Mint2B Farm

Mint2B Farm Mint2B Farm began in Washington in 2014 and now thrives in South Carolina.

We honor the land, care for our animals with respect, and grow with practices that heal rather than harm—creating a little paradise for our family and community.

🌾 FARMERS — LET’S TALK CHEAP FENCING OPTIONS! 🌾Fencing prices are no joke anymore.Posts, wire, gates, clips, braces… bef...
09/04/2026

🌾 FARMERS — LET’S TALK CHEAP FENCING OPTIONS! 🌾

Fencing prices are no joke anymore.
Posts, wire, gates, clips, braces… before you know it, a “small pen” can turn into a pretty big bill.

So here’s one old-school option that can still save a farmer a lot of money:

Cut your own fence posts. 🌲

If you already have suitable timber on your property from clearing, thinning, storm damage, or pasture expansion, those trees may be able to become useful farm infrastructure instead of firewood or brush piles.
Have you ever made your own fence posts? If so, what species lasted the longest for you? 👇

At Mint2B Farm, this is the basic process I would use:

🌲 Choose the right wood.
Some woods naturally handle ground contact much better than others. Black locust, Osage orange and Eastern red cedar are well known for durability. Pine can work too, but untreated pine usually won’t last nearly as long in wet soil.

🪚 Cut them to size.

For many livestock pens, a post around 7 feet long gives you room to bury roughly 2½–3 feet while still leaving enough height above ground.
Corner and gate posts should be larger and stronger because they take most of the fence tension.

👉 Do you prefer round posts or split posts?
🌳 Peel the bark.

Removing the bark helps reduce places where moisture, insects and decay can settle in.
A drawknife works great, and green wood is often much easier to peel than fully dried wood.
👉 Anyone still use a drawknife for this?
☀️ Let them dry.

Stack the posts off the ground with airflow between them and keep them reasonably protected from rain while they season.

Drying time depends on the species, thickness and weather, so there isn't one magic number.

🛢️ Preserve the ground-contact section.
The area around the soil line usually takes the most abuse because it stays damp and repeatedly gets wet and dry.

Use a wood preservative specifically labeled for exterior or ground-contact use, following the label directions.

And one thing I personally would avoid: used motor oil or diesel. Those old remedies may be cheap, but I don't want them soaking into soil where livestock, gardens or groundwater may be involved.

👉 What preservative have you had the best luck with?

🔨 Set them properly.
For many basic livestock fences, burying posts around 2½–3 feet can be a starting point, but soil type, animal pressure, fence tension and post size all matter.
Corners and gates need proper bracing.
Then add whatever fencing works for your farm and budget — woven wire, field fence, electric, cattle panels or a combination.

💰 THIS is where the savings can really add up.
If you're already clearing trees, you're taking something that might otherwise be burned, chipped or left to rot and turning it into something useful.
Maybe you can't afford to fence 10 acres right now.

Fence one pen.

Then add another.

Replace posts when needed.

Build as the farm grows.

That’s one thing I strongly believe at Mint2B Farm:
🌱 Use what you already have.
🌱 Build what you can.
🌱 Repair before replacing.
🌱 Spend money where it matters most.

Now I want to hear from the seasoned farmers:
What is the cheapest fencing method you've used that actually held up?

And for the newer farmers:
What part of fencing is costing you the most right now — posts, wire, gates or labor?

Drop your tricks, photos and lessons learned below. 👇

Someone reading the comments may find the exact idea they need to finally get that next livestock pen built. ❤️🌾

Mint2B Farm

09/03/2026

🌾🇺🇸 THE NEW FERTILIZER EXPANSION PROGRAM — AND WHY LIVESTOCK FARMERS SHOULD PAY ATTENTION
By: Mint2B Farm

When most people hear the word fertilizer, they probably picture bags of commercial fertilizer being spread across a field.

But fertilizer can also come from something farmers have been using for generations:

Manure.

And that's why America's push to expand domestic fertilizer production could become interesting for more than just large crop farms.

The USDA's Fertilizer Investment & Expansion for Long-Term Domestic Supply (FIELDS) program is putting at least $500 million toward strengthening fertilizer production here in the United States.

