"Eating is an agricultural act." Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry proposed, in one of his many essays, that “eating is an agricultural act.” And by extension, an ecological act.

When he died this week, we lost a foundational voice in the ecological agriculture movement.

🌟 He left behind many beautiful and moving treatises about food, agriculture, simplicity leading to joy, and our place in nature. But for me that one small phrase, definitely short and pithy by Wendell Berry standards, is the most enduring.

It is such a clear reminder of the importance of our every day choices – the food we eat – and the impact it has on our world. And in five words sums up the connection between you and me – how this is your farm, too, because you choose to eat the food we grow.

Which is what I actually set out to tell you about today, before I heard about Wendell's passing.

Because there’s a lot of media coverage of food and farming these days, and most of it is depressing, antagonistic and plays on guilt and fear.

I’m sure, in no small part, that's why you’re here with us – choosing food that’s the opposite of industrial commodity “agriculture.”

A recent news article📰, I can’t even remember the topic but it was assuredly spouting despair and gloom, led Martin and me down memory lane.

You may recall that, one year ago, Farmer Martin made a mighty effort to get the farm in order and then jetted off ✈️ to Polyface Farm in Virginia to spend a week with two of his farming heroes. Ostensibly, he was there for an agricultural land planning workshop lead by Darren Doherty, mastermind of Regrarians (think regenerative agrarians), and he learned many things. But his biggest inspirations were from spending time throughout the week with Joel Salatin, owner of Polyface Farm.

Joel’s arguably the most well-known farmer in the regenerative agriculture movement, and definitely the person most responsible for the inception of One Straw Ranch.

Farmer Martin’s biggest takeaway from his visit❓The sheer abundance and vitality of Polyface – made even more impressive because it wasn’t always so.

When Joel’s family bought the farm in 1964, there was almost no vegetation on the farm. Previously, it had been improperly managed, growing grain until there was so much bare rock Joel says they could walk the entire farm without stepping on vegetation.

Their hundreds of acres could support a measly 10 cows.

Now, with the regenerative management of livestock, those same bare spots are covered with 14-16” of topsoil that’s high in organic matter.

The farm now supports 100 cows (Farmhand Eli would tell me that’s a 10X improvement).

✨That much improvement, in less than the span of a human lifetime, made with well-managed livestock…

Sure puts the lie in the “all beef is bad”, “all livestock is destructive” narrative. It wasn’t mono-cropped GMO soybeans (read Impossible "Burgers") that rebuilt that soil.

And as Martin reminisced about standing on that newly made, carbon sequestering, 16” of topsoil at Polyface, I realized we needed to share that narrative of abundance with you.

Because the beef, pork and eggs you buy from One Straw Ranch is from regeneratively raised livestock with the same power of soil creation and environmental rejuvenation.

It’s something to feel good about when the media hysteria gets you down.

So, I thought you’d like to see our recent family outing with (nerdy farmer) Martin’s new toy he got for Christmas last year ... a much-coveted, shiny, very-low-tech soil sampler. 😂

It’s easy to say we’re doing good for the land. And easy to point to other farms like Polyface that have such impressive visible stories of soil building and environmental turn-around.

But in our hearts, we know that our role on earth is the stewardship of creation – and sharing that with our children.

So, we’re sampling the soil to quantitively monitor the land’s response to our stewardship. Not because we have to, but for ourselves so over time we can ensure we’re on the right path of what’s best for our land and our community.

At this point, are you wondering why in the heck we’re so crazy about dirt? Insider’s tip, don’t get Farmer Martin started on that if you’ve got to be somewhere in a hurry. (Said with love. LOL.)

But here are the top 3 takeaways I’ve condensed after years of listening to fervent discourses about regeneratively raised livestock and soil health (beginning on our 2nd date, but then I married him anyway 💞 🤷‍♀️).

🌎 1. Carbon sequestration – where carbon dioxide, that notorious bad guy, is pulled from the atmosphere where we have more than we want and stored in the soil as organic matter where we actually need it.

Livestock are really good at making this happen when we do it right.

💦 2. Improved water cycle – increased holding capacity to prevent runoff, erosion, and be more resilient in an ever-changing environment.

🌱 3. Fertility – creates better and more food, but also abundant habitat for soil bacteria, birds, insects, spiders, and cleanly filters water before it returns to streams.

Oh my goodness, there’s a bit of farm nerding-out for the day…

And also, I pray, a little hope.

We know you already trust us to grow your food.

But we want you to really feel confident – and even full of optimism – when you perform that most agricultural of acts we call eating.

You can tune out the news headlines that play on guilt and fear - you're choosing an agricultural system that does good.

Yours truly,

Charlotte Frederickson

Click here to get food you feel good about.

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“ A wonderful example of an earth-friendly local family farm. We can eat great food without guilt about harming the environment or supporting inhumane treatment of animals.” ~ P.K.