One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture

Stephanie Anderson grew up on a conventional ranch outside of Bison, South Dakota, where her parents still grow wheat, corn, and hay and raise cattle. Right out of college, Anderson worked for Tri-State Neighbor, a small farm-and-ranch newspaper in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She notes that, “I felt a sense of honor in protecting the farmer and rancher, my heroes, from slander” (x). Anderson believed that her sources, which included farmers, ranchers, land-grant university professors, scientists, country extension service specialists, and state agriculture officials, told her unbiased facts when it came to conventional agricultural practices in the US. However, as Anderson continued to interview so-called “family farmers,” watch fields being doused with chemicals, and toured concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), where cattle are kept and raised in confined areas, she began to feel “shame and confusion” (xi). Her time at the newspaper revealed that the notion that farmers and ranchers are stewards of the land and acted differently than industrial farmers was a myth. This revelation even changed how she viewed her own family’s ranch. Anderson eventually enrolled in a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program to study creative fiction at Florida Atlantic University. Her MFA thesis, which serves as the basis of this book, examines five farms and ranches to determine whether there is a better version of agriculture than what many farmers and ranchers, including her own family, practice. She believes the path forward for the American food production system is through regenerative agriculture.

Josh is the author’s 21-year-old brother. She describes him as being “one of the kindest, most patient people in the world” (186). Josh did not attend college because he believed he could learn everything about farming from his father. To Anderson, the problem is that Josh is “not learning the important stuff” (186) by working on their family farm. Although Josh expresses interest in regenerative agriculture, their father is against transitioning to this farming strategy. Anderson does mention that Josh is starting to run his own small herd of grass-fed cattle using the rotational grazing model and has planted cover crops. His ultimate goal is to help regenerate the grasslands and keep his cattle out of the CAFO system.

Gabe Brown is a mid-size farmer in North Dakota who “combines livestock and grain farming to revive soil, heal grassland, feed the local community, and bring back wildlife—regenerative agriculture in diversified form” (xiv). Gabe and his wife once farmed industrially; however, they slowly began to implement more and more regenerative practices into their farming strategies. Now his mission is “to build back soils, or bring the levels of carbon, organic matter, and microbial soil life to what they once were” (188). To him, agriculture should not be sustainable. He questions why people want to sustain degraded environmental resources. Instead, he believes the future of farming lies in regenerative practices. Building soils back is the only way to have healthy food and soils for generations to come. Gabe also has an internship program where he trains the next generation of farmers, and he spends half of the year on speaking tours throughout the country talking to other farmers about regenerative agriculture.

Earl Butz, US Secretary of agriculture from 1971 to 1976, was one of the greatest champions of industrial agriculture. As Anderson notes, his edict of “get big or get out” (19) continues to haunt agriculture. His message to farmers: Absorb surrounding farms, buy larger machinery, grow more crops, have more livestock, and make more money. Failure to follow this command resulted in farm families going bankrupt and their farms purchased by larger farms. Butz’s policies also dismantled conservation techniques. For example, he encouraged farmers to plant “fencerow to fencerow” (19). A fencerow is a strip of uncultivated land between fields, which helps control erosion. While farming “fencerow to fencerow” resulted in more crops, this practice failed to conserve the soil. Ultimately, Butz played a key role in the development of a top-heavy agricultural system that cares only about output and profit.

Phil Jerde is a 45-year-old rancher who, alongside his wife Jill and their 10 children, manage Great Plains Buffalo Company. Phil “looks like a typical plains rancher. He wears a long-sleeved white shirt with olive-colored checkers, dark blue Twenty X brand denim jeans, and what I’m sure is a hand-tooled leather belt, a common cowboy accessory” (54). The one unusual accessory that he carries is a cloth baby carrier that allows him to carry his young children in front against his chest. Phil practices holistic management, which takes into consideration the health of the whole ecosystem. Compared to conventional farmers, Phil sees the grasslands differently. He understands that manipulating one thing, like introducing only cool-season grasses, will have ripple effects throughout the ecosystem, including destroying grass diversity and making the grasslands more susceptible to desertification. To Phil, carbon, clean water, fertile soil, plant and animal diversity, and symbiotic relationships are key to the success and sustainability of the agricultural production system in the US. Through Phil’s story, Anderson shows that large-scale farms, when they practice regenerative agriculture, can actually work.

Phil Jerde is a 45-year-old rancher who, alongside his wife Jill and their 10 children, manage Great Plains Buffalo Company. Phil “looks like a typical plains rancher. He wears a long-sleeved white shirt with olive-colored checkers, dark blue Twenty X brand denim jeans, and what I’m sure is a hand-tooled leather belt, a common cowboy accessory” (54). The one unusual accessory that he carries is a cloth baby carrier that allows him to carry his young children in front against his chest. Phil practices holistic management, which takes into consideration the health of the whole ecosystem. Compared to conventional farmers, Phil sees the grasslands differently. He understands that manipulating one thing, like introducing only cool-season grasses, will have ripple effects throughout the ecosystem, including destroying grass diversity and making the grasslands more susceptible to desertification. To Phil, carbon, clean water, fertile soil, plant and animal diversity, and symbiotic relationships are key to the success and sustainability of the agricultural production system in the US. Through Phil’s story, Anderson shows that large-scale farms, when they practice regenerative agriculture, can actually work.

Kevin O’Dare, also known as KO, owns and manages Osceola Organic Farm in Vero Beach, Florida. Anderson emphasizes that Kevin is the most atypical farmer she has ever met. When Anderson first meets Kevin, he is wearing an army green t-shirt with the saying “‘Push Don’t Pollute’” (113). She later learns this is the brand name for a longboard wheel bearing. Kevin is 60 years old. He operated a surf shop prior to becoming a farmer. While he ran the surf shop, he grew organic food as a hobby. Realizing that he had produce-growing talent, Kevin scaled up to his own farm mid-career. He grows organic produce on eight acres and organic citrus and avocados on two acres. Kevin primarily sells his produce to local restaurants, but he also has a farm stand and attends farmers’ markets. In contrast to Anderson’s father and other conventional farmers, Kevin’s organic farming style allows him to prioritize family over work. While he still makes a profit and produces healthy food, Kevin can spend time with his family and go surfing. Kevin’s story highlights how people from non-farming families and of all ages can become super-small farmers who not only defy the conventional logic of “get big or get out,” but also produce healthy food for their communities.

Ryan Roth, whose grandfather founded Roth Farms, is the farm’s 29-year-old vice president. In contrast to Anderson, Ryan was not initially interested in farm life. During college he realized that while he did not have a passion for farming, he thought he might be good at running a company. “I didn’t want to work on the farm,” admits Ryan, “but it was my best shot at actually being able to run a company. I could go to work for anybody and, if I never got recognized or if I screwed up or whatever, I may never have the opportunity to run a company” (10). He has worked on the farm fulltime since 2005. As the farm’s vice president, Ryan manages the 130 employees that perform the essential tasks of the farm, including: “machine-shop activities; maintenance of farm infrastructure such as roads and water pumps; land cultivation and water control; and the planting, spraying, general care, and harvesting of all crops” (7). Ryan laments how he is no longer involved in the physical work of farming because coordinating the farm tasks takes up so much of his time. Anderson uses Ryan’s story to reveal how growers became trapped in the conventional farming system to the detriment of their finances, their communities, and the environment.