FURTHER READING
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, by Jacob Wolki "Yes Sir"
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, by Jacob Wolki Breakout Bull!
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, by Jacob Wolki Cutting a Bulls Horns
Every Conversation I Want To Have Is Illegal
- , by Jacob Wolki
- 13 min reading time
I’ve long held the opinion that businesses shouldn’t be political.
In my previous jobs & roles, it always frustrated me that businesses weighed in on social issues that had nothing to do with their primary task at hand.
Then we went and started a value driven business, using our family's image as the centrepiece
It was kind of accidental. “Organic” might be a better word.
Advocating for the social, political and moral values of our family has long felt “icky”. Not because our values feel icky, but because I’ve always had contention with businesses telling me what to think, feel, value and prioritise.
How do these big businesses get off, telling me what to think and believe, with their long track record of X, Y or Z?
It slowly struck me. Wolki Farm, what we create and what we do, was born out of need and values. The need for healing food, and the values to do it without the environment and the animals picking up the tab.
The big biz version is “climate warriors” who fly to Davos aboard their private jets to dine on wagyu beef and caviar, while preaching and lecturing us about the environment and the necessity for us to stop eating red meat to get the “net zero” - versus - Jacob Wolki advocating for freedom of speech (read - advocating against a misinformation/disinformation bill) so that Wolki Farm can keep promoting the land and body healing benefits of beef without big Gov and big biz silencing him. (cHoLeStErOl)
I felt like I needed to formally write this and send it out there into the interwebs so that I can personally align with the idea that speaking to politics and values that align with the core principles that underpin our business, which is built on our family’s values, is OK.
Hmm. That feels nice.
That being said, my political speech (and not least of all, the red hot memes that I share) keeps landing me in the centre point of veiled jabs and criticisms.
I don’t feel that acknowledging and addressing these is petty.
I’m quite happy for D2M Regen Ag (direct to market selling farms) to have a healthy public debate. The whole West is doing it right now. Let’s rip the bandaid.
Here are actions and beliefs that I hold that have been, or currently are, criticised by my “peers”.
Note, I am not discussing these things in an attempt to cause a rift, dissuade patronage of other farms, scare off start ups, generate clicks or anything of the sort.
To the contrary, I find the whole space a bit purist and anti competition, and this is ultimately at the consumers expense.
Freight
the fact that I “send my produce halfway across the world” (to Brisbane) really triggers people in the space.
It would really upset them to learn that I have been approached by meat wholesalers in California that want some Wolki Farm Regen Damara lamb - and I intend to sell it to them.
The reality is, that I’m not in the position to discriminate.
When my family needed this food, we couldn’t find it. We had to grow it. I’ve spoken about this at length. Growing it wasn’t easy or cheap.
Definitely not realistic or achievable for millions of people in Australia and around the world.
If someone needs or wants our food, I think they deserve to get it without unnecessary barriers or prejudice.
There seems to be 2 main contentions with freight.
Firstly, the alleged outrageous and unnecessary environment footprint.
I do wonder, what’s worse.
Me, sending 10 bodies of beef to the abattoir at a time in a heavy rigid truck and then distributing them around Australia via an established supply chain vs 1 body of beef going to the ab in a stock trailer and then being hauled to multiple farmers markets by an old ute. Obviously, this is half hypothetical, but you get the picture.
If it has to be local, how far is too far? Who services Sydney with 5m people? Who services Alice Springs with chicken and pork? I’ll tell you who. Factory farms, industrial operations and international interests.
Secondly, the “stay in your lane” argument. Don’t cut our turf. This argument is hidden behind “build your local community”. My community isn’t a postcode. My community is people who want and need access to chemical free foods.
They love to drag Joel Salatin into it. “If Joel shipped that Chicken, Michael Pollen would never have written about him”. Yeah, in the 00s. It’s a different world, and on the record, Polyface now ships.
(Did you know that Certified Organic farmers can’t use the phrase “Chemical Free” to describe their food? I just learned that today. It’s obviously a stupid phrase because water is a chemical - but we are all adults and we all understand what it implies. No poison)
Discounting
Many times I have heard producers bemoan about oversupply and overstock. Too much mince! Chicken frames, what do we do with them all? The bones!! But they couldn’t possibly bring themselves to discount it.
“We can’t devalue our product!”
“What about the poor animal who has been sacrificed?”
“It’s an offence to everyone in the little regen supply chain.”
Folks, we aren’t Tesla. I, for one, actually love discounting.
I plan to do more of it.
Beyond that, I plan to drop my prices across the board at every available chance.
If I can lower my prices to clear stagnant inventory, increase cash flow + let the customer have a win, I’m very happy.
Scale
The biggest baddest word! (except if you’re White Oak Pastures, right? But Pasturebird doesn’t get a free pass, right?)
The contention seems to be that integrity based farm management can’t happen at scale. OK - in retort I reply “perpetual sophisticated management can’t happen at small scale without subsidies”.
The subsidies being unpaid sweat equity, exorbitant pricing, or lies.
I know that our flock of 450 odd ewes gets a lot better attention, management and resources than it did when I started with 20 ewes.
I’m so excited for when we have 2500+ ewes in the projected 4 years, the opportunities or what we will be able to achieve with an enterprise of that value is truly exciting!
We, as a movement, will NEVER shift the needle without scale.
Farming at a small level is just far too cost prohibitive. I could easily generate 1 million $ out of 100 acres with stacked enterprises. I’ve done it.
It will never cover the market rate interest, a salary and provide a ROI. I don’t think it could even do 2 of those things.
