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Building a New Farm

written by

Dustin Schnabel

posted on

July 30, 2024

    VIDEO is Below the story

    Erin and I met Atlee and Anna Keim five years ago , shortly after they purchased their land in Holmes County.  At that time, Atlee worked full-time as a commercial construction foreman.  Their dreams, however, were always centered around becoming full-time farmers.  The only problem was that the financial realities of a startup farm would not allow Atlee to quit his off-farm construction work.  

    As with anything Erin and I set out to accomplish, we always ask - "what is the long-term picture?". When we began our "old-school organic" vegetables production partnership with the Keim's, we had our sights set on what lie ahead.  First,  Atlee needed to be on the farm full-time.  Two years ago, the combination of their bulk dairy operation and the vegetables business allowed him to farm full-time for seven months.  The other five months he made ends meet by taking part-time construction jobs. 
    Erin and I approached Atlee and Anna with the idea of creating a raw milk herd share.  If it was successful, there was an opportunity to make their full-time farming enterprise financially sustainable for the long-term.  The financial picture did change, and it changed dramatically after the first year operating the Keim Family Raw Milk Herd Share.  Rather than selling their organic, grass-fed milk on the commodity market,  it was  being distributed directly to families across northeast Ohio.  Atlee and Anna were now receiving 100% of the value for their milk.   

    An unforeseen "by-product" of the herd share led to Atlee working here on our land through the winter of 2023 and spring of 2024.   ZOE Farms had a massive list of construction and land maintenance projects that needed completed through the winter of 2023 and spring of 2024.  Atlee was the foreman on all of them. He is the reason The FireHouse is what it is.  Atlee is the reason we have a new brooder barn that sets the foundation of our entire pasture-raised chicken production enterprise.  

    There is one thing Atlee does NOT do -- drive.  From Thanksgiving 2023 through Easter 2024, Atlee and I spent six hours a week in the truck together.  I became what is jokingly called a "Yoder Toter" - a driver for the Amish.  While most of those hours were spent working out the details of our construction projects, we would also dream about our families.  Sierrah and Morgan are full-time farmers. ZOE Farms is their career.   Atlee and Anna want this for their five children, so we spent a fair amount of those driving hours talking about the possibilities pastured poultry production may open up. 

    We ran a few "trial" flocks this spring to test two critical parameters: 1.) Will the Keim Family enjoy raising chickens on their land?  2.) Will the financial picture work for both the Keim family as well as the Schnabel family?  This brings the story to the video you see here today.  The answer is "YES" - to both.  What you see in this video is a dream becoming a reality.  Another farm is being built - and you are a part of it.  I hope you find this meaningful -- because it is.  

    I will continue this story in an article next week.  It is important to show you the positive ecological impact these birds are playing in the  I also want to explain why we chose the production model of the moveable coops.  

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Driving Deeper: Regenerative Farming Below the Soil

Driving Deeper: Regenerative Farming Below the Soil

Regenerative Farming Starts Underground People often ask what I’m most passionate about when it comes to farming. The answer surprises them. It’s not cattle genetics. It’s not the business. It’s not even livestock management I love all of these aspects of what we do, but my deepest passion is soil food web biology. Because that’s where regenerative farming actually begins. It's the foundation from which everything else is built.  If the biology in the soil is broken, nothing above ground will truly thrive. You can put animals on pasture, rotate them beautifully, and use all the right buzzwords—but if the living system underground isn’t functioning properly, the whole thing is mostly optics. Real regenerative agriculture starts with the biological economy inside the soil. This only exists in healthy, well managed land. Microbes are eating, or being eaten. When this cycle is functioning well, the plant's ability to create more energy from photosynthesis put on turbo-charge!  The Soil Economy The easiest way to understand soil biology is through economics. Think of soil like a functioning marketplace. Plants are the primary investors. Through photosynthesis, they convert sunlight into sugars. A large portion of those sugars—sometimes 20–40% of what the plant produces—is released into the soil through the roots. Those sugars are the currency of the soil economy. They feed bacteria and fungi living around the roots. In return, those microbes perform services the plant cannot do alone. They mine nutrients from minerals, break down organic matter, and transport nutrients and water through microscopic fungal networks. But the economy doesn’t stop there. Protozoa and beneficial nematodes graze on those microbes. When they consume bacteria and fungi, they release nutrients—especially nitrogen—in plant-available forms right where the plant needs them - when the plant needs them. This constant cycle of investment, trade, and consumption is what scientists call the soil food web. And when that biological economy is functioning well, plants gain access to a much broader spectrum of nutrients than they could ever pull from soil on their own. The Difference Between Slogans and Proof There’s a lot of talk about regenerative farming right now. Pasture photos. Buzzwords. Marketing slogans. But real regenerative agriculture requires something more. Measurement. On our farm, we don’t just put cattle and chickens out on pasture and assume everything is working the way it should. We monitor the biology underground. That means taking soil samples and putting them under a microscope to look directly at the organisms that drive the soil food web—bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and other microscopic life. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing. When you can actually see the biological community in the soil, you can tell whether the ecosystem is functioning or whether something is missing. That crosses the line from marketing language into hard biological evidence. Bulk DNA Analysis has been performed on the biological extracts we are applying to our land. This is hard proof confirmation that we are effectively inoculating our soils with tens of thousands of different species of microbes Healing Relationships with Land and Animals Our farm’s mission is simple: “As farmers, we seek to heal our relationships with land and animals. We share this healing with our patrons through the food it produces.” That healing begins with this soil food web economy. When the soil food web is functioning properly, nutrients cycle efficiently. Plants grow stronger. Pastures become more resilient to drought and stress. Animals grazing those pastures receive a more complete nutritional profile from the plants they consume. The result is healthier animals and more resilient land. And the food produced from that system? That’s the byproduct. That's why "we share this healing with our patrons through the food it produces" is the second part of our mission.  When soil biology improves, nutrient density often follows because the plants—and the animals eating those plants—are operating within a healthier biological system. This is a soil sample under a microscope at 400X. The long strand is a fungal strand known as hypha. The bacteria are smaller, round, somewhat translucent. We actually review samples of our soil to be sure the correct micro organisms are present in the right ratios to ensure the soil food web is functioning properly.  Raising the Bar on Regenerative Farming The word “regenerative” is being thrown around a lot these days. Sometimes it’s used meaningfully. Oftentimes,  it’s used as a slogan. I’m committed to something deeper. For regenerative agriculture to mean anything, it has to be grounded in biological function, not just good intentions. That’s why this year I’ve made a decision that reflects where our priorities truly are. I've set in motion a plan to reinvest the majority of profits this season into a comprehensive soil improvement program spanning more than 400 acres of land under our management. This includes detailed biological soil analysis, targeted strategies to strengthen the soil food web, and management practices designed to support the long-term health of the entire ecosystem. When the biological economy underground is functioning well, everything above ground explodes with productivity and resilience. The Foundation of Everything We Produce At the end of the day, regenerative farming isn’t defined by labels. It’s defined by whether the land is actually getting healthier. Whether the soil biology is becoming more diverse. Whether the ecosystem is becoming more resilient year after year. That’s the work I’m committed to. That's where I'm directing the majority of our investment this season.  It's not flashy, fancy or romantic -- but it's where regenerative farming truly begins and ends.  Driving deeper - that's where I'll be. ☀️ Dustin

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