Growing up, my father told stories of “the farm,” where he and his siblings spent their summers working and living with Grandma Murphy. As a suburban child, this notion was as foreign to me as spending summers in a far-off land; but, it came with truly American associations. We have always been a country centered on agriculture. Farms dominate our landscape and our state economies. Farms also help us to understand and address the changing climate. As we learn more about the earth and ways that we can do our part to respect it, we have also learned that agriculture in America is the tip of the spear. Our food systems have the potential to dramatically improve the land. Which, in turn, has led to the rise of regenerative agriculture.
This week, we meet one of Maine’s pioneering families in the movement to make our food – and our planet – healthier. The Jackson family uses regenerative farming techniques to restore the land, capture carbon, increase the harvest, and feed their community with nutrient-rich food. Check out our Made in America: Farms Across America to learn how Jackson Regenerational Farm reduces waste, offsets harmful methane in the atmosphere, and turns our food scraps into future food.