Regen Agriculture at Boyle Park — 2023 Update

Boyle Park has about 30 acres of cropland. This small holding is rented by Otto Farms –Sam, Dave and Mark Otto. Our land represents less than 1% of the land they plant each year.

In 2023 they completed their third season of regenerative farming practices. (You can read my previous posts here.)

This year I asked Dave for his thoughts:

Me: After 3 years, are you observing anything to indicate that the soil is becoming more robust?

Dave Otto: After some thought I would say that one indicator we see in all of our fields is we have more earth worms. That is a direct result of not tilling. The biggest one would be to see the microbial community increasing, but I don’t think much has happened because it has been so dry during the growing season for the last number of years. The microbial community needs moisture to grow as well as the crop. The only real way to assess that is with the use of a microscope and knowing what to look for. That is something we need to learn how to do and is on my list.

On Netflix there is a good film to watch called, “Kiss the Ground.” I believe it was done in 2020. It is narrated by Woody Harelson and gives a good explanation of regenerative agriculture.

Sam and I are going to a Regenerative Ag Conference in Brandon in November and they will be showing a screening of a follow up film to this one which looks very interesting.