Serenbe Farms digs soil health so much, they're taking the regenerative ag movement to the U.S. Congress.
In late December 2022, the South experienced single digit temperatures in what the National Weather Service called a “one-in-a-generation storm.” While the Governor was declaring a state of emergency, Georgia farmers, including Serenbe Farms, were reeling from the loss of nearly their entire crop to the freeze.
Luckily, Serenbe Farms has followed regenerative farming practices since its beginning, an innovative style of farming that has been standard practice to Ian and is now becoming a major talking point in national farm policy. Serenbe’s district Congressman, David Scott, who was the Chairman of the U.S. Congress House Agriculture Committee, held a historic session in September 2022 to discuss the 2023 Farm Bill, where Steve Nygren testified on soil health and regenerative agriculture - the first time Congress has used those words in a bill.
What do we mean when we say “regenerative agriculture?” According to Kiss The Ground, a group on a mission to inspire participation in the regenerative movement, it’s a philosophy and set of holistic principles. The core of the philosophy focuses on soil health that provides carbon sinks and farming in harmony with nature so we leave our land, waters and climate in better shape for future generations. Healthy soil reduces greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor.
One such regenerative practice is composting. Serenbe Farms has used this practice on a smaller scale since its inception, andt is now home to the first commercial-capacity compost station, funded by Art Farm at Serenbe’s Environmental Council, in what will eventually be a robust city-wide system. They announced this new station at a screening of Kiss The Ground’s documentary by the same name, hosted by Finian Makepeace, Co-Founder & Policy Director of Kiss the Ground, The film sheds light on this “new, old approach” and reveals one of the top viable solutions to our climate crisis.
Composting is a controlled process that converts organic materials into nutrient-rich soil or mulch through natural decomposition. The new compost station at Serenbe Farms has powered blowers forcing air from the bottom of the pile to enhance airflow and keep the pile in a steady aerobic state. This means the farmers won’t have to physically churn the compost, saving both time and money.
Serenbe Farms has filled two of four compost bays since opening the station, and they intend to have a third bay finished by the end of March 2023. The station can fulfill its potential of putting out 20-30 cubic yards of compost every 45 days if there are at least 200 homes participating, an attainable goal in the Serenbe community. For those who are unfamiliar with or nervous about composting, Art Farm created educational materials and left bags at every Serenbe resident’ home inviting them to be a part of the program. The hope is to get people excited about it so they’ll participate in a way that is effective and useful.
Learn more about composting by visiting serenbefarms.com.