Biodiversity, multispecies...what's up?

Cows in foreground, chickens in back

Jordan often points out that we are a multispecies regenerative farm.

For us, that looks like rotating cows, turkeys, chickens and pigs across the land one at a time and in a specific order.

Why does this matter?

Because it's another way we mimic natural ecosystems.

☘️ Having a wide variety of plants in a single growing area maximizes photosynthesis and diversifies nutrients in a pasture, both above ground...

• where varied forage offers a wide-ranging buffet of nutrients to grazing animals🌾

...and below.

• where a mix of diverse living roots pump different carbon-based sugars into the soil—feeding a complex web of beneficial soil fungi and bacteria🦠

Likewise...

🌎 Having a wide variety of animals moving across grassland helps build rich, healthy soil through...

• complementary grazing (different animals eat different things, so a mix of animals means everything gets eaten)
• managed succession (having animals graze in a specific order yields specific benefits), and
• balanced soil fertility (different animals spread different types of natural manure and urine across the landscape, keeping soil fertility balanced.)

If you're curious, here are examples of animals and their diverse roles and characteristics on our farm:

🐂 Cows (above ground—"the mowers") wrap their tongues around tall, coarse grasses, mowing down the bulk of the tall forage.

🦃 Turkeys (higher surface level—"pest control") thrive in slightly taller grass than chickens, and actively hunt down larger pests like grasshoppers, crickets and ticks. They also aggressively browse broadhead weeds and seed heads that cows often ignore.

🐔 Chickens (surface level—"super-charged fertilizers") take advantage of the shorter grass to access, scratch apart, spread and aerate the cow patties to pick out the fly larvae inside for food. Chicken manure is also considered the most nutrient-dense of all animal manures—it offers a high-potency, fast-acting shot of fertility for the soil.

🐖 Pigs (below ground: soil renovators—or "agents of chaos," as we call them 😉) use their rooting behaviors to disturb the soil, clear brush, and turn over organic matter without the need for mechanical tractors.

Turkeys on patrol: enjoying medium-height grasses in the "grasshopper kill zone"

In short, every plant and animal in nature has a unique ecological niche and specific contribution. This diversity makes systems resilient.

* * *

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.

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