Regenerative agriculture is a system of farming principles and operations that increases biodiversity, replenishes soils, improves watersheds, and inflates ecosystems services. Regenerative agriculture aims to increase carbon contents of soil along with the aboveground biomass in an attempt to reverse atmospheric accumulation trends.
There are three main practices that Rieger Farms incorporates and carries out during each growing season. These progressive practices include organic annual cropping, holistically managed grazing, and crop-livestock integration.
Organic Farming
Organic farming can be defined as an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. Organic annual cropping contradicts current conventional farming methods through the rejection of pesticide use and genetically modified seed.
Our operation has taken a turn for the better as we look to the future of farming in hopes to elevate the health of our soil and increase our invertebrate population. Organic farming requires an intense amount of labor as well as a degree of meticulousness to prevent any types of cross-contamination. Our organics operation focuses upon producing the highest quality food source for our consumers.
Crop-livestock integration
Holistically managed grazing seeks to restore grassland ecosystems by using livestock as a proxy for the wild herds of grazing ruminants that the prairies of the world co-evolved with and depend on. On our farm we also raise grass-fed black-angus cattle that are free ranged and inverted into our holistic operation.
