((PKG)) SALVATION THROUGH THE SOIL
((TRT: 07:20))
((Topic Banner: Salvation Through the Soil))
((Reporter/Camera/Editor: Jeff Swicord))
((Map: Knoxville, Maryland))
((Main character: 1 male))
((Sub character: 1 male))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
I was five years old when my father bought the farm here. We
moved over the winter of 1966, ‘67. Father moved here because
of church work. He was a preacher and this was hillbilly country.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
My dad and I went into partnership when I was 18. He gave me
five cows and that’s kind of how I got started. Farming is, it’s not a
job. It’s a lifestyle. As I look back over my life, it was great to be in
connection with the creation, okay. And that put me in connection
with the Creator God.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
This farm here is 118 acres [48 hectares] and we try to utilize
everything. We totally graze this farm. We have about 70 or 80
mature cows. We milk the cows and then we raise the baby
calves up to five months old here on this farm.
I had heard some teaching in the early 90’s and it was, “How do
you give God the farm and let him direct the path?”
The organic came along and I sensed God saying, “Look at this.” I
began to understand how the cows and grass worked together.
And so, in a conventional world, where they are feeding 20
pounds [9 kilos] of grain, and they computerize their rations to
produce as much milk as they need,
and it changes actually the components in the milk. Her omega-6,
the bad fat, it goes up and it might go 1 to 10. If they are really
heavy grained, it’s 1 to 20.
((NATS: Michael Busselberg))
Come on sweetie.
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
So, God made a cow to eat grass. Whenever you feed all grass,
the omega-6s and omega-3s are balanced at 1.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
It’s nothing for their cows to give a 100 pounds [45 kilos] of milk a
day. That’s normal. Ours might be averaging 40 [18 kilos]. We
have more quality, not as much quantity. So, it does make our
product stand a little bit out from the norm. ((NATS/MUSIC))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
When this whole grazing thing came in, I began to understand the
biology in the soil and how the conventional farming were killing
off some biology. I began to look and say, “Is this the best we can
do?”
On this farm, we start our rotation at a certain place, so that we
can set a pattern for the year. So, we are either grazing one acre
[0.4 hectares] a day. We definitely switch them every 12 hours. In
the heavy growth times, we’re actually switching them every hour
or two. We’re giving them new grass.
As she slobbers across that grass as she is lapping in grass, it’s
full of bugs. Same way, the cow’s rumen, her stomach, is full of
bugs. And they don’t know too much about this, but they are
learning more: how they talk to each other and the biology in the
soil, the bugs we can’t see and the bugs in their saliva. They
interreact with each other ‘til it actually speeds up the grass
growth. It’s just the next new thing. It’s cool.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))
Been laying in the barn, huh. We got a big brush in the barn.
They like to go scratch on it.
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))
When you’re dealing with animals, they are a creature of habit.
They all have different personalities. Most of them are pretty
friendly. Certain cows will be a little bit more jumpy. When they
are given the opportunity to actually play, they will play with you.
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))
The cow that we were looking at, she basically just has a very
strong, forward personality and she wants to be up close to you
and she wants to be touched. She wants to be petted. She wants
you to know and acknowledge she’s there.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))
We want them to be stress free. I’m not hitting them. I’m not
pressuring them. And if we have animals that are under a high
level of stress, they are going to perform less as far as their milk
production because those stress hormones are released and that
affects their ability to be able to make milk the highest quality as
far as butterfat and protein.
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))
You push your way around. You’re almost like a pet says, “I don’t
want to be told what to do, huh?” Don’t take out the tripod.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
Regenerative farming can be more profitable too. It’s like any
other business. You have to watch your inputs. But for us, we
don’t cultivate the land, so we’re not spending money doing that.
We’re not spraying, so we’re not spending money on chemicals.
We’re not fertilizing. So we are selling cows. We are selling dairy
cows. We’re selling beef cows. We’re selling cows as we make
replacements because every year, we raise replacements,
animals.
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
We’re trying to maximize the income from the land-base we have.
We want to direct market our product. We feel like we can still
stay small. We can still provide a living for two families. That way,
it’ not stressful for anybody.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
There is so much that we can tell the world about salvation
through the soil. Every spring like we have right now, it’s a new
birth, just like we were born again with his spirit. And I really enjoy
it when I get connected with God because he is the one that
created it. And so that puts me back in connection with the soil.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((TRT: 07:20))
((Topic Banner: Salvation Through the Soil))
((Reporter/Camera/Editor: Jeff Swicord))
((Map: Knoxville, Maryland))
((Main character: 1 male))
((Sub character: 1 male))
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
I was five years old when my father bought the farm here. We
moved over the winter of 1966, ‘67. Father moved here because
of church work. He was a preacher and this was hillbilly country.
