Everything in its place

Piglets in proper context

Remember the story of the pigs and the briar bushes in the last section?

TL;DR: When Jordan and Laura arrived at one of the early fields that would become J&L Green Farm, invasive multiflora rose briar bushes had spread over one of the pastures.

Jordan and Laura responded by putting pigs on the land for a bit.

Why?

1. Pigs' snouts allow them to dig like a shovel and unearth whatever they please. 🐽

2. Pigs ADORE eating multiflora rose brambles; especially the roots.

So easy conclusion, right? Pigs good, briars bad. Always put pigs on briar fields.

But hold up.

Let those pigs use their specialized snout-shovels without moving them to new land once they've done what is beneficial to that pasture...and you get this: (not our farm!:))

Snout-shovel endgame...

And on the other side of the equation are the multiflora rose bushes: they're thorny, they spread everywhere, they're difficult to remove, they encroach on agricultural land, and if you don't remove the roots completely? They come back.

Multiflora is obviously very ba—

Wait.

Multiflora rose is not invasive in the Asian ecosystems where it is a native species.

There, a balance of native predators and native fungal species keep it naturally in check.

There, it forms incredible hillside soil support systems, shelters birds and attracts wildlife & pollinators, has been used for centuries for wide-ranging medicinal purposes, and provides a year-round food source of edible rose hips and leaves rich in Vitamins A, C, and E.

Multiflora rose was not considered problematic at all until it was taken from Asia and planted by the thousands on farms in the Eastern U.S. as part of—get this—soil conservation efforts in the 1930s. (I mean, it does help with erosion, and it grows wonderfully in depleted soil conditions. It wouldn't have seemed like a bad idea...)

Only when it was taken out of its balanced natural context did multiflora rose spread without restraint into pastures and farmland, becoming a "problem".

Look at that invasive, noxious weed 🤷🏼‍♀️

All this to say: Context matters.

Also: Wise management of nature's gifts matters...as do informed decision-making and keeping an open mind about what to label a "problem".

In this "Context Matters" series, we'll be showing you the ways that we, personally, farm in a way that is often referred to as "regenerative"—in other words, that regrows, renews, restores and improves the systems of which we are a part.

We do that, in part, but continually factoring in context when making decisions.

Come along as we dive deeper into the what, and especially the why, of the decisions we make as we raise your food and care for our (all of our...) land.

The root of "regenerative"

* * *

The food we raise is great for the planet. It's great for you. And it gives the animals who are raised here a truly great life.

Have you stocked up for the month?

New to the farm? 

Return to HOW WE FARM