Five Mile Farms' Story
Ileana and I both grew up with agriculture in our blood....She grew up in Western Kansas with ties to cattle feedlots while I grew up in Iowa where corn and beans are present as far as the eye can see. Little did we know at the time but our future was going push us toward a dramatically different way of farming than we had previously been accustomed to.
As I took the step to college (Go Cyclones!), my intent was to hurry up and get back home to the farm. I wanted nothing more than to return to my family and the local community that was dear to my heart. However, intent and outcomes rarely match up. I realized part way through college that the family farm could only support one family; this led to a dramatic shift in my trajectory. While that change has led to a successful and enjoyable career in Ag, I have continued to insert the outdoor lifestyle that surrounds production agriculture.
Ileana and I connected in the Kansas City area; as our family began to grow so did an energized desire to know where our food was coming from. What started as project for the kids to gather confidence and purpose, became an all consuming push to flush out what we were eating, how we could improve our diet.....eventually leading us to take control of producing the majority of our family's food budget.
Today, that desire to take control of our personal food chain pushes us to pursue nature's design, to work with carbon/water/nutrient cycles and to rebuild the ecosystems that ultimately support our family and broader communities. This way of farming is called REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE and it is THE way of the future!
We are now driven to rebuild the soil and leave it in better shape for the next person to farm it. Our goal is to build the farm beyond the point where it supports multiple generations. It is our way to grow a business with our kids and provide incentive to keep strong connections within the family unit and local community....(heck, maybe one of them will decide to run with this thing!).
As we continue to learn about regenerative agriculture, we are drawn in even further. A few attributes that excite us include:
-an increased tolerance to drought
-increased water filtration capacity = less flooding runoff
-more photosynthetic activity = more carbon removed from the air and pushed below ground as organic matter
-healthier local economies by keeping food dollars nearby
-healthier communities...both physically and connectedness
Oh, and you can taste great food while you save your area of the planet! (it may be a lofty statement but I'd love to engage with you on why we believe that...come see us sometime to talk and see it first hand!)
