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The Beauty of Working With Creation, Not Against It
One of the true joys of getting to work with so many farmers and ranchers as they move down the regenerative path is watching as they learn how to work in synchrony with nature. It’s especially gratifying when they send along letters that describe their regenerative experiences, like the one I recently received from Daniel […]
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Understanding Ag works with a significant number of gardening operations around the U.S. and has developed several helpful tips for regenerative gardening that you and your garden can benefit from, too. I hope you’ll consider incorporating many of these regenerative principles and practices in your garden this year. When you do so on a planned, […]
It’s Time to Get on with the Business of Regeneration
As a regenerative farmer and consultant, I see the enormous potential of restoring the health of our living and life-giving soil. However, I also see the potential for regenerative agriculture to become a broad and misleading brush by which some companies can disingenuously greenwash their sustainability efforts, confuse consumers and devalue the currency of legitimate […]
U.S. Army Captain Prepares for Second Career of Service – as a Regenerative Farmer
Pictured here is the De Leon family: Gil and Holly, with children Emanuel, Iliana, Celina, Christian, Valentina and Mariana. For Gilberto (Gil) De Leon, life is all about “service.” A U.S. Army Captain (promotable) with more than 17 years in military uniform, and multiple tours as a combat arms officer in Afghanistan and Iraq with […]
Adaptive Grazing Rules – Part 3
The Three Rules of Adaptive Stewardship TM have been proven to work in every region of North America and in many other parts of the world. Results are similar relative to differences in soil type, precipitation, temperature, and other environmental differences. The KEY to successful adaptive grazing is KEEN OBSERVATION. Since adaptive grazing is not […]
Adaptive Grazing Rules – Part 2
It is important to note that every living cell and organism has a memory and responds to prior experiences accordingly. So, soil microbes have a memory and respond to prior grazing or other management practices. Plant cells have a memory. Animal cells have a memory. If similar practices are employed year after year, then the […]
Adaptive Grazing Rules – Part 1
The Three Rules of Adaptive StewardshipTM are: Rule of Compounding Rule of Diversity Rule of Disruption The Rule of Compounding follows the concept that every management decision or practice applied creates a series of compounding and cascading effects that are either positive or negative in nature. There never are any singular impacts and they are […]
Nutritional Comparisons Between Grass-Fed Beef and Conventional Grain-Fed Beef
Research performed by Dr. Stephan Van Vliet, Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, Utah State University, and the Bionutrient Food Association, found that grass-finishing, compared to conventional grain finishing, increases a wide variety of health-promoting compounds in meat and improves animal health. Phytochemical richness of meat is directly related to the finishing diet of […]
Part 2: Becoming Observational and Being Intentional
In my previous post, I discussed building soil aggregation and how this can help to address some of the problems growers face today. Those stable aggregates are created by living plants that release root exudates to feed a diverse quorum of microbes in the soil. The more the diverse the living plants are, the more […]
Part 1: Becoming Observational and Being Intentional
When many people think of cover crops on their farms, their initial thoughts circle around soil erosion, either via wind or rain. Many of the programs through the NRCS and Soil and Water Conservation Districts that have anything to do with cover crops pertain to erosion problems as well. But those who have been using […]
Milking its Multiple Benefits: Part 2
In our previous article, we provided an overview list of the many potential benefits dairy farms are observing as they move into regenerative agriculture. Dairy farms are uniquely suited to the principles of adaptive management because they have multiple livestock classes that can utilize a variety of feedstuffs. This provides opportunities for greater plant diversity […]
Milking its Multiple Benefits
Farmers often ask, “How can my farm benefit from moving to regenerative agriculture?” We most pointedly hear this from dairy farmers. With a seven-day-per-week workload, dairies have developed schedules designed around getting all the chores done. They feel that unless something offers the promise of additional milk or crop/forage yield, they struggle comprehending how to […]