Sam and Lyle Harvey of Windy Acres Farm, along with their brood

Sam and Lyle Harvey of Windy Acres Farm, along with their brood

Sam and Lyle Harvey: from raising chickens in a bathtub to running a 450-acre farm, these next generation farmers are on a mission to create better food and a sustainable planet

Before becoming a bona fide farmer at the age of 30, Sam had explored a variety of professional interests before he found what he considers his true calling: to make our food and the earth more sustainable for future generations. His idea was first sparked by Michael Pollan’s 2006 book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and in 2010 he and his wife, Lyle, moved back to his native Tennessee to raise free-range chickens and grass-fed livestock on a small plot of land outside of Nashville.

It seemed like an ideal dream except for the fact that Sam knew very little about sustainable farming, despite growing up on a dairy farm. Although he was driven by a clear purpose, the journey wasn’t easy: he and Lyle first learned how to raise chickens by watching YouTube videos and kept the baby chicks warm in their bathtub when they started out. They worked tirelessly for the next ten years, and through challenges and uncertainty, they never strayed from their mission as stewards of the soil, animals, and land, using sustainable and regenerative farming principles.

Their commitment was honored at the beginning of 2020 when they were asked to carry on the legacy of Windy Acres Farm, a 450-acre sustainable farm founded by Alfred and Carney Farris in 1985. Under their management, the farm is now one of the first in the country to be operated through a partnership with the Agrarian Trust, a nonprofit which aims to protect and preserve small family farms for future generations.

While Sam and Lyle know it’s very unlikely that many people would follow in their footsteps as professional farmers, they believe we all have the power to make daily choices that will help us thrive as healthier individuals and communities.

How did you find your way to farming as a profession?

We started very naively after we read The Omnivore’s Dilemma around 2007. We couldn’t escape the idea that our food is the foundation of our existence and that those small, individual choices that we each make every day actually have the power to change our lives and the planet for the better. Our health, vitality, and environment is directly related to the integrity of our food supply and we wanted to make a difference by providing healthy options for people while preserving the land we use.

How has your idea of sustainable farming evolved over the past 10 years?

It’s changed dramatically because the issues of climate change and environmental destruction are happening in real-time. Ten years ago, it was viewed as a hypothetical future, but now it’s all around us. Sustainable farming is one way that we can provide locally produced food, which saves resources (gas transport, carbon production, and so on) while minimizing toxins in our diets. Regenerative farming takes it an extra step and actually helps remove carbon from the air, putting it back into our soil where it builds nutrients for future farming. The key to regenerative farming is rotational grazing which means moving the animals often in order to give the soil time to recover and the grass time to grow deeper roots. In this way, we aren’t depleting the soil over time.

What should the average shopper know about buying organic foods?

Going into a grocery store and buying an organic apple over a conventional apple is a start. We at least know, or hope, that it isn’t grown with toxins. But the fact is that large farms rarely operate with regenerative farming practices, meaning they’re overgrazing and over-farming the soil to the point where the food is actually nutrient depleted. That’s why fruits and vegetables can often taste bland.

How can people incorporate more truly sustainable food into their diets?

The best way is to find a local farm. Farmers markets and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) co-ops are a great place to look. If you can meet the farmers, ask them questions such as how they fertilize their crops, whether they use chemicals, and for meat and poultry, whether or not their animals are pasture-raised and rotationally grazed. And of course, you can always grow your own garden, which we highly recommend! If you don’t have your own space, community gardens are a great way to get the support and knowledge of fellow community farmers.

A note of gratitude: I am so grateful to Sam and Lyle for sharing their story and mission with me for this profile. I agree that our food choices are one way we can start today to take charge of our lives and well-being. I’m inspired by many of their ideas and hope that you are, too. I’ve provided some resources and links in the left column for your reference. Thank you for reading and happy eating!