3 minute read
Land Stewards First, Farmers Second
HOW REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE CAN SAVE THE PLANET
by Jason Smith, Rock Bottom Ranch Director
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It’s 5 am, and I can’t sleep.
Coronavirus. Climate change. Newborn lamb #118 and her challenging start to life. Our unsustainable industrial agriculture system.
These are the thoughts that run through my mind before I’ve even opened my eyes. But mostly, my head is filled with thoughts of my two daughters, Addie and Ella, and what their future will look like. At Rock Bottom Ranch, the agriculture team’s work explores food systems as part of our organization’s larger environmental dialogue and, hopefully, teaches our visitors and students to rethink the role of agriculture in solving environmental challenges.
A few years ago, Alyssa Barsanti, Agriculture Manager, coined the phrase “Land Stewards First, Farmers Second.” For us, this means an approach to land management in which we let the land tell us the next steps. We don’t consider ourselves chicken farmers or cattle farmers or sheep farmers; we’re land stewards.
Early on in my farming career, I realized that livestock services were more valuable than their products. Ruminants like cattle and sheep, for instance, are our lawnmowers. When frequently rotated through different pastures, ruminants eat the grass and fertilize the soil: which produces more grass, which pulls carbon from the atmosphere, which makes the soil healthier, which grows more grass, and so on.
The whole cycle is a self–sustaining process that works in harmony with natural systems rather than attempting to control them. Simply put, the potential of a well–managed parcel of land to sequester carbon, maintain ecological health, and grow healthy food outweighs the emissions from livestock (when raised in a regenerative manner), so in the end we have a net negative carbon result.
Chickens provide another essential service at the ranch. Our laying hens follow the ruminants in this rotation; chickens’ natural inclination to scratch the ground while looking for bugs, larvae, and seeds distributes manure left by our ruminants, while also providing them mini–protein meals. Not only does this help to fertilize the pasture, but also cleans and sanitizes the area. While delicious, we consider our farm–fresh eggs – a $30k annual income–generating byproduct – secondary to chickens’ valuable ecosystem services.
When raised in a regenerative manner, both livestock and vegetables have the potential to actually reverse carbon emissions by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere into the soil.
Regenerative vegetable practices include reduced or no tillage, diverse cover crops, in–farm fertility, no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, and multiple crop rotations. In 2019, we made a drastic overhaul to our vegetable production system by switching to a reduced and no–till system. By narrowing aisles and decreasing bed size, our cultivated area shrunk by 20%, yet yields increased compared to 2018.
The secret to carbon sequestration is perennial polycultures focused around grass. A side benefit to managing with regenerative “tools” is that they can provide meat, milk, and fiber as byproducts of their work – something tractors and hay baling equipment cannot do.
When we’re able to harness the science behind the natural systems of regenerative agriculture, my fears for my two daughters’ futures subside and my hope grows. With any luck, their food over the next century will not deplete the soil, pollute rivers, or heat up our planet.
And I will sleep better. Sometimes past 5 am.
Our Regenerative Agriculture Work
At Rock Bottom Ranch, ACES models regenerative agriculture production systems that prioritize land stewardship, ecosystem health, carbon sequestration, and animal welfare. Our vegetable and livestock productions systems are based on natural cycles and designed to mimic nature. ACES is leading the charge on developing models for replicable, regenerative agriculture where food production can actually restore soil biodiversity and positively affect our climate.
Our systems are designed to maximize land productivity, while constantly taking steps to improve soil health. When managed in a holistic manner, livestock are critical to the process of nutrient–cycling and carbon sequestration. We raise a diverse array of livestock including: sheep, cattle, laying hens, broilers, and rabbits. We also grow over 50 varieties of vegetables with intensive, efficient, and regenerative practices. Our production uses a low–till approach to minimize soil disturbance and preserve soil structure. To extend the growing season at our 6,400 ft. elevation, we utilize energy–efficient season extension structures including a seed propagation house and three hoophouses. All of our houses are passively heated and allow us to produce year–round, without the need for any fossil fuels or supplemental heat
