How can we understand the infinite complexity of the soil ecosystem and apply this knowledge profitably across billions of acres?
As a child growing up on the Northern Great Plains on the Alberta/Montana border in the 1990s, I could sense something that we were doing on the land was amiss. No-till cropping and chemical fallow had come into vogue, and continuous grazing was the norm.
At eight years old, when I stepped out onto a vast expanse of thriving native prairie, I could sense a connection to something deeper than anything I had ever experienced. In hindsight, I was connecting with the life force of our planet — the vibrant hum of biodiversity above- and belowground.
The farm was sold, and we moved away from the only place I knew and loved. It just wasn’t working anymore, and my parents saw the writing on the wall. Between machinery and input costs, droughts and declining yields, the farm and our little agrarian town were drying up.
I could never shake the connection I felt to that prairie, and after a decade I was drawn back to the land by the idea of restoring our grasslands with their ancestral companion: the bison. Once one starts to pursue restoration of land and producing healthy food, all roads lead to the world of regenerative agriculture. My path brought me into the Holistic Management community, where thousands of pastoralists around the world have been healing landscapes through grazing management for decades. I began to realize that our focus needed to be placed on the health of the soil — not just what was happening aboveground.
Once you start to peel back the layers, you realize that all agricultural systems share common principles. Cropping, grazing, viticulture, turf management, gardening — all rely on the fundamental idea that by working with nature and fostering our relationship with microbial collaborators in the soil, we can set the stage for food production that helps address so many of the structural issues we face as a society.
The question then becomes, “How can we truly understand the infinite complexity of the soil ecosystem and apply this knowledge profitably across billions of acres?” This question was brought into focus for me in 2017 when I sat down at a Nicole Masters workshop in the foothills of southern Alberta. I had only vaguely heard of Nicole and her teachings, but this day completely rattled what I thought I knew about managing land and producing food. I felt intellectually exposed and overwhelmed with information, but I knew I had found my path forward.
The beauty of agroecological systems is that despite the vast complexity of nature, it is very intuitive to us as humans. When we are connected to land and take the time to participate in natural cycles, we start to recognize patterns that translate into real-world management strategies. For instance, livestock producers who have traditionally calved and in late winter with hopes of producing a larger calf for sale in the fall have observed that by shifting calving to align with the spring green-up and natural calving cycles of wild ruminants like bison, the costs of producing that calf are dramatically reduced and profit can increase. This reduction in cost and workload creates space and time to focus on managing soil to achieve higher gains in production, animal health and, ultimately, the quality of life that we are seeking.
Producers who have embraced this mindset of observation and collaboration are poised to integrate concepts on the cutting-edge of biological production, moving away from the high-input, high-risk systems that have dominated agriculture for the last 75 years. We are seeing these paradigm shifts take place throughout farm and ranch country, and we now have the momentum needed to facilitate a groundswell towards regenerative production. For many, though, including myself, there is a steep learning curve to gain the knowledge and skills needed to operate a profitable food production business and to help others do the same.
The Create program was developed by Nicole Masters and her team at Integrity Soils as a response to a gap in training for future agroecological coaches who will help guide farmers and ranchers into a new paradigm of food production and regenerative land stewardship — one in line with the movement Acres U.S.A. has led for over 50 years. When I saw the announcement for the program, I knew it was the natural progression in my quest to bring life back to landscapes and communities and to help others do the same. I had looked at going back to school to advance my education, but as many readers know, I found that most academic institutions are many years behind the producers on the front lines of regenerative ag.
Create stands for “Consciously Regenerating Ecosystems in Ag through Transformative Experiences.” Over the course of our six-month intensive, my fellow Creators and I experienced massive transformations in the way we saw ourselves and our relationship to the land. We gained knowledge in the realms of plant physiology, mineral relationships and the fascinating frontier of microbial life: plant dynamics. All these topics and are foundational to restoring integrity and profit to our food production systems.
In my opinion, though, what we learned in the human dimension at Create will make the most impact. People are complex, emotionally driven creatures, and if we are humble enough to step aside and let nature do her work — helping where we can — we can do most of what’s needed to restore integrity to the system. Create helps people take that step.
There are many questions still to be answered about the soil ecosystem — and I have a deep sense of political and economic uncertainty — but it’s clear that eco-agriculture will be the path forward for our generation.
What do we have to lose? For those who feel the call, the Create program may be the next step on your journey.
Cody Spencer runs Sweetgrass Bison in Southern Alberta, Canada. He supports land stewards across North America as a regenerative coach in the Integrity Soils network. Learn more about the Create program at integritysoils.co.nz.
