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MAX, N.D. (KXNET) — Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to farming and food systems — essentially, it is farming and ranching, working right alongside nature.
This type of agricultural work aims to nurture and restore soil health, protect the climate and water resources, and enhance a farm’s productivity and profitability.
“I think we were at the point where we needed to cut back and things needed to get simple,” said farmer and co-owner of Guardian Grains DeAnna Lozensky. “And the way we farm, we try to farm with nature, and if we try to do that, things get simpler, and we had more free time to spend as a family.”
The Lozensky’s practice regenerative farming on their 2,200 acres of land in Max.
It’s true that regenerative agriculture looks different at every operation when it comes to farming and ranching, but the Lozenskys’ strategy is one that could be seen as unusual to some. They don’t till or keep the soil covered and don’t use fertilizers, insecticides, or fungicides.
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“Regenerative farming is on a spectrum,” Lozensky explained. “We focus on carbon being an important energy source for our microbial life and our plants. The plants basically draw in the carbon from the atmosphere, sequester it in the soil, and keep it safe. And we use it to power our crop for the entire year.”
The Lozensky’s grow peas, barley, oats, spelt, wheat, and more. While most of their wheat goes to the local grain elevator, in recent years, they have also begun to sell wheat berries, flour, and artisan pasta, online made using the rest of their supply.
Now, the farm is shipping grain, flour, and pasta, all over the country and even to Canada under the name Guardian Grains.
“Guardian Grains started out a couple of years ago as a way to offer the grains we grow direct to consumer,” Lozensky said, “and it started with one 35-pound bucket to my very first customer from Kenmare.”
Guardian Grains does use pre-plant and if needed, early three to four-leaf stage herbicides. The organization also bioprimes its seeds with indigenous microorganisms, which create a disease and pest-suppressive soil system.
