I’ve seen grass roots carefully excavated in all their upside down long hair glory. Only 10% or so of their biomass is above ground. If we were grass, only our head would be above the soil layer. But like us with our heads above soil, there is much more to grass than the leaves of green functionality.
For us humans, so much of our touch, our feeling, and exchange with our environs is through our skin. Liken that to plant roots, and then imagine what it would be like if the world of those plant roots is devoid of other life. Actually, you don’t have to imagine. It is happening in most non-organic agriculture in the world today.
People often think organic only has to do with what you can give to the animals. No hormones, no antibiotics, and you are organic, right? Wrong. There are actually a number of other chemicals that are routinely used in raising beef cattle (including grass fed, because there are no rules prohibiting such application under grass fed labels), that are not used in organic beef production. But I don’t want to talk about beeves and agricultural chemicals used on them in the direct sense. I want to instead take you on a little meandering journey and return to the object that we can grasp in our hand: soils.
Soil is a living, breathing organism, or more precisely a collection of them. It’s estimated that over 24,000 miles of fungal vessels, strands known as hyphae, live in each 100 square feet of organic soil (who measured that, anyway?). That is the circumference of the earth in just your backyard.
You can see them when you dig up some healthy soil. They are tiny whitish threads that connect not only each other, but provide a conduit of water, minerals and information to each plant. They even cross species barriers. Science is just beginning to figure out what they do. Recent research suggests that there is a sort of information superhighway that is passed through the fungal pipeline that conditions plant response to disturbance like fire, erosion, or even grazing. Think cable TV for plants. The latest news bulletins, immediately.
Then let’s consider the critters. According to Texas A&M University, there are between 100 million and one billion bacteria in an average gram of soil (0.03 ounces or about 1 teaspoon). An acre of soil can have as much as 3,000 lbs. of microbes in it, or about 12 lbs. for every square foot. When three of our young steers are grazing on the grass on the surface, there is an equal amount, by weight, of bacteria “grazing” underground.
I’ve dug around in conventionally farmed soils. Wait. They aren’t—soils. Remember, living breathing organisms? So”¦let’s start over. I’ve dug in conventionally farmed dirt. Dirt is dirty, after all, meaning you want to wash your hands afterwards. I don’t feel dirty when I touch my soils and I’d happily eat an apple after just shaking my hands off.
The dirt in those conventionally farmed row crop fields is often greasy and oily to the touch. I can find little to no worms and I don’t see any fungal hyphae. Organic matter consists of dead annual crop roots (like corn) and trash from the harvest. It doesn’t smell like my soil, or feel like it, or look like it. What’s different? It’s the soil critters. Research shows that soil organisms on conventionally row-cropped farmed soils are far fewer and less diverse than the soils on cropped organic (no chemical use) systems, which in turn are less diverse than organic (no chemical use) soils with perennial plants growing on them. And the more diversity of perennial plants above the soil, the greater the diversity underground.
A lot of grass fed beef in this country is now raised partially on “crop residue.” These fields are generally treated with commercial petroleum-based fertilizer to enhance growth and glyphosate (Monsanto’s Round-up) to control weeds. Even pastures with perennial plants are often treated with chemicals to control weeds.
What many people don’t realize is that the difference between natural grass fed beef and organic grass fed beef isn’t only about hormones or antibiotics used on the animals themselves (although that is important) but is also about the way the feed the animals eat is grown. And the picture is more complicated than simply organic agriculture meaning no herbicides or pesticides. It must also include how those soil organisms are doing, because their diversity and health directly translates to the nutrient density of the plants growing in that soil.
Weed control is required by most counties today in America. After all, it’s about being a good neighbor, and I say that non-facetiously. You take care of your weeds, and your neighbor has less likelihood of spread to their place. It is right, and makes sense. The two counties where Alderspring is located both have very aggressive weed control boards, and we have partnered with them extensively to identify problem areas and put together weed control plans. They’re fine with our non-chemical control methods, provided we do them. We detail these methods each year in a cooperative weed management plan, usually around 12-15 pages long, listing species we manage against (there’s about 12) and what we do to deal with them without chemicals.
Otherwise, by law, the counties can come in and spray on Alderspring’s property nullifying our organic certification (Big owie here!).
It’s the same with the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands we operate on. We manage the largest certified organic land area in the U.S. because we’ve developed cooperative strategies with these agencies. We partner with them in weed control using hand pulling, grubbing and, my favorite, biological control. For our weeds, biological controls are mostly beneficial insects that attack problem weeds (and them only) and make weeds manageable.
We release over 1000 of these little dudes every year, ensuring their care and husbandry as well. Last year, we spent over $30,000 in non-chemical weed control on Alderspring’s certified organic ground. This year, we are scheduled to spend more. But the key is creating partnerships on the landscape that will effectively team with us in the war on weeds, and learning more about the ecological habitat components of both the weeds and the species they encroach on to better learn how to address them.
And it’s worth it. Biodiversity, both above and below ground, is alive and well on Alderspring. And you, dear eater, can be rest assured that the grass fed beef you consume from us is not only organic from an animal husbandry standpoint, but you can know that the ground that steer walked on was the best that living soil can be. That living matrix ensures that the highest level of nutrient density gets translated to beef on your plate. You are, in effect, eating the fruit of life below ground. It is where that nutrient density comes from.
Thanks for keeping us in husbandry, not only of beeves, but of the many microscopic beasts that walk, crawl and squiggle below on our living, wild and organic soils. They are the actual purveyors of the nutrition that gets served up on your plate. We just facilitate your relationship with them. Because without those hard working tiny critters, that “nutritious” steak or burger you’re eating just won’t deliver the goods.
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