Gabe Brown is a pioneer of the soil-health movement and has been named one of the twenty-five most influential agricultural leaders in the United States. Brown, his wife, Shelly, and son, Paul, own Brown’s Ranch, a holistic, diversified 5,000-acre farm and ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota. The Browns integrate their grazing and no-till cropping systems, which include cash crops and multi-species cover crops along with all-natural, grass-finished beef and lamb, pastured pork, and laying hens. The Brown family has received a Growing Green Award from the Natural Resources Defense Council, an Environmental Stewardship Award from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the USA Zero-Till Farmer of the Year Award.
“Dirt to Soil confirms my belief that animals are part of the
natural land. We need to reintegrate livestock and crops on our
farms and ranches, and Gabe Brown shows us how to do it
well.”—Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation
“Gabe Brown’s Dirt to Soil could not be more timely, as farmers are
beginning to see an increase in costs of the fertilizers and many
other inputs they rely on. Gabe provides us with his complete story
of how he transitioned to a largely self-renewing and
self-regulating (regenerative) farming system. Even though I have
been an organic farmer for 40 years, I was amazed at how much I
learned from reading Dirt to Soil. I highly recommend it to all
farmers and food entrepreneurs, especially anyone interested in
anticipating future changes and preparing for them in
advance.”—Frederick Kirschenmann, distinguished fellow, Leopold
Center for Sustainable Agriculture; author of Cultivating an
Ecological Conscience
“Restoring the productivity of agricultural land is one of the most
urgent imperatives of our time. In this landmark book, Gabe Brown
explains, step by step, how farmers and ranchers can transform
lifeless dirt to healthy topsoil, offering a profound yet elegantly
simple blueprint for reversing land degradation across the
globe.”—Dr. Christine Jones, soil ecologist; founder of
amazingcarbon.com
“Civilization was made possible by agriculture developed over the
centuries by ordinary people domesticating plants and animals using
the emerging biological sciences. Today mainstream
agriculture—dominated by monoculture cropping and confined animal
feeding—is the most destructive industry ever to evolve. Based on
chemistry and marketing of technology, current agricultural
practices produce twenty times more dead, eroding soil than food,
year after year. In this dangerous time, Gabe Brown’s book comes as
a breath of fresh air, showing by example what any farmer who cares
enough about the future can do by following sound ecological
principles and using common sense and imagination.”—Allan Savory,
president, Savory Institute
“This book is a must read for anybody who thinks that the ‘Green
Revolution’ has been a success. Gabe Brown provides a heartfelt
personal account of his journey and awakening to a new perspective
on the importance of soil biology and the urgent need for a return
to regenerative integrated organic farming methods, not just to
feed the world but also to save the ecosystem from imminent
disaster.”—Stephanie Seneff, senior research scientist, MIT
Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
“Dirt to Soil skillfully describes the learning process and rich
rewards of perseverance in the conversion from yield-driven farm
practices that degrade soils to the regeneration processes that
provide pride, productivity, nutrition, health, and sustainability
to the basic infrastructure of society—agriculture. The core values
of stewardship Gabe Brown describes for managing the agricultural
ecology are reinforced by science that links diverse components so
they function together to benefit everyone and everything in the
dynamic rejuvenation of soils. The principles are exemplified
through firsthand experiences that not only explain what, why, and
how things need to change, but also provide the motivation to start
doing them. The book provides hope that nutrition and health can be
guiding principles in food production for successive generations to
displace the ‘Band-Aid’ interventions adopted by the past two
generations that have resulted in serious, unintended negative
consequences.”—Don M. Huber, emeritus professor of plant pathology,
Purdue University
“Gabe Brown’s dirt-to-soil story is an inspiring example of how
land can flourish when a farmer tunes out the textbooks and
chemical purveyors and starts listening to nature. Brown has become
a folk hero in regenerative agriculture circles, and this book
delivers his trademark candor and ability to cut through myth,
jargon, and generations of bad advice to reveal essential dynamics
of how farm ecosystems work. By keeping it real, this practical,
spirited, and timely book can help spark an agricultural shift from
conventional wisdom to common sense.”—Judith D. Schwartz, author of
Cows Save the Planet and Water in Plain Sight
“After hearing a presentation by Gabe Brown, many people picture
Brown’s Ranch in North Dakota as some sort of Xanadu where nothing
goes wrong. This book provides a realistic perspective on Gabe’s
struggles in a challenging environment. Gabe and his family didn’t
let the challenges defeat them; they viewed them as opportunities
to learn and innovate. This determination has made Gabe one of the
leaders in the movement to regenerate soils. He has also helped to
push, pull, and drag science toward finding solutions to solve our
current farm and food crises. Farmers and ranchers like Gabe Brown
and the others whose stories are told in Dirt to Soil are
addressing the critical need to develop resilient systems that
provide abundant, nutrient-dense food on regenerated soils that
efficiently cycle nutrients and water through diverse biological
communities.”—Kris Nichols, PhD, soil microbiologist, KRIS Systems
Education and Consultation
“Gabe Brown’s story is a journey of hope and freedom for all those
who care about food, health, and the earth. His passion to heal the
land and serve others has shaken the foundations of the industrial
agriculture model. The industrial agriculture complex is an
insatiable furnace of consumption that devours soil, leaves farm
families destitute, and impoverishes rural communities—ultimately
destroying nations. Who would have thought that a North Dakota
rancher would lead the regenerative agriculture revolution, a
campaign that shows us a new way of growing nutritious food—food
that is medicine and that nurtures and honors all of creation.
