For all intents and purposes, Brendon Rockey farms in a desert where native soils have almost zero organic matter and precipitation is infrequent. But as bleak as that may sound, Rockey’s farm is actually thriving and biologically active.

Farming 400 acres of combinable crops on light ‘boys’ land between Cambridge and Newmarket, I’ve just had my third direct-drilled harvest. I’m 100% combinable, having been a sugarbeet grower since the days of hand hoeing, as well as offering a drilling and harvesting service with a 6-row tanker in the past.

Several years ago, a trip with friends to look at greenhouses led Loran Steinlage to a Mennonite farm. It was there that he started looking at his farming practices a little differently.