It’s no secret. Our current food system and agricultural model is failing us. We, as a nation, are overfed and undernourished.
A study from the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC showed that 39.6% of US adults age 20 and older were obese as of 2015-2016 (37.9% for men and 41.1% for women. Folks, we have an epidemic on our hands.
I don’t think I even have to try and convince you that cancer is a major problem. I’m sure that you know of someone close to you that either has cancer or has died from cancer. My Dad was one of them.
Why do the numbers of obesity and cancer continue to grow?
I’ll have you consider for a moment that it has to do with something that we do every single day, multiple times of day. The food we eat and the stuff we drink.
Our food has become depleted of vital nutrients throughout the last century. We have become a culture of convenience. Fast, quick, and easy. Which led to big food corporations controlling our food system and feeding us what so many of us wanted – convenience and taste.
Soon our food became boxed, packaged, and formulated. All in the name of ease and profits. The industrialized food system cares about one thing, their bottom line. They have shareholders to make happy. And our health was the expense.
I’m pissed about it. You should be too.
In went artificial ingredients, colors and flavors into our food. Out went the nutrients.
REAL food was becoming a thing of the past. And soon came the death of the small family farms.
These were farms that produced REAL food. It doesn’t take long to drive the country roads of the Midwest to see old and worn down or collapsed barns speckled throughout the landscape.
I can imagine a time when this barn and farm was alive, thriving and producing real food for the community.
The farms of the past were diversified. They produced many products and people ate real food and were close to the source – the farmer. Farms of the past produced products such as; dairy, eggs, vegetables, fruit, chicken, pork, beef, and honey just to name a few. And households around the country cooked with real ingredients.
So what happened?
What caused such significant change in our health as a country and the death of small family farms?
Well, a few things:
1. The introduction of chemicals post WWII.
Post war, there was rise to new industries – chemical industries. But there was a problem, the war was over. So how would these companies sell their product – the chemicals? Ah…. farmers. We will market and sell to farmers. This was the beginning of widespread use of toxic chemicals such as atrazine (which can now be found in traces of our air, water and food) were sprayed over our agricultural land. It doesn’t take a PhD to understand the health implications that come as a result of this practice. In its study of US groundwater, the US Geological Survey found atrazine (chemical to kill weeds) is the most common herbicide in groundwater! To make matters worse, atrazine is an endocrine disruptor. This means it disturbs the hormonal system of the human body. Common sense will tell you that this is anything but healthy.
2. The introduction of processed and packaged foods
Suddenly we could produce a mass amounts of the same “food” with insane efficiency (assembly line production) AND dramatically increase the shelf life of this formulated product.
Cha-CHING!! The industrialized food system was born. With this new sleek system there was a new kind of demand. A demand for monoculture farms – the specialized farm. A farm that focused on producing one or two products at MASS scale.
With this demand of the industrialized food system, in comes the modern and industrialized farming model. Take a drive throughout the plains, the Corn Belt and the Midwest. You’ll see endless fields of 3 dominant crops: Corn, Soybeans and Wheat. Our farm was one of them. Growing up it was a dairy farm, but last year we only grew soybeans and corn and raised Holstein steers in a feedlot style format. Change is coming though – but it will be a process.
I shake my head when I hear, “We have to feed the world!” Really, is everyone just eating corn, soybeans and wheat for every meal? No. But these grains have to go somewhere, don’t they? Now, much of the corn you see is exported to other countries, transported to ethanol plants for fuel or beef cattle feedlots for feed. But the rest has to go somewhere...
Ah, yes they do indeed.
With these new formulated, packaged, boxed and “yummy” foods such as cereal, Twinkies, candy bars, chips, crackers, Wonder bread came a need for large amounts of a single crop like corn. It’s very difficult to pick up a product and not find an ingredient that does not contain corn – it’s just hidden very well with the naming within most labels. Companies are clever. When the consumer becomes aware of an unhealthy product or ingredient they simply re-name the ingredient to confuse and sell to you again.
One of the most frequently used ingredient was/is High Fructose Corn Syrup. Why was it used as the #1 sweetener? Corn was cheap and sugar was expensive. It’s that simple. So their profit margins grew while our waistlines grew.
