Unity Farms

10/03/2026

“You can view the system through the lens of a microscope, or view the microscope through the lens of the system.”

We have gotten incredibly good at measuring the pieces in agriculture. Soil chemistry, forage quality, animal performance, plant composition, microbial populations, rainfall, utilization, and about anything else we want to put a number to. All of those things have value, but I sometimes wonder if in learning to measure everything, we’ve forgotten the value of simply observing the whole.

Walking through the pasture lately I’ve been thinking about that. Grass growing alongside forbs and legumes, stockpile accumulating, spider webs scattered throughout the canopy, dung beetles working manure almost as quickly as the cattle leave it behind. None of those things by themselves mean we’re doing everything right, but when you start seeing them together I think they’re worth paying attention to.

Maybe that’s where the idea of fruit comes in. What is our management actually producing? Are the plants recovering, are the cattle thriving, is the soil covered, is water cycling, is there life and diversity showing up, is the land becoming more resilient?

We can take any one of those things and study it under a microscope, and we should. But I think we have to be careful not to become so focused on understanding the pieces that we lose sight of what the whole system is showing us. The microscope should help us understand what we observe, not teach us to ignore it.

The more time I spend doing this, the more I believe one of the most valuable tools we have isn’t something we can buy. It’s being willing to slow down, sit still, observe, and ask questions.

Maybe that’s also one of the most important things I can pass on to my children. Not simply what to see, but how to see it.

10/02/2026

This article addresses much of what I shared and touched on at the SP field day for anyone who wants to dive deeper!

Different types of plants allocate sugars in different ways — to truly build soil organic matter, you have to prioritize forbs A group of dairy and beef

09/30/2026

Caught a pretty heifer posing this morning.

I love watching these young females develop and move closer to becoming productive mothers in our cow herd. Seeing the pieces come together, the femininity, capacity, structure, and ability to thrive on forage, is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do.

There’s a lot of anticipation as the next generation takes shape.

09/29/2026

You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.

You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.

You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.

They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.

The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.

Psalm 65:9-13

09/24/2026

Truly what it’s all about! How wonderful it was to see so many kids participating and playing joyfully this weekend!

09/23/2026

We cannot thank everyone enough! It truly was an honor to host and serve such a great group of people. We couldn't have done it without our dear friends and fellow SPGCA board members. Be blessed, friends!