Chris my husband, harvesting the Organic onion crop with his beloved 1947 Farmall M “Maybell” at our farm Casad Family Farms in Madras, Oregon. Since 2017 we have taken over 260+ acres of conventional farmland and transitioned it to regenerative Organic management. Starting on a 5 acre market garden, and now managing 360+ acres Organically, farmer Chris is a wonder, one of my greatest teachers, and my favorite co-conspirator. All of you who buy our meats and support our farm are our co-conspirators in soil restoration and we are so grateful to be in community with you. Photos from Mighty Creature Co.
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We do not anymore, or do not yet live in a time which acknowledges the extensive ecological services that agriculturalists provide to our species' planetary survival.
Once upon a time, our species had ecological literacy and understood the basic fact that our species survival depends on the health of our soils, the presence of clean water, and the skill of photosynthesizers (farmers, ranchers, hunters, foragers). We have lost this ecological literacy, in fact our current culture is the most ecologically illiterate of any civilization. Modern convenience in which food is something you find in a grocery store, with no understanding of how that food came to be, the soil management practices, the treatment of the farmworkers, what chemicals have been applied to the crop and thus the soils and thus run off into the tributaries... the disconnect makes it easy to consume without seeing first hand the consequence of this system of production and the ecological impacts it has. Ecological literacy can and must be relearned, revered, and practiced wholly by the next generations, we can do it, but we have to start reeducating ourselves and all in our networks through thoughtful conversation around these topics.
I want to tell you a story of ecological significance which is unfolding here in Central Oregon, which illuminates a much bigger conversation globally.
Once upon a time, the Oregon spotted frog used to inhabit the landscapes stretching from British Columbia, Canada down to the northeastern ranges of California. They have been all but eradicated from California, the Willamette Valley of Oregon, all of Washington and British Columbia. The Oregon spotted frog was listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2014. Hypothesized reasons for their decline include habitat loss and alteration, invasive predators and competitors, and water quality degradation. Most of known remaining populations are currently located along the Cascade Range in Central Oregon.
This means that the way that all the people of all the regions this species once lived, the governing bodies, the environmental groups, the conservationists, and farmers, and all others in those regions behaved in such a way, through development and industrialized activities they caused this species to go extinct in all these regions from British Columbia to Northern California, except in Central Oregon.
Now, due to the listing of the Oregon Spotted frog as an endangered species, the entire burden to save this species is falling onto the shoulders of the farmers and ranchers of Central Oregon. Because of the endangered species listing, and this region being the frogs last place of survival, the agriculturalists of Central Oregon have relinquished a large percentage of irrigation waters to ensure habitat for the frog remains.
I absolutely believe we should be doing what we can to protect species from extinction, but I do not agree that the people carrying most of the burden of saving this species are the farmers and the ranchers of Central Oregon, with no support.
How emblematic this is of so many environmental injustices we see. The polluters pollute with no accountability, the developers develop with no bounds, and the poor & rural populations pay the price. I have watched the agriculturalists of our region be punished season after season by thoughtless legislation, when in fact they are carrying the weight of saving a species that all the people of British Columbia, Washington, western Oregon and northern California let go extinct in their regions. No responsibility taken, and no reparations paid by any other region which led to the Spotted frog's extinction in those regions.
The conservation groups with good intentions to save wildlife don't seem to register this burden they place on the farmers/ ranchers of Central Oregon, the region and ecosystem in which the frog is still surviving. The agriculturalists who are sacrificing the most to protect this last stand for the Oregon Spotted Frog have seen no financial support by any conservation groups, or the governing bodies to support the ecological services the agriculturalists are providing to save the species from the neglect of all others in the Pacific Northwest.