What does this mean for the Big Food Pharma? MORE PROFITS. Again, at the expense of our health as a nation – a nation that is very well fed, but undernourished.
We became a nation of more. And soon farming became one of scale. We started asking how can we produce more of the same thing? Unlike the food companies, and the chemical companies and the seed companies, the farmers profit margins began to shrink. So many farmers were faced with a decision…
Get big or get out.
And so the small family farms began to deteriorate and up popped the endless fields of corn and soybeans, the industrialized chicken and pork sheds replaced the red barns, the cows and beef came off of the lush green pastures and stuffed into confined feedlots and fed this new surplus of corn we began to grow.
Can you blame the farmers (I am one myself)? No. Farmers have to make a living and they were responding to the market’s needs and demands. When you’re making just five cents for every dollar that it cost to produce your product, you better produce a HELL of a lot to make any kind of living or profits as a business. So we did just that.
Just take one look at the graph below and you’ll see that the average households food expense has stayed relatively even throughout the years. However, the amount a farmer sees from every dollar spent on food has dramatically declined.
Who’s getting the extra money lost by farmers? Big Food Corps who have vertically integrated the food supply chain! Would you be surprised that about twenty food companies now produce the vast majority of calories we eat?
Is this a good thing? I’ll simply ask this question, “Are we are not getting healthier?”
Far from it, we are getting fatter and sicker. This culture of more and specialization has depleted our soil, our land and our health.
And to make us feel better, we (farmers) were fed this “Feed The World” dogma. Who’s selling this slogan? The big chemical, fertilizer, food and seed companies who’s profits DEPEND on farmers producing more, more, and more. I think it’s time that we WAKE UP.
Which leads me to factor number three…
3. The introduction of GMO’s [Genetically Modified Organisms]
During 1996 GMO’s were introduced and became the answer to how farmers could produce MORE and to “feeding the world.”
GMO’s allowed us to produce significantly more corn and soybeans. We soon were able to plant corn and soybeans and then spray glyphosate (roundup) that would kill everything that stood above ground BUT the glyphosate resistant crop – the GMO corn or soybean. The use of glyphosate soon skyrocketed.
Many farmers’ crop yields have since doubled. But so has the use of chemicals to produce such yields. Not only that but farmers saw the cost of seed, fertilizer, chemicals, fuel prices skyrocket as well….
Aside from farmers becoming more efficient but less profitable, another very bad thing was happening during this time. We were becoming dependent on inputs – synthetic inputs – to grow these massive yielding crops. As a result, we keep drenching our soils with chemicals such as glyphosate, atrazine, and nitrogen just to name a few. Because If we stop applying these inputs we will go bankrupt. So we feel as if we have no choice.
And so the viscous trap has been set and trigger! We, as farmers, become dependent on the big chemical, fertilizer and seed companies to just stay afloat.
The farmers lose, the American people lose, the environment loses, and the animals lose.
So who wins in all of this?
The Big Industrialized Food Companies and Big AgriChemical companies. The industry of fertilizer, GMO, and chemical pesticide companies is growing well with about $350 BILLION in annual sales. All while the farmer’s profits and the American people’s health continues to be depleted.
What if there was a better way? What if there was a way that was better for our health, better for the farmer, better for the animals, and better for the earth.
There is.
I found it during my extensive research when I decided to farm. After my dad passed from cancer back in September of 2016, I took the year of 2017 to reflect, analysis and decide if I wanted to farm for a living. There was something holding me back. I loved everything about the work that came along with the type of farming we were doing, but I did not feel a deep connection, mission or purpose other than trying to make my Dad and Grandpa proud.
I didn’t feel like I was producing nutrition. It just felt like I was growing corn and soybeans for fuel/ethanol and livestock feed. In fact, I had absolutely no idea where the grain went once we hauled it to the grain elevator (cooperative).
If I was going to farm, I was going to put my own touch on the farm and the legacy of Valley Ridge Farm. I’m a health guy. I believe in eating food that is clean, nutritious and as close to nature as possible. And I love the life of farming. So I decided to align the to.
