Why We Chose to Move Out of the City and Start a Regenerative Farm

I woke up this morning and felt compelled to jump on my computer and write this. Partially because I need to remind myself why I chose this crazy life and partially because maybe just one other person like me will be inspired to do something similar. It takes one seed to grow into a mighty tree! 

I feel so deeply honored that the Creator left his most prescious creation in our hands. Well the way I see it, we are all responsible for this world. Down to the smallest mircobe, we are a team. We cannot thrive when one of our teamamtes is out of whack. I have always felt this way but wasn't educated enough to understand my role. My desire to learn more about this subject has taken me down a winding road that led me to a life that feels purposeful and beautiful and hopeful!

After reading a ton of books(I'll share my favorites), I set my sights on farming one day. I wanted to honor our land, our animals, and our bodies by raising the foods that would nurture us and give back to our earth. We eventually purchased a ten acre property that had to be the most opposite you can get from a regenerative model. I felt like the land needed to be loved. It wanted me and even though I didnt know it at the time, I wanted it.

How I dreamed of a green pasture, rolling hills covered in orchard, pigs and chickens and a barn all waiting for me to just take over! I admit, I wanted to take the easy road. Starting a farm, after living in the city for half my life, was daunting enough. "I have so much to learn," I kept telling myself. And its true, I most certainly do! I have no experience raising cows, very little experience with chickens and pigs, and very little business experience. I didn't complete college, well besides culinary school. I have a long list of reasons why I shouldnt do this!

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But the deep down nagging, that voice that tells you to go for it, that never went away. This land kept calling to me. Even though I would be starting from scratch and I mean literally! We had to build a house before our farm dreams could even begin to take shape. I remind myself the importance of regenerative farming. Our soil is our most precious commodity. Like Franklink D. Roosevelt said, "A nation that destroys its soils, destroys itself." Those words are powerful. 

The easy route would have been fun and rewarding but I want to look back ten years from now and be amazed at what we've accomplaished. I want to be an example to anyone else that it is completely possible and needed to take the worst, lifeless lands out there and turn them into something beautiful, fruitful and alive! It is up to us to save our soil. Whether you support a holistic farmer or rancher or you go all in and become one. I didn't exactly imagine I would be here one day but this feels so right for me. 

I have always been passionate about educating others. Whether that was in an essenital oil class or about eating a nourishing diet. I want this farm to be a center for education. I want this blog to spread awareness about our degraded soils and how we can build them back up. How food that is grown on healthy soil, teeming with an array of microbes actually has a higher nutritive content than conventional.

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I still have so much to figure out. I ask myself a million questions daily. "What types of cover crop will piges eat?" "Do cows like eating that too?" "Is a five acre(ish) pasture big enough to rotational graze?" "How many animals will it sustain?" The list goes on and on. I am NOT an expert. But I feel so strongly that this is what our world needs. We need it for climate change, we need it because raising our animals in concentrated feeding lots is not responsible, sustainable, or nice! We need it because we are planting seeds of hope. I have three little seeds watching me, learning from me, and one day they will be cast into the world. What these seeds will become, I do not know. But they are my seeds of hope. They are the namesake of our farm.

I cannot express in words what this means to me. I am scared, excited, honored to take a piece of land that is virtually dead and reshape it into a thriving environment. We currently have dirt that is rock hard, rainwater hardly penetrates it. I haven't seen a single worm in over two years. The weeds have taken over every inch that I haven't touched. We have begun the process though. We have begun to plants trees and bushes and fence a pasture that will one day hold our very own grass fed and pastured animals. I hope you will join us in our movement! Join us in our trials and errors and our continued learning.

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