05/02/2026
Help us to keep farming naturally as we are guided by the land.
We’re seeking your support.
umrit farm is facing regulatory action that could force us to abandon the practices we believe are healing and enriching our soil.
For generations, this land has grown food for people. Today, we steward it using ancient methods rooted in how forests and grasslands have always renewed themselves. Hügelkultur beds are made from fallen wood, wood chips are used as mulch, logs are left as habitat for the fungi, insects, and microbes, all together makes the soil alive. We use no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Instead, we let local tree biomass decompose into the ground, enriching organic matter, carbon, and microbial life, season after season.
This is ancient and nature's way for circular ecology, not just experimental ideas. The results are apparent:
In under three years:
soil organic matter has risen from 1.1% to 10.5%
soil organic carbon has risen from 1.0% to 5.80%
earthworm counts have grown 50 folds
beneficial insects, like praying mantises, dragon flies, lace wings, lady bugs, ground beetles, dung beetles are abundant around the farm and contributing necromass
many small to large birds are found around the farm
We’ve grown herbs, vegetables, fruits, grains without any synthetic inputs since 2016.
Synthetic agricultural inputs were never designed to harm, they were meant to feed people. But decades of evidence now show their long-term costs to soil health, waterways, pollinators, and human health. Reversing that damage is slow and difficult. We’d rather not create it in the first place.
Regulators have raised concerns that our use of wood and natural materials poses risk to the land and neighboring community. We take those concerns seriously, and we’re asking for a different path forward: monitor our practices rather than reverse them. Study the soil, the effects, the outcomes and let the data and observations speak. This approach serves everyone — it protects the community, advances shared understanding of regenerative agriculture, and let farms like ours continue the work of restoration.
How you can help:
Schedule a visit to the farm to learn and see the practices firsthand
Sign our appeal petition at https://www.umrit.org/at-umrit/campaign-for-naturals
You may reach:
NJ State Agriculture Development Committee (NJ SADC)
https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/sadc/
Somerset County Agriculture Development Board (SCADB) https://www.somersetcountynj.gov/government/public-works/planning/agriculture-development-board
Thank you for consideration and standing with us. Every person who speaks up makes it more likely that this land will be passed on healthier than we found it.
the umrit farm team
www.umrit.org
