How Farming Changed Forever (Part 2)

After World War II, farming changed faster than ever before and in ways we could not have anticipated.

Machines began replacing much of the labor. Synthetic fertilizers and herbicides became standard chemical inputs, reducing the need for natural soil fertility and diversity. Monocropping made planting and harvesting more “efficient" but depleted nutrients from the soil. These new industrial standards set farms on a path where natural systems were increasingly ignored in favor of short-term output.

Livestock farms followed a similar path. Animals were moved off pastures into barns and feedlots (CAFOs - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations), fed harvested grains instead of grazing, and raised for maximum production and profit. 

Chemical inputs like antibiotics, growth hormones, and many others too long to list became standard protocols in these crowded animal systems.

At first, these changes seemed like progress ~ higher yields, lower labor, more efficiency ~ but the long-term consequences were profound.

By industrializing farms, a major disconnect occurred for the first time between people, animals, and the natural ecosystems of healthy land. Soil life declined and animal manures became a toxic problem rather than naturally cycling nutrients back into the soil.

Confined animals experienced extreme stress and unnatural, inhumane conditions, while small and mid-sized farms struggled to keep up with the growing demands of the system.

Families went into debt, sold land, or left farming altogether. Communities and rural traditions were fractured. Water ran off fields instead of soaking in, carbon escaped from soils, and ecosystems became fragile.

Common Ground reminds us this wasn’t a failure of farmers ~ it was a system that prioritized scale and efficiency over care, connection, and stewardship.

Today, regenerative farming is showing that there is a better way. There is hope.

Projects like the Noble Research Institute’s 3M Project, in which our farm is proud to participate, are proving that farms can be both profitable and regenerative.

By restoring soil health, integrating livestock thoughtfully, and supporting natural cycles, this way of farming produces resilient pastures, healthier animals and farmers, and sustainable yields ~ all while improving water retention and storing more carbon in the soil. We'd say that is an on-going win win win for all!

What these farms are showing is powerful: working with nature rather than against it can create thriving farms, thriving animals, and a thriving planet, locally and globally.

This is the kind of future we all hope for, isn't it?

For us on our farm, one question guides every decision: are we practicing an "honorable exchange" ~ giving back to our animals, our pastures, and the land in return for all that they give to us?

This means noticing how every part of the farm ~ animals, plants, and soil ~ supports the others, and understanding our role in nurturing those connections.

When we honor these relationships, the land thrives, our animals thrive, and the benefits ripple outward ~ to our families, our communities, and the world.

Nature has given us much insight through all the changes over the century, as well as wisdom.  
And perhaps inherent in this wisdom is the act of remembering that the path forward has been there all along.

Thank you for reading this.