((MUSIC/NATS))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
My dad and I went into partnership when I was 18. He gave me
five cows and that’s kind of how I got started. Farming is, it’s not a
job. It’s a lifestyle. As I look back over my life, it was great to be in
connection with the creation, okay. And that put me in connection
with the Creator God.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
This farm here is 118 acres [48 hectares] and we try to utilize
everything. We totally graze this farm. We have about 70 or 80
mature cows. We milk the cows and then we raise the baby
calves up to five months old here on this farm.
I had heard some teaching in the early 90’s and it was, “How do
you give God the farm and let him direct the path?”
The organic came along and I sensed God saying, “Look at this.” I
began to understand how the cows and grass worked together.
And so, in a conventional world, where they are feeding 20
pounds [9 kilos] of grain, and they computerize their rations to
produce as much milk as they need,
and it changes actually the components in the milk. Her omega-6,
the bad fat, it goes up and it might go 1 to 10. If they are really
heavy grained, it’s 1 to 20.
((NATS: Michael Busselberg))
Come on sweetie.
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
So, God made a cow to eat grass. Whenever you feed all grass,
the omega-6s and omega-3s are balanced at 1.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
It’s nothing for their cows to give a 100 pounds [45 kilos] of milk a
day. That’s normal. Ours might be averaging 40 [18 kilos]. We
have more quality, not as much quantity. So, it does make our
product stand a little bit out from the norm. ((NATS/MUSIC))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
When this whole grazing thing came in, I began to understand the
biology in the soil and how the conventional farming were killing
off some biology. I began to look and say, “Is this the best we can
do?”
On this farm, we start our rotation at a certain place, so that we
can set a pattern for the year. So, we are either grazing one acre
[0.4 hectares] a day. We definitely switch them every 12 hours. In
the heavy growth times, we’re actually switching them every hour
or two. We’re giving them new grass.
As she slobbers across that grass as she is lapping in grass, it’s
full of bugs. Same way, the cow’s rumen, her stomach, is full of
bugs. And they don’t know too much about this, but they are
learning more: how they talk to each other and the biology in the
soil, the bugs we can’t see and the bugs in their saliva. They
interreact with each other ‘til it actually speeds up the grass
growth. It’s just the next new thing. It’s cool.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))
Been laying in the barn, huh. We got a big brush in the barn.
They like to go scratch on it.
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))
When you’re dealing with animals, they are a creature of habit.
They all have different personalities. Most of them are pretty
friendly. Certain cows will be a little bit more jumpy. When they
are given the opportunity to actually play, they will play with you.
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))
The cow that we were looking at, she basically just has a very
strong, forward personality and she wants to be up close to you
and she wants to be touched. She wants to be petted. She wants
you to know and acknowledge she’s there.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))
We want them to be stress free. I’m not hitting them. I’m not
pressuring them. And if we have animals that are under a high
level of stress, they are going to perform less as far as their milk
production because those stress hormones are released and that
affects their ability to be able to make milk the highest quality as
far as butterfat and protein.
((Michael Busselberg, Assistant Farm Manager))
You push your way around. You’re almost like a pet says, “I don’t
want to be told what to do, huh?” Don’t take out the tripod.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
Regenerative farming can be more profitable too. It’s like any
other business. You have to watch your inputs. But for us, we
don’t cultivate the land, so we’re not spending money doing that.
We’re not spraying, so we’re not spending money on chemicals.
We’re not fertilizing. So we are selling cows. We are selling dairy
cows. We’re selling beef cows. We’re selling cows as we make
replacements because every year, we raise replacements,
animals.
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
We’re trying to maximize the income from the land-base we have.
We want to direct market our product. We feel like we can still
stay small. We can still provide a living for two families. That way,
it’ not stressful for anybody.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Myron Martin, Dairy Farmer))
There is so much that we can tell the world about salvation
through the soil. Every spring like we have right now, it’s a new
birth, just like we were born again with his spirit. And I really enjoy
it when I get connected with God because he is the one that
created it. And so that puts me back in connection with the soil.
((NATS/MUSIC))
