Why am I roaming around farms? I believe the regenerative farms, using methods that do not harm the earth, are the way to go. For food, for the beauty of the land, and for the planet

 

Where to start?

In my own backyard in south Central Virginia, where I grew up.

I got inspired by sunflowers that bloomed all around our family house a few summers ago. On a sunny day, walking through 18 acres of the bright yellow flowers, I felt as if I was in one of Van Gogh’s happiest paintings.  It made me happy and curious. I wanted to explore what others were doing in the area.

This is about more than happiness, though happiness is definitely a side benefit to getting out in the country.  These sunflowers are a viable crop, sold to Perdue for organic feed.  Along with a few neighbors with land in need of rejuvenation, we leased our property to Merlin Brougher, a seasoned local farmer who is using regenerative agricultural techniques along with an organic approach to refurbish the soil and –make a profit. 

I’d never heard of regenerative farming until I interviewed Merlin about what he was planning for our fields, before any seeds were sown back in 2017.  We were on the porch discussing the goal to do organic farming, without pesticides, and using regenerative techniques for a variety of crops.  (See About the Farming.) He needed documentation that we had not used any pesticides on the land for the last three years to get official organic certification. That sounds simple, but pristine, unadulterated land is not that easy to come by.

 I could vouch for the fact that only lime had been used for the last decade. The former pasture was full of weeds. The soil was dry, hard and gray. The farmer who once cut and bought  hay for a nominal fee had rejected the last crop.

Now after regular enrichment with chicken manure and turning cover crops back into the earth, the soil is rich brown, the color of dark chocolate with the texture of cottage cheese—the sign of good soil, according to the guru of the regenerative ag movement, Gabe Brown.

Brown, a big-time rancher from North Dakota, in a series on regenerative farming on You Tube, is inspiring as he testifies to the positive transformation from conventional farming to regenerative. He cites five basic principles to a healthy soil: no-tilling, crop rotation, cover crops; diversity; and animal integration. 

Brown was raising cattle and corn on 5,000 acres.  In 1997, his crops were destroyed by drought. In the next year, a hailstorm hit the farm; he lost everything, again. Going four years without income, he could no longer get a loan for fertilizer. So he just let his animals graze in the fields letting it go.

That devastation “was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Brown says in a video. The free-range animals thrived and fertilized his crops. “It changed how I looked at production agriculture.”

The basic foundation is soil enriched with nutrients from natural sources. Much of the approach, such as crop rotation and diversity of planting, can be traced back to traditional farming before industrial agriculture took over.

Nourished by rows of clover and rye grass this spring, soybeans will grow this summer to be followed by another crop of sunflowers next year.

 “Our food is our health,” says Brown.  “It’s not only good for the soil but for the ecosystem.”

The link of many chemicals to cancer is hard to ignore. Known toxins in many pesticides leach into in our food, our water, our bodies. Like too many Americans, I have lost family members to cancer of unknown origins.  This is one big reason why I embrace the approach of organic farming and the regenerative approach.

But as Merlin testifies, going organic is not easy.  He has put together 150 acres from a number of different farms that require constant surveillance for weeds, deer, and drought.  With the help of his two sons, he weeds by hand or turns the growth back into the soil.

“Weeds throw seeds,” he says.  “We get the soil back and before you know it, the weeds take over.”

Regenerative agriculture (see combined with organic has definitely proven to produce strong, healthy crops without chemicals.  But what about the claim of reversing climate change? That is harder to prove but you can’t help hoping after you watch “Kiss the Ground”, a film about soil regeneration techniques, prominently featuring actor Woody Harrelson. Harrelson promotes regenerative agriculture as a way to save the world from drought, wildfires and other disasters brought on by climate change.

Due to its immense scale and its ability to sequester enormous quantities of greenhouse gases, the soil could be “the one thing that could reduce our climate, replenish our water system and feed the world,” says Harrelson.  Citing recent research, the Biden administration has recognized the potential for agriculture to cut carbon and other greenhouse gases by supporting programs to sell carbon credits to investors.

I am now a huge fan of Merlin, Gabe Brown and other innovators who are using variations of regenerative agricultural techniques with organic farming.   In  Farm-Finds.com, I will explore unique farms around Maryland and Virginia and unique products, from alpaca wool to sweet potatoes.