This concept of ecological reparations is not new, this is an evolving conversation as we look at the asymmetrical burden that resource extraction and irresponsible development places on communities. More and more as climate change accelerates, we are seeing how desperately we need to support the boots on the ground providing the ecological services we are going to be relying on as resources get more constrained. What I hope to help people see, is that the "regenerative" farmers and ranchers using methods of land stewardship that result in increased soil organic matter, increased soil health, increased water holding capacity, supporting biodiversity on their lands for wildlife, and farming with water conservation as a highest ethos... these are the people doing the work day in and day out to ensure we have the capacity to live in these places that are increasingly desertifying due to human actives and neglect.
I believe there will come a time in which our local and state governments will support ecological reparations to the communities who have suffered the most at the hands of unbridled extraction and development, those same communities have benefitted the least from the extraction and development. But, that's not coming any time soon and from my vantage point as boots on the ground, our land stewards need support now.
So this is where you, dear impactful reader, come in. It's cliché but it is true; every single day we all vote for the world we want & need, through what we consume. On your plate, one, two or three times a day, food you eat (and the clothes you wear!!) are coming from some type of agriculture system, some type of food system.
Is your food from a rancher or farmer you know is doing the ecosystems services that we all depend on to survive into the future on earth? How can you today, tomorrow, this weekend, next week and on and on support the boots on the ground stewarding the soils, sacrificing water to keep endangered species alive after all others have done nothing?
If it feels difficult to know where to start, I understand, our systems of food distribution have evolved to make it hard to buy locally, but buying direct is getting easier and easier these days you just need to know where to look.
If you consume beef or pork, and you live in California, Oregon, Washington or Idaho, our farm would love to be your trusted source of meats. We are selling our regeneratively grazed beef and pastured heritage pork and shipping our frozen meats direct to customers' doorsteps in 8#-12# boxes. We have the option to buy a box once to give it a try, and then what we really hope is that customers sign up for a monthly or bi-monthly Meat Box CSA Subscription. This sort of monthly commitment to buy from a farm or ranch can really make the difference in keeping steward on the ground doing the ecological stewardship I speak of. We also offer the options to Gift a Box to someone you care for. The sale of our meats directly supports the land work we are doing, the ecological stewardship we are a part of day in and day out. In this section of our website we cover some of the ways our meats are truly unique in the marketplace, if you'd like to learn more about our closed-loop farm approach, take a gander.
If you live in states other than OR, WA, CA, ID and you'd like to be connected to a farmer/rancher in your state, I will do my very best to use my network to find someone aligned with our ethos to connect you to, just drop a comment below with what state you're in and if you'd like to find a veggie or meat producers to buy direct from. Of course your local farmers markets are always a great way to meet producers and ask them questions about their stewardship practices, but there are a lot of ranchers and farmers who can't make the trips to public events and there are some real gems to find and support in your region.
I hope this topic of ecological reparations sinks in a little and you consider sharing the topic with a friend in a conversation over a meal, for that is where culture shifts, at the table. In a time of globalized food systems that have subsidized massive extraction of our soils for small corporate gains, it's subversive to reject that model of destruction and instead invest locally in the farmers and ranchers who are building our soil futures we so desperately need for the generations to come.
If you made it this far, here is a token of my appreciation. Feel free to use the discount code: RANGE20 for 20% off a Casad Family Farms meat box. Please feel free to extend this to anyone in your network, getting the word out about our Direct Delivery regenerative Meat Box offerings is so appreciated.
Thank you for reading Range Revolutions. This post is public so feel free to share it.
Cate in August, dreaming of massive acts of soil love through the direct investment into the people caring for our soils, while sacrificing hugely to save endangered species.
Casad Family Farms Korean Beef Short Ribs, a TREAT to grill and enjoy on a sandwich or bowl. Check out the recipe HERE
Regeneratively raised pork, and farmer Chris who cares for land and animals and community deeper than most will ever understand. I’m lucky to witness it daily.
Hi Cate - any recommendations about where I can purchase chickens from regenerative farms in Southern California?
Nice work, Cate. Good read.