Telling the story of a legend in Regenerative Ranching. Greg Judy is building soil & healing the earth. ↓

Food Story: The Regenerative Rancher

Breathing freely. Deeply. In and out. Dewy air. Sharp air. Sweet air. Woody air. Absent air. Original air. Wild air. Gusty air. Warm air. Invaded air. Surprise air. Diversity. Diversity and natural cycle. From darkness to returned darkness. The diversity and natural progression of smells on a farm from the moment I stepped out of Greg's home he grew up in while it was still pitch black out till the sunset was an experience I had not had since my childhood. Growing up as a free-range child, I made whistles out of blades of grass, ate tiny wild strawberries, and made a bow and arrow out of my favorite willow tree that I loved dearly. It was my friend. I was tapped into the vast ecosystem around me. I could see, hear, and smell it. It was so complex and constantly evolving. Sunlight moving, wind-changing, temperature changing. Nature is always moving. Cycling. Changing. Evolving. Adapting. Thinking. Feeling. If you listen, it talks back. Greg can hear. With the wonder of a child but the intellect of an adult. Greg is a poet. Greg is a Regenerative Rancher. Greg is a Renegade. He was able to hear what the soil was telling him. He listened. And not only did he listen and understand. but he acted. But no ordinary act. He radically changed the way he was living. He listened to the soil, the animals, the land, to himself. But it went beyond listening. He enmeshed himself with nature. Mother Nature speaks a language. The Hadza. The Maasai. The Sandawe. They are "part" of nature. They are in the natural cycle. Greg, and other regenerative ranchers, are part of a long-lost group of people that are part of nature instead of trying to bend it to their will. As a photographer and filmmaker, I live to tell stories. They are the weighty fabric of our existence. They are necessary. They matter. Everyone likes to say that they are, "making the world a better place." Very few are actually doing it. Greg IS doing it. He is healing the land.

I had the privilege to spend time with, photograph, and film Greg of Green Pasture’s Farm in Rucker MO. We arrived in the evening before our shoot in his Airbnb on his farm, which happens to be the house that he was raised in. Sometimes you meet people and you feel a depth that is so beautiful. So grounded and real. Humans. Ahhh, they can be so beautiful. Greg is oozing with kindness and depth. He is tapped into a different track. One that is real and full of complexity. A natural complexity that is rare and rooted in healing.

The next morning we rise while it’s still pitch black outside. I  hurry to get out the door. It's necessary for me to capture the 5 minute window of blue light in the early morning. That window is a transition between worlds. The earth is stretching in bed. The timeframe between sleep and life. I am a morning person through and through. Adrenaline coursing through my veins, me and my teammates are off. Winding down a gravel road to find Greg and his crew to let the cows into their next pasture. They are singing. So loud. They are like opinionated dogs. Like, hello humans. Are you listening to us? I know what I want. Now give it to me. Cows obviously love and need pasture to thrive in the way that nature intended. They are like a dog barreling through the house to get to the backdoor to go outside first thing in the morning. Are they only mooing because they know they will get to eat fresh pasture? I think it's more complex than that. They have a deep affection for Greg. And Greg, a deep affection for them. They love seeing his face. Even more, they love his voice. His voice leads them onto a fresh patch of grass twice a day. Every single day. This is regenerative ranching. By moving the cattle twice a day, Greg builds up his soil rather than tearing it down. It’s a natural cycle. This holistic approach works to rebuild organic matter and restore biodiversity to the soil, which helps to reverse climate change. I am stoked about what Greg is doing. I’m encouraged by the increase in awareness regenerative practices. I am grateful to play my part in the ecosystem.

If you would like to learn more about Greg and Jan Judy’s Farm, visit them here.
If you would like to learn more about regenerative agriculture, here is a good place to start.