A look at the sustainable practices of an agroecological farm

Cooper Fields LLC is an agroecological farm located a half mile outside of Centerville, Iowa on Cooper Creek.

We acknowledge and honor that every action and inaction on our land will impact the rest of the world most readily through waterways. This is a reminder of the social, economic, and ecological opportunities and responsibilities of the farm as we grow along side our plants, animals, and microbes. We grow a diverse vegetable garden on three-quarters of an acre along with managing sheep, cows, and chickens on another 120 acres.

Our main focus is soil health. We act on this through many avenues. First, no-till practices in the garden were introduced to us by No-Till Growers. This emphasizes keeping the soil covered with living or dead organic matter, limited to no soil disturbances, and using cover crops. As a means to eliminate tilling we utilize a deep mulch system with hay and compost. This parallels the Ruth Stout method using hay as deep mulch. This reduced our need for watering, weeding, and soil amending.

Second, our farm’s nutrient management is centered on the use of compost mulch in the garden and compost teas on pastures and hay fields. Elaine Ingham with the Soil Food Web introduced us to microscopes as the primary tool to measure soil and compost microbe populations and ultimately soil health. Most soils are deficient in microbes and oxygen, not nutrients. Our compost is inoculating the soil everyday with beneficial bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and arthropods making inorganic forms of nutrients plant available.

Third, our pastures are managed by rotating a growing herd of 5 cows and 30 ewes. These groups are moved weekly in small paddocks allowing minimum of 45 day regrowth periods for the plant communities and improved animal health. These practices have been inspired by Holistic Management grazing by Allen Savory along with NRCS and University Extension articles on rotational grazing.

Fourth, we have been grateful for the opportunities presented by agroforestry including silvopasture (grazing to benefit the animal, grasses, and trees). We find pockets of abundance when wild systems are “layered” synergistically. Thoughtful placement or thinning of trees provide shade, wind protection, increased photosynthesis, and fruits or nuts. This creates an optimal environment for healthy cool season grasses and livestock. SARE, many universities, and the Savanna Institute provided the knowledge base to encourage us beginning this journey of layering trees on the farm.

Our farm is as much about growing food as it is about growing as humans. We continually remind ourselves about the importance of observation and metered response. Land, animals, plants, and microbes have wisdom beyond measure. The unlocking of that wisdom occurs in small sights, smells, tastes, touches, and sounds which can be easily overpassed if not intentional, humble, and fascinated at every moment.

You can follow our journey on Facebook under Cooper Fields. We sell on farm, at the Centerville Farmers market on Saturday mornings, and via our weekly veggie box (CSA). Reach out anytime via email, cooperfieldsllc@gmail.com.

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