I wanted to farm in a healthier way. A way that would make a positive impact on human health and the land.
I thought Organic farming was the answer, but I soon found out that it is NOT. Organics is a step in the right direction – but organic farming still degrades our soil – and everything starts with the soil.
Remember when I said that it is NOT a coincidence that our health is correlated to what we eat each day? Well, more importantly, the health of our soil determines the health of our food and ultimately the health of us.
That’s when I discovered Regenerative Agriculture. A method of farming that is more profitable for the farmer, healthier for the people, the animals and rebuilds the health of our soil.
I studied health and nutrition for 12 years as a Personal Trainer and I’ve helped hundreds of people lose weight and get fit. And I never once made the connection between the health of our soil and the health of our body. I simply focused on the food itself.
Now, I will be the first to tell you that EVERYTHING starts with the health of our soil. I don’t say this with any disrespect to other farmers, as my grandpa and dad farmed the land I now do, but our farming practices during the last 100 years has completely degraded our soil and our health has suffered- period.
How?
#1 Tilling the ground
#2 The insane use of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers
#3 The specialization of single crops – monocultures – growing the same crop year after year
#4 Taking the animals off of the land and into confinement.
This takes me back to why organic farming is NOT the ultimate answer. Organic farming requires a TON of tillage. Usually to control the weeds, since they do not spray herbicides.
Tilling the land completely destroys the soil biology, releases carbon into the atmosphere, destroys soil aggregates (allows water to infiltrate the soil), leads to erosion (loss of soil) and tears apart the mycorrhazae fungi – which are internet-like pathways that transport nutrients from the soil to the plant. This greatly reduces the nutrient density of the plant. Which means less nutritious food. Yes, organic foods can and ARE depleted of nutrients because of the farming practices used to produce them.
It doesn't take much to see the destruction that tilling the soil can do. All of the white is the nutrient feeders to the plant. The mycorrhiza fungi remains in the soil as long as it's not tilled = destroyed! This is key if we farmers want to become less dependent on spending endless amounts of money on systhetic fertilizers to feed the plant.
One of the most destructive things you can to do to the health of the soil is to consistently till, and organic farming requires a TON of tilling. We need a better way.
Does this look good for the soil? Exposing it to the eliminates of erosion, tearing apart the aggregates that allow water to soak into the soil, and destroying the mycorrhizae fungi that transport nutrients deep within the soil to the plant's root.
The health of our food is completely dependent on how it was farmed/grown and more importantly – the health of the soil that it was grown in.
THE FORMULA IS SIMPLE
Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants = Healthy Animals = Healthy People.
So as a farmer who is focused on producing the healthiest and most nutritious food as possible, I have chosen to adapt the principles of Regenerative Agriculture and transition our farm to this farming model.
It will not be an over night deal. It will take years to convert and so it right while not going out of business. You see, like I mentioned earlier, due to modern agriculture our soil is degraded and dependent on synthetic inputs in order to grow a crop at the capacity that we need in order to make any kind of profit. So it will take time, a lot of learning (trial and error) and extensive management to wean our soil off of these drug-like-dependent inputs.
At its core, Regenerative Farming is about farming WITH nature, not against it. Our modern agricultural model is about killing and monocultures – herbicides, pesticides, fungicides are all used with a goal to kill unwanted pests and weeds that infiltrate the monoculture – single crop grown. This method has killed the biology and life of our soil. Which in turn, makes them even more dependent on the above applications.
Regenerative Agriculture is about life. It’s about nourishing and building the biology of the soil. It’s about farming as an ecosystem. It’s about diversity. Just take a look around in nature. Notice how diverse it really is and everything seems to work as a uniform system – everything works as a cycle/ecosystem.
To regenerate our land, our health and farmers profits we can follow the principles laid forth by the pioneers of the regenerative agriculture movement like that of Gabe Brown, who has a thriving operation in North Dakota.
So what are these principles?
There are 5 key principles to adapt in Regenerative Agriculture.
1. Don’t till the land – Tilling causes erosion, kills and disrupts all of the biology and life in the soil, and releases carbon into the air.