Let's make that really simple.

🇺🇸 America wants to make more of the fertilizer American farmers need right here at home.

The goal is to increase domestic production, create more competition, strengthen our supply chain, and make American agriculture less dependent on fertilizer and fertilizer ingredients coming from overseas.

🌾 BUT WHAT ABOUT ORGANIC AND REGENERATIVE FARMS?

This is where people sometimes misunderstand the conversation.

Not every farmer depends heavily on conventional fertilizer.

Many livestock, organic and regenerative farms already produce a valuable fertilizer every single day:

Animal manure.

Cattle manure.

Chicken litter.

Horse manure.

Goat and sheep manure.

And other animal-based nutrients.

For generations, farmers have returned those nutrients to the soil.

Animals eat.

Animals produce manure.

That manure contains nutrients.

Those nutrients can be returned to the soil.

The soil grows another crop.

That's nutrient recycling — and farmers were doing it long before anyone gave it a fancy name.

💩 SO IS USDA GOING TO START BUYING MANURE FROM FARMERS?

No.

And this is an important distinction.

FIELDS is not a program where a farmer loads up a trailer of manure, takes it to USDA and gets a check.

Instead, USDA is helping expand American fertilizer manufacturing and processing capacity.

And that's where livestock farmers could potentially fit into the picture.

Imagine an independent fertilizer company opens or expands a processing facility near a farming community.

Instead of relying entirely on imported fertilizer ingredients, that company might manufacture fertilizer products using locally available materials.

One possible material?

Animal manure and poultry litter.

The farmer could potentially supply or sell that manure to the fertilizer processor.

The processor turns it into a more consistent, usable fertilizer product.

Then that fertilizer goes back into agriculture.

In simple terms:

🐄 Farm produces manure

⬇️

🏭 Fertilizer company processes it

⬇️

🌱 Manure becomes a fertilizer product

⬇️

🚜 Fertilizer goes back to farms

That's a pretty neat agricultural circle.

🇺🇸 AND THIS ISN'T JUST AN IDEA.

USDA has already supported fertilizer-expansion projects that use animal waste.

Previous USDA fertilizer-production investments have included projects involving poultry litter and dairy manure.

One example is right here in the Carolinas.

USDA previously awarded funding to expand a facility in Maxton, North Carolina, that processes poultry litter into fertilizer.

Think about what that means.

Something that can sometimes be a waste-management problem for one farmer can become a valuable agricultural input for another.

💰 COULD FARMERS ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY FROM THEIR MANURE?

Potentially — yes.

But there is an important catch.

FIELDS does not guarantee that someone will buy your manure, and USDA isn't setting a price for it.

A farmer would still need a fertilizer processor or other business willing to purchase or accept that material.

So the opportunity would depend heavily on whether processing facilities develop close enough to make collecting and transporting manure economically worthwhile.

But if America's manure-based fertilizer industry grows, it could potentially create new markets for livestock farmers.

Instead of asking:

“How much is it going to cost me to get rid of this manure?”

some farms could eventually be asking:

“Who wants to buy these nutrients?”

That's a very different conversation.

🌱 WHAT ABOUT ORGANIC FARMS?

Organic farms aren't being told they have to abandon manure, compost or other natural soil-building practices.

Quite the opposite — manure and compost remain important tools in organic agriculture when they're handled according to organic standards.

And farms that produce much of their own fertility may already have an advantage:

They're less dependent on something they have to purchase.

A farm that raises livestock, composts manure and returns those nutrients to its fields is creating part of its own fertilizer supply.

That's agricultural independence on a very small scale.

FIELDS is trying to strengthen that same idea on a much larger scale:

USE MORE OF WHAT AMERICA CAN PRODUCE FOR ITSELF.

That can mean expanding conventional domestic fertilizer production.

It can also mean supporting innovative fertilizer products and nutrient alternatives.

And as processing technology and infrastructure expand, agricultural waste streams such as manure can potentially become part of that domestic fertilizer supply.

🚜 WHY SHOULD THE AVERAGE FARMER CARE?

