Soil - the Foundation of Everything (Part 1)

Often, we find ourselves in meaningful conversations with customers at the market table on Saturdays. One that stands out from the Holland market recently was with a young woman who asked a question that went something like this:

"I really want to live a "regenerative lifestyle" ~ to live simply and close to the land, eating good food, caring for the earth and the people around me. But I’m not a farmer. I don’t own land. I live a busy, 9-5 modern life. So what IS a regenerative lifestyle for someone like me?"

She asked it with such earnest and care.

Last week, we introduced our new newsletter series inspired by the film: Common Ground. We believe understanding the issues we're facing is the first step in answering this heartfelt question that is likely shared by many.

So, we begin our exploration. We'll start at the root (literally) and circle back to this question as we go.

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PART 1: It all starts with soil.

Understanding soil is key to understanding regenerative farming and the future of food we all share. We invite you to read on and see how we're all connected by this level of life beneath our feet.

Soil isn’t just dirt ~ it’s a living, breathing ecosystem. In a single teaspoon, there are more microbes than people on Earth! These tiny life forms work together to break down nutrients, store water, and keep plants and our planet healthy!

Over the last century, many farms shifted toward heavy machinery, chemical inputs, and growing the same crops year after year. Animal agriculture followed a similar path: concentrating single species in confinement and breaking the natural relationship between animals, land, and soil.

These shifts ~ in both crop and animal farming ~ severely weakened life in the soil. When animals were removed from the land and fields were left bare or overworked, soil lost its living structure, making crops more dependent on chemicals, allowing water to run off instead of soaking in, and releasing carbon that could otherwise be stored underground.

Here on our farm as on other regenerative farms, we’re working to heal this story. We're focusing on rebuilding soil life through managed grazing practices, including rotational grazing, that support soil and pasture health. Our animals are not separate from this process; they’re essential to it.

Through grazing, rooting, trampling, and even their manure, livestock help cycle nutrients back into the soil, stimulate plant growth, incorporate organic matter, and feed the microbes that grow healthy plants (which our aimals eat!) and resilient pastures.

This matters not just for farmers, but for everyone who eats. Healthy soil grows healthier food, manages water more effectively, and creates farms that are better equipped to face a changing climate.

Stay tuned for Part 2. Thanks for reading!

If you're interested in watching Common Ground, click here.