The future of agriculture won’t be built on subsidies or slogans — it’ll be built by Acres U.S.A.-type people who believe that farming can be both ecological and profitable
For more than half a century, Acres U.S.A. has stood as a bridge between generations of independent thinkers in agriculture — farmers, scientists and innovators who refused to accept that ecological stewardship and economic success must be at odds. Long before “regenerative” became a buzzword, Acres was printing conversations about biology, minerals, microbes and management — connecting the dots between soil health and human prosperity.
When I first discovered Acres, I was a new farmer chasing the dream that so many before me have shared: to make a real living from the land. I wasn’t looking for romantic ideals — I was looking for practical, honest information that could help me build soil, manage animals and keep a farm profitable. What I found in Acres was something more — a community. A lineage of farmers who believed that the way forward was not to dominate nature, but to work with it.
That discovery set the course for my life. It shaped how I farm, how I think about land, and ultimately how I view the role of information in agriculture. Today, as I have the privilege of helping guide Acres U.S.A., I see that legacy not as something to preserve in amber, but as something alive — still growing, still questioning, still empowering the next generation of ecological farmers to think differently and act boldly.
The Search for Viability
Every farmer eventually faces the same reality: good intentions don’t pay the bills. We all need systems that balance biology with economics. When I began farming, I didn’t want to just raise good food — I wanted to create a regenerative business that could sustain itself.
That’s what led me deeper into the work that Acres has championed for decades: soil as the foundation of profitability, biology as the driver of resilience, and management as the ultimate act of creativity.
When I began learning from the Acres community — from people like Joel Salatin, Gabe Brown, Gary Zimmer, Mark Shepard, and dozens of other pioneers — I realized something powerful. The principles they were teaching weren’t just agronomic. They were philosophical. They were about rethinking our relationship to land, to risk, and to reward.
Acres U.S.A. has always challenged conventional thinking. It’s never been about following trends; it’s about building understanding. It’s a publication and a platform rooted in a simple but revolutionary belief: that good information, freely exchanged, can change agriculture from the ground up.
The Community That Grew from It
That belief comes to life every year at our Eco-Ag Conference. What makes this event unique isn’t just the caliber of the speakers — it’s the character of the people in the room. The attendees are farmers who have chosen a harder path. They’re people who know that ecological farming doesn’t mean sacrificing yield or income — it means thinking differently about how those things are achieved.
At this year’s conference, the farmers in attendance collectively manage nearly half a million acres of farmland. Think about that for a moment. That’s the size of the entire county the event is held in — with hundreds of billions of gallons of water, billions of dollars in production, and countless lives influenced by the decisions made on those acres.
That’s the power of community. It’s not a top-down initiative. It’s farmers sharing experiences, comparing notes, and building a more resilient system together.
A Legacy of Independence
One thing that’s remained true since Charles Walters printed the very first issue of Acres U.S.A. magazine in 1971 is our independence. We don’t take marching orders from corporations or agencies. We don’t push products or policy. We serve farmers.
That independence allows Acres to be a home for ideas that don’t always fit neatly into the mainstream — ideas that question, that provoke, that encourage experimentation. It’s why so many of the practices that began in these pages have now become the backbone of what we call regenerative agriculture.
Our sponsors, partners and exhibitors understand this mission. They’re here because they believe in the same thing: that progress in agriculture comes from the ground up, not from a boardroom.
Looking Ahead
As I walk through the trade show floor or listen to the conversations happening in the hallways at Eco-Ag, I see the same spark that drew me to Acres — the hunger to learn, to improve, to innovate.
I see young farmers eager to soak up knowledge from the veterans. I see long-time practitioners sharing their scars and successes with honesty. And I see the reality that the future of agriculture won’t be built on subsidies or slogans — it’ll be built by the people in rooms like this, who believe that farming can be both ecological and profitable.
My dream of making a living farming has grown into something larger — a vision of agriculture as a living, evolving system that rewards curiosity, integrity and stewardship. Acres U.S.A. has been both my teacher and my platform in that pursuit, and I’m endlessly grateful for the generations of thinkers who built it.
We’re not here to romanticize the past. We’re here to build on it. Because the future of agriculture — and the health of the land — depends on it.
