What Regeneration Looks Like (Part 5)

Our winter farm series thus far has discussed soil, cover crops, and livestock as partners in healing the land.

But what does all of this actually look like and why should it matter to all of us? 

Regeneration looks like pasture that is grazed and then rested ~ not chewed down continuously, but given time to recover. It looks like cows moving as a herd, fertilizing as they go, and then being moved to fresh ground. It looks like grass regrowing thicker after grazing, roots extending deep in the ground, and soil soft enough to hold water instead of letting it run off.

In the warmer months, we see layers of green ~ like clover beneath taller grasses, broadleaf plants mixed in, diversity instead of monoculture. We hear the songs of red-winged blackbirds along the fence lines and notice a variety of insects all around. Soil smells earthy and alive, laced with roots and held together by life, much of which is too small for our eyes to see.

Even in these winter months, regeneration continues. The fields are resting under snow, but beneath the surface the soil structure remains intact. Plant matter from the fall protects the ground from erosion. Nutrients exist in abundance. The work of restoration slows down, but never stops.

And here is where it comes full circle for us.

Healthy soil grows nutrient-dense plants and a diverse pasture. When plants are diverse, they feed the soil’s diverse biology and, in turn, provide better forage and health for livestock. 

Animals raised in a low-stress and natural outdoor environment develop the resilience and vitality they're meant to, compared with animals that are confined, removed from sunlight and movement, and fed a grain-based diet.

The health of the soil passes its health to the plant. The plant passes its health to the animal. And the animal ultimately nourishes the person with the same life-giving properties that originated in the soil.

This is the big understanding: our health begins in the soil; our health mirrors the health of the soil itself. As the health of the land rises and falls, our health follows suit.

Isn't this profound?

When we choose food raised in a regenerative system, we are participating in the entire chain of care. We are investing not only in land stewardship, but in the quality of life that fuels our own bodies and our family’s wellbeing.

Regeneration is steady and cyclical. It continues to build and rebuild the health of the ecosystem over time so that it is bursting with life.

This is our home, our planet. Anything that is used or removed needs to be restored in order for balance to remain as the stabilizing force of nature ~ which is the beautiful and true governing force of our planet. 

This is regeneration.