2. Armor on the soil – Keep the soil covered at all times. We do this with plants or residue from previously grown crops. This protects the soil from runoff, improves water infiltration and builds soil organic matter = more life in the soil = healthier and higher producing plants WITHOUT using synthetic inputs = more profit for the farmer and healthier food for you. A true win-win.
3. Diversity in crops – Incorporate diverse cover crop mixes and cash crop rotations to reduce and ultimately eliminate the need for any synthetic fertilizers and chemicals.
4. Living Roots – Keep a living root in the ground as long as possible to capture nutrients, and store carbon in the soil for future use and to feed the biology in the soil.
5. Animal Impact – bring the animals and beef/cows back on the land. Integrate animals and implement rotational grazing. The cows will cycle the nutrients back onto the land through their manure and trampling. They must be managed properly for this to be effective though (management intensive grazing). Then integrate other animals (chickens, pigs, sheep etc) into the rotation to create an ideal ecosystem.
These are five principles that have the power to completely regenerate our land, our farmers, our climate and our health.
And if we adapt this model, who becomes the loser? For once, it will be the the big AgriChemical companies and the big industrialized food companies. The same companies that depleted your health and the farmers lives.
Trust me, they don’t like seeing a movement like this get any legs underneath it and it’s why you probably have never even heard of farming in this way. It’s not new, but unfortunately it is not common practice either.
But here’s our opportunity as farmers and as consumers. The consumers can cast their votes by the foods they choose to buy and eat – demanding and buying regenerative type grown foods whenever possible. By getting close to the source of your food once again –the small farmer. This will allow the farmers to respond to your demands.
This is our opportunity to revive the diversified and thriving small farms that once sprinkled throughout our nation. This is our opportunity to TRULY feed a nation. With this model we can produce more NUTRITION per acre than any other model. Food that actually nourishes our body versus just filling it up.
This is why I have chosen to not only farm, but to farm a particular way. A way that is true to my values and beliefs. It’s a way of farming that gives me purpose. A way of farming that gives me a real connection to the products that I intend on producing while positively impacting the community and the health of everyone within.
The big food companies have manipulated the public for too long. Their marketing tactics, label confusion, and ninja propaganda has taken its toll on our health. It’s time for a disruption.
Regenerative farming can be the disruption that is desperately needed if we are to ever reverse the trend of obesity, disease, and bankrupt farmers.
The farmers will be the foundation. Without their belief and commitment, nothing will change.
The average farmer is 58 years old! Generations like mine (I’m 33 years old) don’t choose to farm. I believe everything I’ve just talked about is why they are not farming.
But here is why I’m excited, this type of farming (Regenerative Agriculture) has the power to produce an entirely new generation of farmers. Because this model can make farming enjoyable, profitable, productive and purposeful.
It’s time for The New American Farmer to sweep the nation.
And It starts with you. You must care about how your food is produced, where it came from and how it was actually handled. Be conscious of “WHO” you give your money and business to when it comes to food. Because every time you buy food you are voting for Big Food, Big Chemical, Big Fertilizer and Big GMO – or you’re voting and supporting the small farmer who’s focused on producing nutrition and building the land.
We have become too distant from our food source. It’s time to know your farmer again and buy local. It’s the only way we can make a real change to our corrupt and manipulative food system.
Impactful change will only occur if the masses intentionally seek to support the regenerative farming products and the younger generation adapts this farming model and comes back to the land.
With this movement we CAN become a fed AND highly nourished nation and the small farmer can become alive and well once again.
I am hopeful because this movement brought me back to the land.
We can together regenerate our soil, our health, and our farming community. We have to. It’s painfully clear that our current agricultural model and food system is not working. If we don’t change course, then what happens??.....
I hope we never find out.
Brian Larson
Owner - Valley Ridge Farm
P.S. Once again, I thank you for your support and following. I will continue to share my journey to transitioning the farm to regenerative farming. We are no where near 100% there, but I’ve taken some initial steps for year #1. In my next article I will share exactly what those were and give you a look at the first official product I will be producing and offering directly to my local community. For now, you can Pre-order 100% grass-fed and pasture raised beef HERE.
Brian Larson, 3rd Generation farmer at Valley Ridge Farm