Because American farmers have watched the price of almost everything they need continue to matter more to their bottom line.

Fuel.

Feed.

Seed.

Equipment.

Parts.

Fertilizer.

When America depends heavily on a small number of suppliers or foreign sources for critical agricultural inputs, farmers become vulnerable to things completely outside their control.

Wars.

Trade disputes.

Shipping problems.

Plant shutdowns.

Energy prices.

International markets.

Supply shortages.

A stronger domestic fertilizer industry doesn't eliminate those problems.

But it gives American agriculture more options.

And more competition and more options are generally things farmers desperately need.

🌾 THE BIGGER PICTURE

This program isn't just about fertilizer.

It's about recognizing something we've forgotten for far too long:

A COUNTRY THAT WANTS FOOD SECURITY ALSO NEEDS AGRICULTURAL INPUT SECURITY.

We need American farmers.

But those farmers also need reliable fertilizer, feed, seed, fuel, equipment, processing, transportation and markets.

And wherever possible, we should be finding ways to turn resources we already have into resources agriculture needs.

That's why I'm particularly interested in what this could eventually mean for livestock farmers.

Because manure doesn't necessarily have to be viewed simply as waste.

It's nutrients.

And with the right processing, infrastructure and markets, those nutrients can have value.

Imagine strengthening American fertilizer production while simultaneously creating another potential market for American livestock farms.

That's the kind of agricultural investment that makes sense to me.

🇺🇸 American animals.
American nutrients.
American fertilizer.
American farms.

🌾 Keep the agricultural circle moving right here at home.

For Everyone Who Has Been Sitting on the Edge of Their Seat Waiting for an Update… Here It Is. 👀🌾Well, “bright and early...
09/03/2026

For Everyone Who Has Been Sitting on the Edge of Their Seat Waiting for an Update… Here It Is. 👀🌾

Well, “bright and early” came and went. 😂

They eventually arrived around 10:30 a.m., which, in my opinion, isn't exactly bright and early.

But by then, something much more important had happened.

After we made contact with the company's legal department, what felt to us like an attempted forced takeover of part of our farm was cancelled.

After what felt like a million phone calls, questions, and requests for documentation, we finally started getting clear answers — and some of those answers were very different from what we had previously been told.

One of the most important conversations was directly with SCDOT.

We had previously been told that the permits, measurements, and even our established property markers were basically “suggestions.”

So we asked SCDOT directly.

Their answer was NO.

We were told those permits are not simply suggestions. SCDOT also told us that its permit could not give a company legal rights to enter privately owned property outside of the state right-of-way.

Then we asked them to explain the actual measurements.

The information provided to us identified the applicable distance as 29.3 feet. The power poles are plotted along that measurement, with a 12-inch buffer extending to the backside of the pole.

That was incredibly important because now we had something concrete to compare with what we were seeing on the ground: the state's documentation, the 29.3-foot measurement, the pole location, the 12-inch buffer, our survey information, and our established property markers.

And thankfully, we have these conversations recorded and the state documents saved.

Then came one of the most confusing parts of this entire situation: the company's claimed ROE.

We had repeatedly been told that they already had an ROE — what they referred to as a “right of easement” — giving them rights involving our property.

Our response remained simple:

SHOW US THE ROE.

If this document already exists and gives you the rights you're claiming, produce it.

We repeatedly asked for it.

It was never produced for us.

Then, during another conversation, she told me that someone would likely come out and have me sign an ROE.

That immediately caught my attention.

Wait a minute.

That's the very document we've been asking you to produce.

We were being told an ROE already existed and gave them rights involving our property, yet now we were being told that someone would likely come out and have me sign one.

So naturally, my question became:

IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THE ROE YOU'VE BEEN CLAIMING GIVES YOU RIGHTS TO OUR PROPERTY, WHY WOULD YOU NEED ME TO SIGN ONE NOW?

If an existing ROE already grants the rights being claimed, then show us the existing document.

If my signature is needed on an ROE before those rights exist, that's an entirely different conversation.

And that's exactly why we kept asking questions instead of simply accepting what we were being told.

I was also specifically told by the company that easements would not be in my closing documents.

