Previously, I wrote a semi-philosophical post about the name The Good Ground. I wrote a little bit about our vision for the farm, and ultimately how we wanted to pursue a farming model that mimics, or takes inspiration from, nature. See that post here.

Now, I want to take that one step further, and introduce some of the specific principles we are following to mimic nature. After all, we call ourselves a natural farm - what does that even mean?

Generally, there are five accepted principles to regenerative agriculture:

1.     Minimize soil disturbance

2.     Keep the soil covered

3.     Keep living roots in the soil year-round

4.     Increase plant and animal diversity

5.     Integrate livestock

The first thing you might notice is that the first three principles have to do with the soil, the ground, the dirt under our feet. Why is dirt so important?

Turns out, dirt is not just dirt. It is an entire ecosystem. In fact, there are billions of organisms in a single teaspoon of soil. Seriously. Billions. In a teaspoon. And not only are those organisms essential for healthy soil, but they are also essential for healthy plants.

And did you know that healthy plants are less susceptible to disease and insects? So if you follow the train of thought, then a healthy soil ecosystem grows healthy plants, and healthy plants are resistant to disease and bug pressure, which means less herbicides and pesticides, and less chemicals allow for healthier soil, and the cycle continues.

But it starts with healthy soil.

The last two principles are about increasing on-farm diversity. We will explain this more in future articles, but increasing diversity allows for an on-farm ecosystem that is resilient, flexible, and vibrant.

This is what we also see in healthy natural ecosystems. Nature is always changing, adapting to environmental or other pressures. Rather than collapsing when challenged, it shifts, changes shape, and somehow adjusts – it is a dynamic system, not nearly as static as we might think when we view it from a distance.

There is one more principle that is perhaps even more important than the first five. I have to credit Ray Artuletta of Soil Health Academy with this principle. It is less common, but I think actually more important.

6.     Context.

Context is so so so important. You see, a rancher in Texas has an entirely different context than a grain farmer in Alberta, who has an entirely different context than a pork farmer in Iowa, who has an entirely different context than…a poultry farmer in Beamsville, Ontario.

It is impossible to mandate regenerative agriculture, because there is no system that applies to every context. It is not about sustainability (ever notice that sustainability policies have to be enforced…?), but it is about stewardship. Regenerative farming is the farmer who wants to leave his land better than he got it, while growing good food. The first five principles provide a solid framework for that, but individual methods will necessarily vary.

What makes our farm different? We will discuss each one of these principles in depth in future articles, how we are implementing them on our farm, and how you might implement them in your context, whether that is 1000 acres of cash crop or a backyard garden.

But until then, the one thing that makes us different is…well, stop by the farm one day. We’ll show it to you.

-Mike