When Mooney describes his days, he feels pushback.

ItвЂ™s been something humbling to be a part of вЂ“ grounding.вЂќ вЂњIвЂ™ve seen way more of it this year than I ever have in my life.вЂќ Living with the animals day in and day out, вЂњit becomes less of something you want to push away, and it becomes more of something appreciative of the cycle of life, and inherent in the cycle of life is the end of it. Mooney explains that confronting death is an unavoidable part of farming. Ray Mooney moves from the obvious, вЂњhow I see myself as a consumer in the economy,вЂќ to вЂњsomething thatвЂ™s shunned kind of put in the corner in our society, that farming has really brought to life with me вЂ“ and itвЂ™s the antithesis of life: death.вЂќ While you may go for a walk or a run or a hike, and be able to experience beautiful, open landscapes, itвЂ™s different existing in it every single day.вЂќ вЂњWe work on such large geographic scales вЂ“ weвЂ™re always outside вЂ“ which is different for me, being in school, working at a restaurant. Working with livestock to regenerate the land, Hourigan has a newly-gained perspective that encompasses a more holistic view and understanding of her вЂњexternal world,вЂќ she explains.

вЂњComing to ACES, I wanted to have that experience with animals and farming, and see agriculture through a more hands-on lens versus what I had been taught in books,вЂќ she says, but вЂњto stack upon that knowledge,вЂќ and вЂњtake opportunities such as to use that more academic background and share community.вЂќ Livestock and land apprentice Shannon Hourigan shares that she has вЂњalways loved animals.вЂќ Her background was overly academic though, and she burned out.

And I love food! Food has always been how I connect with my friends and my community in meaningful and genuine, deep ways.вЂќ After helping other individuals get back to their own power to produce their own food for themselves and their community, I felt that it was important for myself and the ways I wanted to contribute to and interact with my community, to gain that knowledge for myself. вЂњI was helping to manage a beginning farmer program,вЂќ they say, вЂњand working part-time on their farm. Disparities leave вЂњfood deserts,вЂќ areas that have no access to affordable or healthy food in general.ДЄpprentice Hollis Vanderlinden addressed this in their previous work with the Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative, a nonprofit working with Lakota people in Mission, South Dakota. Pandemic aside, the nationвЂ™s food systems and regional economies are not always just. The pandemic shows how critical local food production can be when larger food systems break down. Regenerative systems apply not only to the ecosystems in nature or farms but to communities. вЂњThat wasnвЂ™t really scratching my itch for conservation, so I was really interested in coming to this to learn about the intersection of conservation agriculture and how my practices can not only produce food for my community but also invest in soil health through low-till and high-intensity vegetable systems like they have here at the ranch.вЂќ In turn, these vital soils produce robust, more nutritious crops.ДЄpprentice Hannah Pike first farmed in New Hampshire on four acres, вЂњwith a lot more tractor work,вЂќ she says. This stimulates healthy re-growth and enriches the вЂњlivingвЂќ soils. Humane animal husbandry centers on species/pasture cycling and rotation, in which animals graze, scratch, peck and excrete. RBR is cherished for its ecological stewardship practices and bio-intensive food production, and its Farmer Training Program immerses apprentices in the hands-on raising of animals and growing food. This panel showcased the experiences and takeaways of this seasonвЂ™s RBR livestock and farm apprentices doing just that. The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) at Rock Bottom Ranch (RBR) recently hosted a panel discussion, вЂњSo You Think You Want to Be a Farmer?вЂќ At a time when the world recognizes agriculture as the greatest contributor to the climate crisis, change in farming is critical.

Touch of a titan farming