That statement didn't make me stop asking questions.

It made me ask MORE.

Our closing documents are some of the most valuable records we have concerning what we actually purchased.

Control of this property mattered tremendously to our family when we bought it. We paid what we did for this farm based, in part, on our understanding of the rights and restrictions affecting the property.

We have our deed.

We have our survey and plat information.

Our title attorney reviewed the property.

We've checked the deed records.

We've spoken with the deeds office.

So when I was told an easement wouldn't be in our closing documents, my response was pretty simple:

Okay. Then where IS it?

If someone is claiming a legal right across our private property, show us the document establishing that claimed right.

Who granted it?

When was it created?

Where is it recorded?

What property does it cover?

What exactly does it allow?

Where does it begin and end?

And most importantly:

CAN WE SEE IT?

When our title attorney can't locate the claimed right, the deeds office can't locate it, our property documents don't identify it, and the company claiming the right still can't produce the documentation we've repeatedly requested, we're not going to accept someone's verbal statement as proof.

Especially when we're simultaneously being told that someone may need to come out and have us sign the very ROE they claimed they already had.

Then came what felt like another attempt to convince us.

We were told that installation would be free if we allowed it now, but if we wanted the service later, it could be considerably more expensive.

We were also presented with the idea of boxes being placed throughout the property — potentially around every acre.

No.

We didn't purchase 47 acres so somebody else could decide where infrastructure would be placed throughout our farm.

And here's another important piece of this entire situation: the road itself.

The visible traveled portion of the road doesn't accurately represent the entire roadway anymore. Portions of the old roadbed sit beneath years of accumulated soil, and the currently traveled surface is so narrow that vehicles sometimes have to move toward the ditch just to pass one another.

That's the kicker.

Trying to determine these measurements simply by looking at where today's visible traveled surface happens to end doesn't make sense when portions of the actual roadway are now buried beneath the soil.

That's why we weren't satisfied with someone standing beside the road and saying, essentially, “it starts here.”

We wanted to know:

Where is the documented roadway?

Where does the official measurement begin?

Where does the 29.3-foot measurement end?

How does the 12-inch buffer extending to the backside of the pole apply?

And how does all of that compare with our established property markers and survey?

We didn't want guesses.

WE WANTED DOCUMENTATION.

And that brings me to probably the biggest lesson this entire experience has taught me.

Sometimes playing a little “dumb” is one of the smartest things you can do.

Instead of immediately telling someone why you believe they're wrong, ask them to explain themselves.

“Can you explain that to me?”

“Where does that measurement start?”

“What document gives you that right?”

“Where is it recorded?”

“Can I have a copy?”

“Does the SCDOT permit authorize you to leave the state right-of-way and enter privately owned property?”

“If you already have an ROE, why do you need me to sign an ROE?”

Then listen.

Don't give someone the answer you're looking for.

Let them explain their own position.

Because sometimes the more questions you ask, the clearer things become.

And sometimes one answer creates three more questions.

Above everything else:

DOCUMENT EVERYTHING.

Where legally permitted, record important conversations.

Save emails.

Take pictures.

Photograph your property markers.

Write down names, dates, times, companies, job titles, and what was said.

And protect your closing documents.

Your deed, survey, plat, title work, title insurance paperwork, and documents concerning easements and rights-of-way may become some of the most valuable records you own when someone claims rights over your property.

That's something I don't think enough landowners realize until they actually need those documents.

A person's memory of a conversation can be disputed.

A recording preserves what was actually said.

And after everything we've experienced, that's probably the biggest thing I hope another landowner takes away from our story:

DON'T CONFUSE CONFIDENCE WITH PROOF.

“We have an ROE.”

Okay.

Show me.

“We have the right to enter.”

Okay.

Show me what gives you that right.

“The state permitted us.”

Okay.

Then let's call the state and ask exactly what that permit allows.

That's what we did.

And after all the phone calls, the pressure, the claimed ROE, being told our property markers and the state's documentation were essentially “suggestions,” and being told they were coming bright and early…

Bright and early came and went.

Then 10:30 came. 😂

But by then, after contact with legal, the planned work across our farm had been cancelled.

