Why Regenerative Agriculture?

Why Regenerative Agriculture?

There are days on the farm that make you absolutely question your sanity.  You know when your son backs the farm truck into the stock trailer and tears off the front bumper of the truck and puts a great dent into the fender of the trailer.  Or when a group of someone else's cows break through the perimeter fence into your pasture and tear down a bunch of pig fencing so that 40 feeder pigs go on a grand walkabout and come visit you in the backyard.  Or when your hens peck through the cork in the water tank so that a whole week's worth of water gets drained in moments and you have to fill everything all over again on top of the arms length list of things you had to do that day!​There's no doubt about it, our life here on the farm is a highly labour intensive and sometimes overwhelming adventure. There are most certainly days when I wonder if we're crazy for doing what we do but I never have to wonder if we're doing something that is worthy of our time and efforts. Regenerative agriculture is the answer to so many of the problems that our world is facing today ... 

It comes as no surprise to me and may not to you either that our current industrial agricultural system has produced for us loads of unhealthy, nutrient deficient, contaminated food that has resulted in an epidemic of chronic diseases directly related to our toxic food and environment. According to Ronnie Cummins, director of the Organic Consumer Association, speaking about a study released last year by the Lancet Commission, "the overwhelming evidence is that human health is seriously deteriorating, and that the underlying causes of this health crisis are directly related not only to our highly toxic industrial practices, but also to our degenerate food, farming and land-management practices.  In the agricultural sector alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies more than 1,400 pesticides and 1,800 so-called “inerts” chemicals in use, in addition to a toxic stew of animal drugs, antibiotics, synthetic fertilizers and GMOs. Few of these have been properly tested, singly or in combination, for safety."  Cummins goes on to say : "Beyond destroying our health, chemical and fossil fuel-intensive factory farms and GMO monocultures are polluting our water and air, degrading our soils, forests and wetlands, killing off biodiversity and heating up the planet. The delicate rhythms of nature—the Earth’s carbon cycle circulating between the atmosphere, oceans, soils and forests, the water or hydrological cycle and the climate—are unraveling."

Contrast that with regenerative agriculture which by definition "not only “does no harm” to the land but actually improves it, using technologies that regenerate and revitalize the soil and the environment. Regenerative agriculture leads to healthy soil, capable of producing high quality, nutrient dense food while simultaneously improving, rather than degrading land, and ultimately leading to productive farms and healthy communities and economies.  It is dynamic and holistic, incorporating permaculture and organic farming practices, including conservation tillage, cover crops, crop rotation, composting, mobile animal shelters and pasture cropping, to increase food production, farmers’ income and especially, topsoil." How incredibly cool is that?!?!Click here to watch a short video on how farmers who practice regenerative agriculture are changing the world!​The real heroes of regenerative agriculture though are its patrons.  YOU!  The informed customer who sees the crash course our world is on in terms of health and environment and makes a conscious decision to step off the crazy train!  Who opts out of the broken conventional system, seeks out a local, regenerative farmer and forms a relationship to know exactly how your food is grown!  Who chooses the health of the individual, family, community and planet over cheap, contaminated food and corporate greed.  Who prioritizes a vision of regeneration and invests in a better food system and a better world!You can have all the producers in the world but without an enthusiastic, educated consumer it just isn't viable. So Cheers to YOU! That's why 6S is YOUR farm!  That's why we want to know and meet YOU!  That's why we invite YOU to come visit and see for yourself regeneration in action!Thank you for partnering in this great work!