Wednesday, October 9, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
The Bunkhouse
Chronicle
Craig Rullman
Columnist
Radical
ranching
Hobbs Margarét, 32, of
Sisters Cattle Company,
might be a radical.
Maybe that9s a result of
his deep West Texas ranch-
ing roots, his degree from
the University of Oregon, or
because he lived too long in
the low-intensity warfare of
Los Angeles. Whatever the
source, it9s no accident that
the word <radical= reaches
back to the Latin <radix,=
meaning <root,= because
Sisters Cattle Company is
aiming for a radical change
in the way we treat our soils,
and beef cattle, in commer-
cial agriculture.
Over the last couple of
years Margarét has been qui-
etly building a cattle outfit in
Sisters Country, using regen-
erative grazing practices
to build healthier soils and
bring locally raised, grass-
finished beef to your dinner
table.
Regenerative ranching
starts with a basic question:
can we produce food and
regenerate the soil beneath
our feet, all while eliminat-
ing the need for heavy doses
of chemical fertilizers, pes-
ticides, and herbicides, and
while at the same time actu-
ally increasing the amount of
food we produce on the same
ground?
The answer is yes.
Regenerative practices start
by eliminating the till, which
rapidly kills microbial life
and sheds topsoil at alarm-
ing rates, and by replacing
monocultures with a variety
of annuals and perennials
that increase biodiversity in
the ground. And it uses cat-
tle, grazed in high-intensity,
low-duration sessions to
graze those plants hard. The
cattle are moved every day,
sometimes several times a
day, and the end result is bet-
ter soil, which means better
plant life. No chemical fertil-
izers are ever used, and no
pesticides or herbicides are
ever applied, which means
when you eat a steak from
Sisters Cattle Company you
aren9t also eating Roundup
or Warbex.
<Grazing and raising
cattle this way is probably
the only scalable solution
for building healthy soil that
feeds on itself,= Hobbs says.
Around the world, farm-
ers and ranchers who have
replaced traditional practices
with regenerative methods
have seen their yields grow
exponentially. They can
stock more cows on less
ground, and breed for traits
that create cattle resistant to
pests and disease4rather
than relying on each new
round of miracle cures from
Monsanto.
<Growing food is what
matters,= Hobbs says. <And
what9s clear is that the old
model isn9t working. Can
people find a way to feed
themselves in a way that
makes the world a better
place? Better people, better
animals, better soil. That9s
the idea.=
Cattle have long been
the bogeymen of environ-
mental extremists, blamed
for almost every eco-horror
imaginable, but people need
to eat, and despite sustained
misinformation campaigns
by detractors, they like to eat
beef. This year, the average
American will consume 217
pounds of beef, and what9s
missing from the traditional
formulas, Hobbs says, is the
long-term health and produc-
tivity of the soil.
<The nutrient levels seen
in our soils have dropped
dramatically,= Margarét says.
<Soils are often so devoid of
actual nutrients that even
though you can go to the
store and buy a really green
green bean, there are less
nutrients in that green bean
than ever.=
That decline in the nutri-
tional value of our food is
a result of industrial-scale
farming whose focus is
quantity, not quality.
And the decline in qual-
ity is visible across the
board, from beef cattle to
asparagus. If you buy fresh
vegetables from a farmer9s
market, where those veg-
etables are more likely to
have been grown in soils rich
with microbial life, you can
actually taste the nutritional
difference.
Many soils across the
nation have been severely
reduced in their ability to
sustain microbial life. They
are dependent on the yearly
injection of chemical fertil-
izers to maintain produc-
tive growth levels, which is
akin to delivering a shot of
Narcan to an opioid over-
dose. The chemicals will
bring the patient back to a
kind of temporary, zombie-
like sobriety, but that9s about
it.
Margarét is eager to
change how consumers, and
detractors, see the role of
cattle 4 from a destructive
bogeyman to an eco-neces-
sity and a net contributor
to the health of local soils.
That9s a radical mindset in
today9s environment, and
it9s one reason, in full dis-
closure, I decided to throw
in with him and run a few
cows under the Sisters Cattle
Company brand. I9m just
radical enough to think he9s
on to something important,
and something ultimately
good for the long-term health
of our waterways, soils, and
community.
The eye of Sisters Cattle
Company is firmly fixed on
a regenerative agricultural
future, which is more criti-
cal than ever as the water-
starved west continues to
settle up and there are more
and more mouths to feed.
<Post-fossil-fuel ranching
will be both big and neces-
sary,= Margarét says. <The
question is how we approach
it. Are we going to keep try-
ing to overpower nature,
or are we going to mimic
nature?=
One cow at a time, Sisters
Cattle Company is build-
ing resiliency into the local
future.
<We are trying to build
a culture that is endlessly
repeatable. If we keep doing
what we9ve been doing for
the last 100 years it9s prob-
ably not going to work out
in the long term.= And it9s
designed to remain precisely
local: <We9d be happy if not
a single animal ever leaves
our zip code.=
As for the end product,
grass-finished beef, and the
endless debates over how to
best finish beef for the con-
sumer, Margarét is confident
Sisters Cattle Company9s
product will stand up to the
very best.
<Our beef tastes the way
beef should,= he says. <And
even better.=
21
UK HIKE: 73-year-old
pursues passion
for walking
Continued from page 5
When tested by Mother
Nature, one either gets stron-
ger or gives up. Field proved
that her resilience and love of
the land could fortify her in a
way that ensured not only suc-
cess but an appreciation of life
beyond the limits of comfort
and ease.
At 73, Diana continues to
pursue her passion for walk-
ing and knows that it is a key
component for her own health
and wellness. Having settled
nicely back into life at home,
Oregon will bring continued
opportunities to walk within
the beauty of wild and solitary
places. More often than not,
the path will be more clearly
defined, although weather may
still keep things interesting.
When summarizing her
time on the Pennine Way,
Field describes a connection
to land, nature and elements
that resonated as a spiritual
experience.
<This is my church, this
is what fills my soul,= Diana
explained.
And this is where she feels
the beautiful presence of loved
ones long since passed.
A far-away country filled
with diverse history, com-
pelling landscapes and chal-
lenging weather will forever
remain a part of Diana Field,
spirit-inspiring future plans
rooted in a return to England
for further exploration, con-
templation and connectedness.
Year-round
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