So for everyone who has followed this crazy story and waited for the update:

We're still standing.

Our 47 acres remain what we worked and sacrificed to purchase:

Our land.
Our family's farm.
And one day, our children's land to protect. 🌾❤️

Know your property.

Keep your paperwork.

Ask questions.

Document everything.

And when someone claims to have a document giving them rights over your land, don't be afraid to ask the simplest question of all:

“CAN YOU SHOW ME?”

🚨🐐 RABIES IN GOATS?! THE PETTING-ZOO SCARE EVERY GOAT OWNER SHOULD KNOW ABOUTBy: Mint2B Farm When most of us think about...
09/02/2026

🚨🐐 RABIES IN GOATS?! THE PETTING-ZOO SCARE EVERY GOAT OWNER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
By: Mint2B Farm

When most of us think about rabies, we picture a raccoon, skunk, fox or maybe a bat.

We don't usually picture a baby goat at a petting zoo.

But that's exactly why a recent rabies scare involving young goats has caught so much attention — and why livestock owners should use it as an opportunity to learn.

Goats CAN contract rabies.

And one of the most concerning parts?

A rabid goat doesn't necessarily look like the snarling, aggressive animal most people associate with rabies.

It may simply start acting… different.

🐐 SO HOW DOES A GOAT GET RABIES?

Rabies is a virus that attacks the brain and nervous system. Goats can become infected when they're exposed to saliva from a rabid mammal.

A bite is the most obvious route, but infected saliva entering a fresh wound or contacting the eyes, nose or mouth can also be a concern.

For farms, some of the wildlife we regularly see can potentially carry rabies:

🦝 Raccoons
🦨 Skunks
🦊 Foxes
🦇 Bats

And here's something farmers need to remember:

You may never see the encounter happen.

A skunk can wander into a goat pen at 2:00 in the morning, have an encounter with a curious goat and be long gone before you ever walk outside.

That's why knowing what's NORMAL for your animals matters so much.

🚩 WHAT DOES RABIES LOOK LIKE IN A GOAT?

Rabies affects the nervous system, so symptoms can sometimes look like other illnesses.

Watch for sudden or unexplained changes such as:

⚠️ A major personality change
⚠️ Sudden aggression or unusual nervousness
⚠️ Acting unusually quiet or depressed
⚠️ Excessive or unusual bleating
⚠️ A change in the sound of the goat's voice
⚠️ Difficulty swallowing
⚠️ Excessive drooling
⚠️ Loss of appetite
⚠️ Trembling or muscle tremors
⚠️ Poor coordination
⚠️ Weakness
⚠️ Straining to urinate or defecate
⚠️ Progressive paralysis or inability to stand

🚨 AND NO — A RABID GOAT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE AGGRESSIVE.

That's an important misconception.

Some rabid animals develop the classic aggressive behavior people expect.

Others may become quiet, weak, withdrawn or progressively paralyzed.

So don't rely on aggression alone.

💦 WHY IS DROOLING SUCH A RED FLAG?

Rabies can interfere with the nerves and muscles an animal needs to swallow.

The goat may struggle to swallow its own saliva, causing excessive drooling.

And because rabies is transmitted through infected saliva, this is not the time to stick your hands into the animal's mouth trying to figure out what's wrong.

If a goat is suddenly showing unexplained neurological symptoms, particularly following possible wildlife exposure:

KEEP YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM ITS MOUTH AND SALIVA.

🧠 CAN A GOAT SURVIVE RABIES?

Once clinical rabies develops, the disease is almost always fatal.

You also cannot confirm rabies simply by looking at an animal.

If rabies is suspected, involve your veterinarian and appropriate animal-health or public-health authorities.

💉 WAIT… CAN WE VACCINATE GOATS FOR RABIES?

This is an excellent conversation to have with your veterinarian.

It may be especially worth discussing for:

🐐 Petting-zoo goats
🐐 Educational animals
🐐 Show goats
🐐 4-H and FFA animals
🐐 Bottle babies frequently handled by people
🐐 Pet goats
🐐 Goats living where rabies is present in local wildlife

Your veterinarian can help determine the appropriate vaccination protocol and explain how vaccination is handled for goats in your state.