Because of Gabe Brown, I have hope for the future of agriculture.
Dirt to Soil is a must read!”—Ray Archuleta, “The Soil Guy,”
retired USDA/NRCS soil health specialist
“If you have interest in your health or saving the earth or eating
food that tastes the way food should, you have heard a lot recently
about regenerative farming. There are dozens (or hundreds) of
self-proclaimed experts on the subject. Here is what I know: Gabe
Brown is the Real Deal. He has done more than anyone to bridge the
gap between research scientists and practicing farmers. His
understanding of how to put the science of soil regeneration into
practice is unsurpassed. Dirt to Soil should be required reading
for every industrial farmer on the face of the earth.”—Will Harris,
White Oak Pastures, Bluffton, Georgia
“Dirt to Soil is the perfect title for this new book from Gabe
Brown. It is an apt metaphor to describe the Brown family’s escape,
through intelligence and determination, from their entrapment in an
agricultural model that has failed economically, ecologically, and
as a source of quality of life for the family. Their accomplishment
stems from their realization that long-term success is possible
only when all parts of the soil-plant-animal-wealth-human complex
we call a farm/ranch are nurtured simultaneously. The Browns
understand that agriculture must be about promoting life. It must
be regenerative.”—Walt Davis, author of How to Not Go Broke
Ranching
“I can no longer drive by a farm without wanting to get out of the
car and start planting cover crops. Dirt to Soil is an
entertaining, illuminating read that will change the way people
think about agriculture.”—Mark Schatzker, author of The Dorito
Effect
“There is growing awareness that industrialized agricultural
methods are doing considerable damage to our soil, farms, and
planet. The way we farm needs to change, and Dirt to Soil is
about to transform the way agriculture is practiced around the
world. This book is filled with excellent advice on how to farm by
following Mother Nature’s guidance, seasoned with Gabe’s great
sense of humor and humility.”—Colin Seis, agricultural management
consultant; owner of Winona, New South Wales, Australia
“Reading Dirt to Soil is like having a personal conversation with
Gabe Brown about the changes he witnessed as he put regenerative
practices into place on Brown’s Ranch. Most important is his clear
message about capturing the value of his system by marketing
directly to the consumer. In Gabe’s words, he ‘prefers to sign the
back of the check, not the front.’”—Dwayne Beck, PhD, manager,
Dakota Lakes Research Farm; professor of plant science, South
Dakota State University
“Civilization after civilization plowed itself out of prosperity by
degrading the soil. Gabe Brown’s inspiring story shows why
regenerative farming to rebuild healthy, fertile soil is not just
an academic theory—it’s already been done on farms like his.”—David
R. Montgomery, author of Dirt and Growing a Revolution
“Dirt to Soil is an inspiration! Gabe Brown offers a proven model
that will help other farmers improve their soils and our planet.
More and more growers are starting to realize that they must be
soil farmers first and foremost. Gabe helps us imagine what the
health of our planet would look like and how the profitability of
farms, both large and small, would improve if all of us shift the
way we practice agriculture. His message to mimic nature rather
than trying to fight against her resonates with everyone who cares
about the quality of our food and our future.”—Todd Colehour,
founder, Williams and Graham and Tribe Market
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