Like a coral reef or a rainforest, soil has its own diverse ecosystem. Healthy soil is full of microscopic organisms, different types of fungi, and invertebrates like earthworms. Like any other ecosystem, all the different components work together in harmony to benefit both the soil ecosystem and the plants growing in it. Healthy soil is better able to hold water, making it resistant to both drought and flooding. Healthy soil makes it easier for plant roots to absorb the nutrients they need. Healthy soil provides a habitat for organisms that keep plant diseases and pests in check. And healthy soil takes carbon from the atmosphere and changes it into a solid form stored in the ground. In fact, healthy soil can store between 25 and 50 tons of carbon per acre.* If you have seen healthy soil, you’ll see it’s very dark in color—this color comes from the carbon.
Many common agricultural practices harm the soil ecosystem and therefore the plants that the ecosystem supports. Tilling releases carbon stored into the soil into the atmosphere and exposes the soil organisms to heat and sunlight, killing them. Synthetic fertilizers create weak plant root systems that can’t take up nutrients well, meaning more and more fertilizer is needed. These weak root systems also create weak plants that are worse at fending off pests and disease, which means they require more pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides. Unhealthy soil is very different in physical structure to healthy soil and is poorly able to store water and nutrients, leading to the farmer using more water and more nutrients. It’s a vicious cycle that creates a heavy burden for both the farmer and the land.
But rebuilding the soil takes years--too long to for a farmer to wait when bills come every month. Farming is notorious for its razor-thin profit margins and fluctuating markets. Add in the unpredictability of the weather, and you’ve got a business that can collapse after a few bad seasons. For farming families like Dan’s that depend on the farm, they literally can’t afford to wait until their soil is restored.
To offset this risk, Dan made changes very slowly, weaning the depleted soil microbiome off of its dependence on conventional fertilizer, building the health of the land. Dan employed natural fertility practices like planting soil-building crops such as clover, peas, and buckwheat, known as cover cropping. Dan had to slowly change the attitudes of some people on the farm too. “I had to twist some arms for sure,” laughs Dan.
Reviving an Old Practice for the New Millennium
Dan became fascinated in how livestock can be used to nurture depleted soil back to health. Rotating livestock into crop fields is a very old practice found in agricultural traditions around the world. For example, in Ireland sheep, cows, and horses spend the winter in crop fields, readying the soil for spring planting. But this ancient practice had been forgotten by the average farmer in the United States. “We separated the animals from the farm here,” remarks Dan.
Livestock, especially ruminating animals like cows and sheep, provide urine and manure that fertilizes the soil and nourishes its ecosystem. Grazing grass encourages roots to grow stronger and deeper into the soil, locking it in place. Livestock can clear what’s left over after harvest and they eat many invasive weeds, making room for native plants. And livestock can make money too, helping offset financial risk.
Dan went to see Will Harris of White Oak Pastures, a cattle farmer using the animals to restore soil that had been reduced from a living ecosystem to dead dust by decades of abuse. White Oak is about as close to a household name as a farm can get, but Dan went to Will Harris long before he was on magazine covers and his expertise was sought after worldwide.
He met Will in his small church-turned-office in the not-even-a-one-stoplight hamlet of Bluffton, Georgia. Dan was excited and full of energy. He had big plans for his family’s farm, incorporating not only cattle but chickens, sheep, goats, and a whole Noah’s Ark of animals.
Will hit the brakes. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, boy! Just concentrate on one thing and do it well.” Dan took his advice to heart, focusing on cattle. He worked to develop a clear plan. He focused on finances to figure out how the cattle were going to restore the land and keep the family farm in business. And then Dan got to work.
A Man and His Pivot
Getting the right mix of grass and plant species at the right time is key to providing the cow with the nutrients they need. While pasture cattle ranchers in other areas of the country have a broad body of research and best practices to turn to, Dan found almost nothing for the specific climate, conditions, and plants of South Georgia.
So he started conducting his own research.
Dan set up a 90-acre center pivot irrigation system. Center pivots work like the hand on a clock. A center anchor holds a long arm that rotates in a circle, while a line of sprinklers along the arm provide water. If you’ve been on an airplane and seen perfect circles in cropland, that’s the work of a center pivot.
Dan divided the area covered by the pivot into eight parts, fencing each of them in to create eight pastures. His cattle rotate around the pastures, moving to a new pasture almost every day. The cattle follow the irrigation arm so every time they go into a new pasture there’s well-watered and healthy forage for them.
Dan uses the different pastures to conduct trials on different mixes of forage crops. He’s experimenting to try and find the perfect blend that provides nutrition to his cattle, requires little if any maintenance, and builds soil quickly.
The Perfect Cow
Not only did Dan have to find the right mix of forage for South Georgia, he had to find the right type of cow too. The most common breeds were adapted for a diet of corn, not a diet of grass and plants. Dan got to work, selectively breeding his herd to create the perfect cow for his farm.
“I want a cow that doesn’t need a diet of corn to fill out. I want healthy cows, ones that are resilient and don’t need a lot of inputs. I want a mama cow that has a healthy calf every year for a long time. These are the traits that produce a profit,” explains Dan.
Georgia’s Newest Cash Crop
Dan, along with his business partner, has begun growing hemp and building out the infrastructure to dry and process it. They recently purchased an old sewing factory in Ben Hill Country that they’re converting to a CBD processing facility, bringing both jobs and outside investment to the county. Dan’s hemp business will be vertically integrated from growing the hemp transplants to processing the plants into CBD oil. Dan is a huge proponent of vertical integration and advises other farmers to follow his lead. “It’s been the difference between breaking even and making money for me,” he explains.
Dan’s venture into hemp and CBD also serves to create a more sustainable business. “My grandpa had cattle, row crops, and a tractor dealership. Because he diversified his income sources, he was less vulnerable.”
But Dan cautions against taking on too many ventures at once. “Don’t bite off a big bite and try to do too many things. Add more enterprises as your other enterprises become successful.”
