Adam Brown
Imagine if there was a food system that actually produced healthy foods. Imagine it produced its food in a way that regenerated the soil in which it grew. Imagine being able to eat it at every meal knowing a few simple things: Where does it come from? how it ended up on your plate.
At the northern end of Lake Torch there is a place where this type of regenerative food system exists. A place where people work tirelessly to build relationships with the lush lands and the people they nourish. The place is called Providence Organic Farm. Founded in 2006, Providence Organic Farms uses organic farming practices to focus on living soil to produce healthy crops and distribute them to communities.
This is where the foundations of soil health principles are applied with precision and care season after season. You’ll see fields of diverse cover crop mixes, practices that minimize soil disturbance, plants that live as long as the sun shines, and mixed pastures where several livestock species graze. Proper soil health management practices are not neglected by owner and farm manager Ryan Romeyn and his talented team. Romeyn understands that his soil is alive with diverse microbes and how valuable they are to healthy soil function and the health of his crops.
Soils managed in this way create and maintain a stable soil assemblage, much like a microscopic ecosystem, allowing water to permeate and permeate the soil and make it available to plant roots. These soil organisms are both the driving force of nutrient cycling and a key variable in ensuring that minerals in the soil reach the plants. Without a healthy soil microbiome, no agricultural system can function properly.
For nearly 20 years, Providence Farms soils have been managed with the philosophy of ‘soil as a living biological system’. There is a saying in agriculture that healthy soil produces healthy plants. Controversy has long surrounded the issue of nutritional differences between organically grown crops and those grown using conventional methods.There is extensive research dating back to the 1940s, The Rodale Institute, a non-profit organization based in Pennsylvania, has spent the past 70 years teaching consumers and producers about agriculture through rigorous research. has been dedicated to educating about The Rodale Institute Agricultural Systems Trial is the longest and most notable study of the impact of agricultural practices on the nutritional quality of food (Hepperly et al., 2018).
Since 1981, the Rodale Institute has grown the same crop on side-by-side plots to compare organic and conventional farming methods at field scale. By 2003, soil organic matter and nitrogen levels increased significantly in the organic plots. In 2005 he found that vegetables grown in the two systems also had significant differences in mineral content. Organically grown crops had more total antioxidants and vitamin C. Organically grown tomatoes and jalapeno peppers had 36% and 18% more vitamin C, respectively. Carrots had 29% higher total antioxidant levels. Nourishing the soil (microbes) to produce sensible crops is perhaps not a fallacy, but a practice more growers should adopt, and what is this pale blue dot we call home? It can be argued to be essential to a sustainable food system that can feed a billion people.Yes, the system that Providence Farm utilizes is scalable!
Providence Organic Farms sells organically grown produce through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Model Programs, retail outlets and wholesale outlets with hundreds of members. To complete their community food web, they recently added a Natural Food Market and an idyllic cafe. If you want the most sincere and honest farm-to-table experience, this is definitely the place to eat. The menu is created with a deep passion for creating healthy meals. Owner and passionate food enthusiast, Andrea Romeyn and her team in the kitchen are masters at transforming fresh, organic and nutritious foods into delicious hearty soups and more.
Vegans and carnivores can mingle with fun options to suit every palate. Visit our pop-up menu café for unique stir-fries and authentic tacos. Be part of the Providence Farm family and enjoy the passion that goes into their recipes, eating ingredients that are grown with the utmost care, time and effort.
When you sit down to eat at the Providence Farm Cafe, you are making smart choices for your own health and the future health of the model farm operations that more growers in this country need to adopt. You are choosing to eat a diet that includes purpose-grown ingredients, ethically-raised animals, and people who are passionate about feeding you. and vote on food costs to select the best option for the overall health of the land.
As well as imagining such a food system that produces wholesome food, the ideal model is working and available here on the shores of Torch Lake.
Grab a soup, staple organic veggies, grass-fed animal protein, or an espresso drink, raise your mug, and celebrate our community’s essential food artisans. Providence Organic Farm, Cafe & The Natural Food Market is located at 5695 North M-88.
Adam Brown is an engineer for the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program and belongs to the Leelanau Conservation Area. He has a background in ecology and holds a BA in Earth Sciences from Western Michigan University with minors in Environmental Studies and Biology. Prior to becoming a MAEAP Technician, he owned and managed a certified organic fruit and vegetable farm with his wife Haley Breniser called his Undertoe Farm in Kewadine. He is passionate about sustainable agriculture with a focus on soil health.
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