“Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold (Mark 4:8).
A waitress in Louisiana asked me where I was from—she could tell I was “not from around here”—I told her, Iowa. I thought she was going to cry as she said, “It has the blackest dirt. When I saw it, I thought it had been burned.”
I learned this weekend that there is a difference between dirt and soil. Dirt is what we sweep up from the corners of the garage or vacuum in the living room. Soil is alive! Under our feet in the field is an unseen community of interacting creatures like earthworms, and inanimate commodities like water and air. The healthier the soil, the better the quality of production whether flowers, radishes, grass or cows.
Joel Salatin is a farmer in Virginia who grows soil, moves his cattle herd every day and uses chickens and pigs to work a huge compost pit and nourish and preserve pastures. He grows soil! Growing soil grabbed my attention and imagination. After watching and contemplating the Montana Music Ranch based interview (Joel Salatin & Rory Feek), I was gripped by two phrases:
Good Soil & Immune System
We are stewards of both and benefit by paying attention to both.
RESOURCES:
The first link is for the interview. The second is a Washington Post article about Joel Salatin. Mr. Salatin is featured in the Food. Inc movie/documentary.
Joel Salatin—Rory Feek interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfB2bC1zkc8
Food, Inc. Documentary–https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXIkrYbqRO0
© 2020 D. Dean Benton writer & wonderer
See the blog that follows: Good Soil = 30, 60, 100 Increase-2.
Benton Quest House 