James BarryCEO | Chef | Founder of Pluck | Host of Everyday Ancestral | 20+ year Pro Chef Health, Wellness, & Curiosity

The Future of Farming Lies in the Past

31 Jul 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:55

In this brief interview, Speaker B explains their farm’s transition to fully regenerative agriculture, emphasizing that they no longer use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. They describe how cattle naturally fertilize the grass they graze, reducing the need for heavy machinery. Speaker A contrasts this approach with conventional ranch aesthetics that aim for flat, golf‑course‑like pastures, noting that the natural ripples, depressions, and varied terrain of the Blackland Prairie retain water and recharge the soil more effectively than leveled land. The discussion highlights the importance of allowing the land’s inherent terracing processes to occur rather than imposing artificial flatness.

Regenerative farming. What is it? What does it mean? And how does it look from your perspective?
We've gone completely regenerative, which means we don't use any fertilizers, pesticides. It's the way the natural ecosystem should work. The cattle eat the grass, fertilize the grass, that sort of supports the ecosystem. So there's no need for real tractors.
We get flack because most ranches, they want their pastures to look like golf courses. If you look at what the Blackland Prairie does when it dries out, it's going to be nothing but ripples and divots and holes. Tells that the ground is thirsty. So if everything was level and flat, just like concrete, it would all drain off a lot easier. With all the little depressions and different terrain features, you have areas that will hold water and will recharge the system a lot better than you would if it was just flat. Mankind's been putting in terraces for a while in farming, but the ground has its own way of doing that, and so you kind of have to allow it to happen.