Biological seed treatment provides the highest ROI of any amendment — and it can be created on-farm
I constitute 50 percent of the aboveground workforce on my family’s no-till farm. My husband, Kelly, is the other half, and all of the other essential workers exist below our feet or roam freely in nature.
We raise small grains and a family on 2,800 acres in central North Dakota. Our journey into regenerative farming is a tale of transformation. Prior to 2013 we farmed 7,500 acres using high-input no-till methods. But we decided to redefine our approach. Shedding the shackles of synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, seed treatments and fungicides, we embarked on a mission to let the land breathe. In our bid to minimize disruption, we opted for limited, targeted herbicide over traditional tillage passes, in order to suppress weeds early in the growing season and give our crops the opportunity to canopy. It’s a gamble — a dance with nature — in which herbicides are seen as a lesser evil, keeping the soil life intact.
In a biologically active soil system, the tiny heroes — the soil microbiome — play a crucial role. The massive army of soil biology on our farm acts as a natural clean-up crew, metabolizing herbicides, breaking them down, and sometimes even feasting on them. This is a far cry from the environmental toll of herbicides on lifeless dirt that washes downstream. For us, it’s not just about farming; it’s a holistic approach where human health, animal health and planet health are all tethered to soil health.
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