n AGRICULTURE
W
ith the mercury already rising, Mike Polis sets out
early for his rural Wheatland farm to check on his
Dorper sheep and egg-laying hens before heading
to the office. After working the lock on the front
gate, Polis drives in slowly and greets tenants on
his first property. The caretakers live onsite and look after
the animals in exchange for a modest rent and free board
for their horses and goats. In all, Polis’ Pomopolis Farms in-
cludes roughly 40 acres on three different parcels.
He checks in with his 19-year-old son Ethan Polis, who
along with two college buddies, marks the footprint of a fu-
ture barn with neon orange spray paint. Currently, Polis only
has open shelters that serve as protection against the weath-
er, or as birthing stalls for the expectant ewes. But when one
of the lambs gets sick, Polis brings them to his suburban Ros-
eville home to convalesce. His wife has been patient with the
ovine guests, but Polis can read between the lines, so he’s
hired the trio to erect a new barn. He fires up the John Deere
utility vehicle and does a perimeter check of the property, in-
specting the fences, gathering eggs from the henhouse and
checking the condition of the open pastures.
Dressed in navy chinos, a white button-up and casual
business lace-ups, Polis is an unlikely farmer. He has stopped
by on the way to his day job as a corporate health care lawyer
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54
comstocksmag.com | October 2018
and law professor. But his side hustle — and where he spends
an increasing amount of time — is his small but growing
family farm.
Polis, who has always had an interest in agriculture,
wanted to experiment with raising and selling crops and live-
stock in a way that engaged his family. His sons, Ethan and
Matthew Polis, have been working on the farm since ages 12
and 9, respectively.
“This is something I have always wanted to do, so when
land prices dropped and I had the opportunity, I went for it,”
Polis says.
In 2010, he bought a small ranch in remote Wheatland.
Now, he has more demand than he can manage, especially
for his lambs. Polis has tapped into a unique niche market,
catering to Muslims and Orthodox Christians for farm-raised
lambs that are a staple in many of their religious festivities
(Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Easter, Christmas and
Epiphany) and family celebrations.
Polis is part of a group of enterprising family farmers
who are parlaying an agriculture interest into full-fledged
businesses, filling niches for specialty livestock that cater to
specific customers. Compared with traditional farms, niche
farms tend to have more diversified products, fewer acres,
lower total-dollar sales and operators who also work off-