Regenerating Myself at Blue Dasher Farm
My time at Blue Dasher Farm with Jon, Christina, Tia, and the crew was just so good. I really needed to curl up in a ball for a few days and process some overwhelming thoughts and feeling from being at AltEn.
One of the themes folks in the “Regenerative Ag” universe share is a strong belief in collaboration over competition. This is reflective in the way we understand plant communities and animal communities, but also in the way we see each other. These farmers, ranchers, and researchers are open, generous, kind, and collaborative.
On my way out the door, Jon and I expressed how excited we were to keep in touch and find a way to work together. And it wasn’t a hollow, “let’s keep in touch,” and then we don’t actually talk until the next beekeeping conference run-in.
He and/or Christina have been checking in just about every day. They are excited about what I’m excited about, and it's been so fun to share the wins and the challenges and have some encouragement as I go. My favorite thing so far this trip has been deepening relationships with people I’ve known for years. We’ve shared stages and drinks, but never sunset walks and meals at the kitchen table.
This is the good stuff.
There are three things that I would love for you to know about.
1. The 1,000 Farms Initiative is a program from Blue Dasher Farm and the Ecdysis Foundation. This is a farmer-driven research project on the cutting edge of the cutting edge (my kind of people).
From Ecdysis: The ‘1,000 Farms Initiative’ will demonstrate the power of regenerative agriculture on a network of farms, where we will assess the status of key agronomic, ecological, and economic factors.
There are two overarching scientific goals:
1) Validate key regenerative agricultural systems around the U.S. relative to conventional systems
2) Develop data-driven roadmaps for transitioning key food systems from conventional to regenerative systems.
To achieve this, we will generate–by 2023–full site inventories annually on at least 1,000 farms that are in various stages of regenerative adoption.
Want to enroll your farm, or learn more about this initiative? Visit www.bluedasher.farm or click here for the white paper.
2. Field Day at the farm!! If you are anywhere near Blue Dasher, make the pilgrimage!
From the team: “We want to give our team time to shine on Saturday, August 13! Please join us at our home base at Blue Dasher Farm, starting at 2pm (or come 30 mins early to socialize), where our scientific staff will provide research and project updates, as well as our team sharing their experiences from the summer.
We will then have stations around the farm where the experts themselves (our amazing team) will demonstrate the field collections we do, why we collect it, and what it tells us about a field.
Don't forget we will have the roller crimper on display that a couple of our staff teamed up with local farmers/welders to build!
Meanwhile, take some time to meet some of the critters that run Blue Dasher Farm - sheep, alpacas, pigs, goats, poultry, and of course the bees!
Lastly, we'll have some delicious local food for up to 100 people for those that want to stick around, and will take a walk with us to our stunning Blue Dasher prairie afterwards!”
No need to register, just show up!
3. Their Annual Report is a dear collection of stories from the staff, celebrations of their accomplishments, and goings on at the farm. Sit down with a cup of coffee and poke through it here.
Please do follow along with the victories and challenges of this team, they are good people, doing good things, and have been a strong beacon of hope in my travels.
