See how this— now they've gotten in there and they can actually get in there and get the flesh. See that? Yeah, yeah. So you guys are gonna help them out a little bit. Tim, I'll have you grab that pitchfork. Okay. And throw some of this wood chips right here. See, there's a little bit of a smell, and that's because we're losing our wood chips right here. They're kind of going downhill. What's your name and where are you from?
Tim Bell from Reiner, Virginia.
Question is, you carry a knife?
I do.
Okay. Go for it. Help your buddy Ryan. He's cutting open these squashes so the chickens can get at it.
I'm Sadie from Western New York.
These are bad squash from the, the garden harvest, and nothing goes to waste even without pigs. Just got to help them a little bit more. We have a bit of a clog in the Everflow waterer. Sediment builds up in it over time. And I don't know, every month-ish we got to give it a good clean. Now we're getting the draw, um, going. We filled up the bottom line to get it going again. Sadie's coming down to turn it on for us. Sadie, it's like you got up at 7 this morning. You've been getting up at 6, maybe earlier, all summer.
Why?
To do chores. Yeah, you're like 20-something years old.
I'm 18.
Your answer is, oh, you're 18? Okay, most 18-year-olds are sleeping in. They're not getting up to do chores. She's like, why? To do chores. So why, why, why do chores?
Well, to keep the animals alive.
You're so practical. Somebody has to. I like that, I like that. Somebody's got to do it. Okay, so Sadie, yep, you would turn it on right there. Sadie's gonna farm sit for us when we go to Homesteaders of America, so you stay here. I'll holler at you when to turn it on. Okay, yep. Maybe you'll give me a more philosophical answer. Why are you getting up at 6 in the morning also on summer break?
I guess because it's what Joel Salatin says to do.
And what attracts you to Joel Salatin?
Um, he's just a big figure. He's the one that kind of started this movement. Yeah, I'm in regenerative agriculture and I kind of wanted to learn from the best.
Nice.
So that's why I came to Polyface.
If you're gonna go, go all out, learn from the best. And so what are you gonna do with that, with the knowledge and experience you've gained over the summer?
My plan is to go home and slowly start my own farm.
Cool. And what are you going to grow?
We're going to start out with broilers and turkeys and go from there.
Good for you, man. Good for you. These guys even know how to milk, man. I could have slept in this morning, Tim. Tim, you want the honors of letting them out? Sure. So Sadie, what attracted you to Joel Salatin internship?
Well, I knew I wanted to farm, and I was really impressed with his books and speaking and so forth, and that method of farming seemed really viable for me.
Now that you're grown up, what do you want to do?
I don't know if I'm grown up, so maybe I don't have the answer.
Okay, what do you want to do when you grow up then?
Um, I'm not sure. I want to farm and I want to, uh, play music, violinist as well.
Cool.
There's your alfalfa. Flossie will not go in without it. Yep, look at you guys, 1 gallon of milk! Good job! How was it? It was great, it took like 5 hours, 45 minutes, but that's great for your very first time. He's a stubborn one, he'll want to flop, so be careful with all your stuff here. Ryan, how old are you?
I'm 23.
Okay, all the rest of the 23-year-olds are sleeping in Sunday morning. What's the matter with you?
What's the matter with me? I'm learning how to be a lunatic farmer.
Oh, oh, touche! The world thinks we're crazy.
That's right.
So are you gonna do it? You go away from Polyface, are you gonna actually go And do it?
Yeah, I'm planning on it.
Okay, and what's that gonna look like?
It's gonna look like direct-marketed beef and chicken and lumber products. I wanna get a sawmill and start doing some crafting.
Okay.
And maybe learn how to blacksmith and get involved with my community.
Nice. Who's your helper there, Jonah?
Ashley.
Ashley, where are you from?
Minnesota.
Minnesota. Come on, say it like a Minnesotan. Minnesota. Yeah, good. Is it Minnesota nice or Minnesota mean up there?
Definitely Minnesota nice.
Okay, good. Why are you doing this? Why in the world? This is your weekend off from working hard at Polyface. Why are you getting up early in the morning all summer long?
Because I love it.
What do you love about it?
I love that— I love knowing where my food comes from. I love the lifestyle. I think people are very— I mean, this is not very common anymore. They're very disconnected from where they're getting their food. And so I want people to know where their food comes from and also that it's possible to grow your own food. And so this is what I'm devoting my life to.
Nice. Thank you. Thank you. I look forward to the future with young folks like you running it.
Thanks, I'm excited.
Yeah.
All right, here we go. I like the melons.
These guys have been working hard all summer. Give them a little break. Do you want to call it a day and go on a hike? Is that what hardworking people do for a break? Yep, go on a hike. Okay. Okay guys, bye-bye. Bye. Thank you, guys. You've been a good help. Isn't it nice to have 4 young people with multi-tools on? I know. Gloves in their belt.
They know what to do.
Isn't that nice? Yeah. Been trained by Polly Face all summer. We get the fruit of that at the end of the end of the season. Yep. Okay, thank you. They come in rubber boots and cowboy boots ready to go. Tim, you're ready to run. He's the gopher. Go get this, Tim. Yeah. Oh my goodness, I want you guys to see this. I don't know if I've showed you this in a while. No halter, no halter necessary. Necessary. Nobody's crumbling in the corner. Nobody's crumbling in the corner. Just walk right up to him and pet him, don't you, Rebecca? Interns have left. Look at this, another dumpster. We are cleaning up this farm. I don't know what's gotten into us, but we're cleaning up this farm and we're keeping it clean. Look at this garage, guys. We cleaned it over a week ago, still looks fabulous. Ever since we've come home from the Great American Farm Tour and begun buying this farm from family— from the family— we've, we've started obviously more food production than ever. More garden, more animals. I've cleaned out these stalls today, a lot of it today in the dumpster, getting ready for hay. But this is a mess, and we've cleaned it before. Friends have helped us clean it before, but we didn't really go through it, and that's what we're doing now. All right, well, we got somewhere— probably got about 15 loads of wheelbarrow throughout this afternoon. You guys saw me do this. It's something. Happy with our progress. We gotta quit though. Gotta quit, have supper, and move on to something else. Hey, where are you supposed to be? We're wrapping up the day. Amazing how much done— how much we got done today. Regular chores, clean out the basement, put up a lane, wash the pumpkins, countless other things. Oh, shopping. For Homesteaders of America, getting some clothes for the kids. Yeah, had guests, got some help from them, sent them on their way. What a wonderful day.