The only way you do that is with a shed. The model is broken, and I completely sympathise. It’s not fair, I agree. It needs to change, sure.
Reality sets it and in the end, it’s the final and only fact that matters.
If we want to see changes in welfare, husbandry, land management, food quality and the subsequent food produced at scale, we need to produce it at scale. I’m not scared of getting big - I’m scared of staying small and getting wrecked by a small legal matter that I can’t afford to defend against, burning out, getting priced out and sending my family broke.
Conservative Political Beliefs
One thing that I have observed over my short agricultural career is the rift between those who are new to the scene and identify are “regenerative agriculture” and the old guard.
I think I have scratched beneath the surface a little bit and understand the frustrations and dismissions on both sides.
Let’s place all of the typical agricultural operators - land owners, let’s say - in the “Haves” basket.
They have the land, the livestock, the market, their methods and current control on the status quo.
For the sake of this mental exercise, I’m going to paint all of the “haves” with a sweeping brush and say that they are all conventional. (Conservative)
(Disclaimer, I know this isn’t specifically true, but it’s broadly true)
Now we come to the “have nots”.
The people who can see the very real issues with the status quo.
The negative downstream consequences of toxic load, harsh industrial methods designed for efficiencies and low cost production, the animal welfare concerns with factory farming and feedlots.
The “have nots” hold all the concerns, and they don’t have control.
Land access is very costly and prohibitive. Buying in at a scale where you can make a living in a conventional market - almost impossible.
The “have nots” advocate for radical change.
180 degree changes in production methods, turning away from all chemical inputs, all practices that aren’t environmentally friendly or natural. >Insert buzz words here<.
Let’s paint the “have nots” with a sweeping brush and say that they are all anti conventional. (Liberal)
The one thing that the “have nots” have never done, is what the “haves” have. The “haves” have actually done the work. (Sorry about the tongue twisters)
How would you like to be lectured about your production models by people that have never done the work, and don’t have the experience, don’t carry the risk, don’t create the output.
Ok, ok. I hear you. I am as guilty as the worst, I’ll fully cop it on the chin, although I do think that there are a few differences.
Firstly, I acknowledge the frustration my claims and issues with industry cause and I understand why, in part as I have laid out above.
Secondly, I’ve spent 5 years putting my money where my mouth is, and I think that I am beginning to have good proof of work by my side. This month we have processed 23 bodies of beef, 25 lambs and 20 pigs - all raised in chemical free regen production models. We are starting to get somewhere.
Thirdly, I’m not afraid to update my mental models.
Plenty of kool-aid beliefs that I’ve held over the last 5 years I no longer hold - and plenty I do, to be sure.
What I’m trying to get at, is that holding conservative political and societal values doesn’t help you fit in very much with other regen producers, the socialist undertones are strong.
I think this is because it shares ground with the old guard that represents the issues and problems that we are working against.
Certifications
The idea of paying a stranger (the certifier) to impose rules, values and processes on me, and then go tell other strangers (the customers) that I’ve ticked boxes, which no consumer really understands, is so strange. Especially in a direct to market context.
I understand the concept of a certification. Produce to a standard, get a premium.
But what values underpin the standard, beyond getting a premium?
I’ve been approached many times to be certified something, it’s gotten to the point where I’m not interested in hearing their pitches. There is no value that these certifications can offer me or my customers. All that I will be doing is PAYING someone to impose rules and regulations onto my business.
One of the glaring issues with certifications is that they are being bankrolled by the people that are certifying. Do you see a conflict of interest there?
Do you think, say, a big dairy client that is under a certification, may be able to lean on the certification to slowly and gradually make amendments that may suit them?
I am consistently being audited and ‘certified’, by the only people that matter.
My customers
Every farm tour, every glamping stay, every butchery customer, every YouTube view, every instagram story, every online purchase. Each of these actions is direct feedback from the only people that matter - the customer.
Why am I writing this?
Am I trying to stir up controversy?
I get criticised that I only write for clicks, because my socials are monetised. (Something people know because I’m incredibly open and transparent)
Maybe my socials are monetised, because what I post and talk about hits the mark, and people are intrigued?
One reason I want to flesh out these talking points is that the orthodoxy surrounding these topics results in the consumer suffering. We produce expensive hard to source foods.
What you don’t see is the inboxes from farmers, growers and producers who are undercapitalised, overworked and stressed out of their brains. They are sticking to the orthodoxy exactly as it was sold to them, and it’s not working. Why isn’t it working?!
Maybe the answers that 2024 Regen Ag needs aren't necessarily found in a book from 1990. I don’t say that lightly, as I truly believe we stand on the shoulders of greatness in many regards.
If industry spent every hour and dollar that went towards certifications, to address slaughter access - it would be a different landscape.
If all of the energy that went into researching all the fun stuff like which breed to run, which cover crop to sow, which compost tea to brew and which cuts to market - actually went into building out sophisticated ecommerce presences, on farm efficiencies and produce consistency, we wouldn’t need to look for customers. They would find us.
We would claim more ground reaching “Shopify for Dummies” or “Basic Economics” than re-reading “A Sand County Almanac” or “Holistic Management”.
In turn, this would mean growing and flourishing regenerative farm businesses.
More animals on land, more ecosystems being nurtured and more healing food being produced.
Let’s shift the needle.
To be continued.
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Comments
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Very interesting article and thought provoking. It will be interesting to watch what happens in the USA with Donald promising to help the Amish farmers and the rub off here if any. Unfortunately we are all being affected by the 4 companies around the world that control meat processing globally and their control of the market. Your comment about discounting were you have to or want to and reacting to your market is the only way to stay in business and grow. Keep up the great work.
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