Quenched.

Heal the Land < > Heal Ourselves

Happy end of May to you all! Today as I walked the farm I felt an overwhelming desire to write about what it feels like to have the foot taken off the neck, to feel quenched, to be no longer focusing on survival but now focusing on thriving.

For three years we have been in survival mode in more ways than one. Starting with the lock-downs when 75% of our wholesale business was shut down (restaurant buyers) in March of 2020, to the tornado event that rocked our farm in May 2020, to the persistent and historic drought and water allotment cuts that have persisted; it’s been a challenging chapter to say the least. One thing I know about myself, I will rise to a challenge and I will grind to see this farm survive. But, one can only exist in this mode of survival for so long before the nervous system starts to gently and then not-so-gently tell you it’s done with fight-or-flight.

The rains returned this year just in time as my nervous system and my spirit were weakening after three years of battle. I struggle to articulate the relief this spring brought; the land and my heart were so ready to be quenched. Our dormancy was necessary to survive the drought, and when rains returned we bursted through the soil surface. Rain and the energy of the sun has produced abundance and for the first time in years, I feel a deep sense of relief.

All the metaphors of land and body and mind make so much sense after having been through the past three years. I wouldn’t change a thing about this chapter, the lessons learned and the pressure has forged us collectively into something new.

Range Revolution, my start-up company, was planted as a seed in 2020 and as such that seed has endured the drought and right along side the grasses, is experiencing the energy and abundant shifts that the land is reflecting. After an arduous period of fundraising, we reached our minimum and an initial closing was completed. I still have more to raise over the next 175 days but getting through due diligence and learning SO MUCH about raising capital in such a short amount of time was one of the most challenging things I’ve done in business yet. I always pick the best times to take on a new challenge: start manufacturing in 2020, start raising start-up capital in 2023 as banks are failing and investors don’t know what the heck is going on. With each challenge I crest, my fortitude strengthens and that (in retrospect) is such a gift.

I don’t have this “can do” attitude every day. You better believe I wanted to freak out multiple times in the past month of getting to signing on these investments. Lately I’ve taken to long walks around the farm when my nervous system feels tapped out, when my reactivity could get the best of me. It’s been a game changer and I sincerely recommend you add in (advocate for) long walks in your work day.

I’ll keep saying it, start-up and farming are NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

My dedication has been tested by drought, by a newborn, by death, by water politics, by complacency of society, by pandemic, by economic turmoil at a macro level, by misogynistic investors (can’t wait to write about some of these calls one day,) by the entire VC model of moving money around to focus on a single metric of success. I come out the other side of all of this not only stronger, but more sure than ever that the work I’m doing here on earth matters deeply.

The next chapter is about focusing on thriving. I could only get here by focusing solely on survival in the last chapter. With the reinvigoration I feel this Spring, the quenching of land and spirit have me looking ahead at how to build toward abundance.

For anyone who has a foot on the neck, who is enduring the drought, who must enter dormancy to survive, who is taking call after call with extraction-minded investors… I see you, and you will be on the other side of this soon, and you will come out of this chapter with a new level of fortitude that will take you far.

There is so much I plan to share about what’s going on at the farm, and I now have a marketing budget to start telling the story behind the building of this brand, Range Revolution and ALL that it has taken to get here. We are building toward a direct-to-consumer launch late Fall 2023 and I sincerely can’t wait to share all the hard work that has been going on, underground, waiting for the rains to come.

I have done a few podcast interviews recently, you can find them here:

Mountain and Prairie Podcast (Ed and I will both be at the Old Salt Festival June 23-25, join us for music, camping, feasting and incredible speakers. The only chance to purchase goods from Range Revolution prior to our launch this Fall will be at Old Salt Festival)

Mind Body & Soil Podcast with Kate Kavanaugh - Kate will also be at Old Salt Festival, seriously, get your tickets. Kate and I are cooking up something pretty special together, can’t wait to share more soon.

Investing in Regenerative Agriculture with Koen van Seijen

Sending the warmest wishes along the warm breeze of early summer.

From the windy plains of Madras,

Cate, quenched in May.