In recent decades, farming has been automated and streamlined. Everything seems to be growing bigger and faster. The machines, fields, animals, crops - everything is becoming enormous. I guess we're all supposed to be impressed, but I think there's an increasing population realizing not all growth is good. After all, isn't cancer growth? And doesn't it grow quickly?
The story we're told is that we're feeding the world with this industrial scale farming. We're supposed to be distracted by bushels per acre figures and live weight gains. We're supposed to be in awe of the irrigation pivot and its ability to water great tracts of land with minimal labour, without noticing how many acres of land go to waste in the corners.
It's all single-use machinery, single-trait genetic selection, and single-columned finances.
What if we had machinery that was efficient not because it was big but because it was versatile instead?
What if we had plants and animals that were considered efficient not because they can grow big fast, but because they can withstand disease and stress without chemical life support?
What if we calculated the financial viability of a farm based on profit after the machinery, chemical, and healthcare bills are paid and not just the dollars per acre harvested?
What if we realized that the health of our soil and livestock should be one of the columns on our year-end profit and loss reports?
Good farming isn't about forcing your land and animals to hand over their substance. Good farming is about delicately coaxing vigour and life out of every corner of your farm with careful planning and timing.
If you look at the Harvest Haven Lamb video, you'll see the sheep grazing an alfalfa field. But it isn't as simple as putting them there. This year has been super dry, which has thrown off the timing and supply of blooming flowers on the farm.
Normally, I make hay from this beautiful piece of pasture, which means cutting the forage before it fully blooms. But I knew my bees would need the extra forage, so I left the alfalfa to go into full flower. The bees love it.
It's hard to see the invasion of bees in the video but you can see the myriad of butterflies that appreciated my decision. We were even graced with an incredible migration of Painted Lady butterflies which only happens every 10-15 years.
Since hay is of little value after it fully blooms, I talked to the sheep and they agreed to drop by and clean things up for me. It worked out well for all parties: sheep are kept from bloating because alfalfa can kill sheep if it's grazed before full bloom, the bees enjoy their flowers, we get the honey, and the field appreciates the fresh fertilizer.
So, while I'm making honey, lamb, and hay on this parcel of land this year, I'm also building soil fertility so that one day I can break the sod and plant carrots and potatoes.
Not to mention the welcome party we threw our joyful Painted Lady crowd!
The reason most farmers struggle with disease and profit margins is because they don't value diversity and careful planning. We're lured into thinking that growing one crop will be the most efficient because there are fewer variables. The trouble is that if you don't have to think hard, neither do your pests and diseases. They love simplicity as much as we do.
It requires careful planning to grow ten different crops on the same acreage when crops have varying water demands and machinery requirements. But it's worth it when the critters that lay their eggs on one crop, feed on the larvae that eat your other crop. It's also worth it when a bad growing season for carrots comes along but your onions and garlic just love it. It's like "healthY" insurance that pays instead of charges.
Good farming means every organism on your farm, from the microbe to the cow, receives fair consideration. It means life is sacred and should only end when it serves for good. Good farming heals all the land, animals, and most importantly, people that enter its fence lines.
Good farming is like a symphony or a fine painting. There is no single note that is beautiful on its own, nor is there a single brushstroke that paints a picture. Good farming brings out and magnifies the beauty of God's creation. It doesn't suppress and violate it.
And good people support good farmers…Thank you for helping us do what's right.