🌾 PREVENTION DOESN'T STOP WITH A VACCINE

Good farm management matters.

✔️ Secure livestock pens as much as reasonably possible.

✔️ Don't leave feed or garbage accessible to wildlife.

✔️ Watch for unexplained bite wounds.

✔️ Keep farm dogs and cats appropriately vaccinated against rabies.

✔️ Don't encourage raccoons, skunks or other wildlife to congregate around livestock areas.

✔️ Teach children NEVER to approach strangely behaving wildlife.

✔️ Keep veterinary and vaccination records.

✔️ Know what normal behavior looks like for every animal you care for.

🚨 WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU SUSPECT RABIES?

Do NOT handle the animal's mouth or saliva with bare hands.

Keep people and other animals away and contact your veterinarian and the appropriate local authorities.

If someone is bitten, scratched, or potentially gets saliva from a suspected rabid animal into their eyes, nose, mouth or broken skin:

🧼 WASH THE AREA IMMEDIATELY WITH SOAP AND WATER AND SEEK PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL/PUBLIC-HEALTH GUIDANCE RIGHT AWAY.

Don't wait to see whether you become sick.

❤️ THE BIGGEST LESSON FROM THIS PETTING-ZOO SCARE

This isn't a reason to become afraid of goats.

And it isn't a reason to stop children from experiencing farms and agriculture.

It's a reason to become better educated.

The sweetest bottle baby is still an animal living in an environment shared with wildlife.

For those of us raising livestock, education and prevention are some of the greatest tools we have.

Know your animals.

Notice sudden changes.

Reduce wildlife exposure.

Talk to your veterinarian about prevention.

And don't dismiss rabies simply because the animal standing in front of you happens to be a goat.

🐐❤️ Rabies in goats may be uncommon — but uncommon does NOT mean impossible.

— Mint2B Farm 🌿

Growing animals, knowledge and responsible farm stewardship together.

09/02/2026

🥬🌱 THE SAGA OF SOGGY SAUERKRAUT: A MILLION-DOLLAR LESSON FROM THE SOIL UP 🌱🥬
By: Mint2B Farm

Sometimes the best lessons in agriculture come from the strangest problems.

In 2022, an organic sauerkraut processor faced a very expensive mystery. Cabbage that should have fermented into firm, crisp sauerkraut instead became soft, soggy and mushy.

The estimated loss?

Around $1 MILLION worth of product.
Yes… a million dollars in soggy sauerkraut. 😳🥬
But what makes this story so interesting isn't simply that the sauerkraut failed. It's how far researchers had to trace the problem backward to understand what may have happened.

Their investigation was eventually published in the peer-reviewed journal HortScience in 2024 under the very fitting title, "Saga of Soggy Sauerkraut."

🌱 IT DIDN'T START WITH THE SAUERKRAUT
When sauerkraut turns mushy, most of us would probably assume something went wrong during fermentation.

Was the salt wrong?

Was the temperature wrong?

Was there a problem with the fermentation bacteria?

Researchers investigated the problem and instead found something interesting in the cabbage itself.
The affected cabbage showed deficiencies in several important micronutrients, including iron, manganese, copper, zinc and boron.

We often talk about nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium when discussing plant nutrition, but plants need much more than N-P-K.

Micronutrients are needed in smaller quantities, but that doesn't make them unimportant.

The researchers connected the mineral deficiencies they observed with problems involving the structural integrity of the cabbage.

In simple terms, the cabbage could grow, look normal enough to harvest and make it all the way to the processing plant...

But something wasn't right inside the plant.
Fermentation helped expose it.

🐓 THEN THE INVESTIGATION LED BACK TO POULTRY MANURE

The organic cabbage fields had been fertilized using poultry manure.

There's nothing unusual about that. Manure has been returned to agricultural fields for generations and can be a wonderful way of recycling nutrients and organic matter back into the soil.

But according to the study, investigators identified glyphosate residues associated with manure used in the production system.

That raises an obvious question:

How does glyphosate become part of a story involving organically grown cabbage?

The researchers investigated the conventional grain consumed by the chickens and turkeys producing the manure.

Their proposed pathway looked something like this:
🌾 Conventional grain
⬇️
🐓 Poultry feed
⬇️
💩 Poultry manure
⬇️
🌱 Organic cabbage field
⬇️
🥬 Cabbage
⬇️
🫙 Sauerkraut

That distinction is important.
The study wasn't simply claiming that someone sprayed the organic cabbage with glyphosate.
Instead, researchers were looking at something that may have entered the growing system indirectly through an agricultural input.

🧪 SO WHAT DID MICRONUTRIENTS HAVE TO DO WITH IT?

Glyphosate is capable of interacting with certain metal ions through a process known as chelation.

The researchers proposed that residues in the system contributed to problems with micronutrient availability, which in turn contributed to the deficiencies they observed in the cabbage.

Those minerals help plants perform important biological functions and develop healthy tissues.
According to the researchers' explanation, the cabbage's weakened structural integrity became particularly apparent during fermentation.

The cabbage looked like cabbage.

It grew like cabbage.

It was harvested like cabbage.

But put it through fermentation and...

MUSH. 🥬😂

🚜 HERE'S THE PART I THINK FARMERS SHOULD REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO

The lesson I take from this study isn't simply:
"Glyphosate makes sauerkraut soggy."
That's far too simple.

Agricultural systems are complicated, and broader scientific claims about exactly how glyphosate affects mineral nutrition in plants remain debated.
The much bigger lesson for me is this:

KNOW THE HISTORY OF WHAT YOU BRING ONTO YOUR FARM.

A farm isn't a closed system.
Think about everything we may bring through our gates:
🌾 Livestock feed
🌱 Hay
💩 Manure
🍂 Compost
🪵 Bedding and straw
🌿 Soil amendments
🐓 Livestock raised somewhere else

Every single one of those things had a life BEFORE it arrived on our property.

Where was the hay grown?

What was sprayed on it?

What did the animals producing that manure eat?

What's actually in the compost we're buying?

Where did our livestock feed ingredients originate?

What are we unknowingly introducing into our soil?

That doesn't mean we should become afraid of manure, compost, hay or outside inputs.

It means we should become EDUCATED about them.
Ask questions.

Know your sources.

Test your soil.

Watch your plants.

Learn to recognize nutrient deficiencies.

And when something doesn't make sense, don't be afraid to follow the trail backward.

🌱 SOIL HEALTH IS ABOUT SO MUCH MORE THAN N-P-K

This is one of the reasons we're so interested in regenerative farming here at Mint2B Farm.

I don't simply want to see something green growing above the ground.

I want to understand what's happening UNDERNEATH it.

Soil isn't just dirt holding a plant upright.
It's a complicated biological and chemical system filled with relationships we are still learning to understand.

And everything is connected.
The soil feeds the plant.
The plant feeds the animal.
The animal can return nutrients to the soil.
And eventually, that entire system helps feed us.

🥬 ONE SOGGY CABBAGE. ONE HUGE FARMING LESSON.

Think about where this investigation started:
A vat of bad sauerkraut.

Then researchers followed the problem backward...

From the sauerkraut...
⬇️
To the cabbage...
⬇️
To its mineral status...
⬇️
To the soil...
⬇️
To poultry manure...
⬇️
And ultimately to agricultural practices occurring farther back in the production chain.

That's pretty incredible.
Whether you're farming one acre or one thousand, I think there's a valuable lesson here:

🌱 EVERYTHING IN AGRICULTURE IS CONNECTED. 🌱

What we feed our animals matters.
What we put back into our soil matters.
What we bring onto our farms matters.
And what's happening beneath our feet matters.
Sometimes those connections aren't immediately visible.

Sometimes it takes about $1 MILLION worth of soggy sauerkraut to make someone start looking. 😂🥬

— Mint2B Farm 🌱

Growing. Learning. Teaching. And always looking at farming from the soil up.

Address

Saint Stephen, SC

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mint2B Farm posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Mint2B Farm:

Shortcuts

Share