Innovation

Soil Friends' mission statement is, “We are passionate about driving sustainable innovations into farming to increase the access of nutrient dense foods.” The organization takes several steps to set themselves apart environmentally. Soil Friends' regenerative agriculture system enables them to produce nutrient-dense food while making the farmland healthier for the future. The typical farmer in the southwest Michigan area plants hundreds of acres of food and relies on mechanization, pesticides, and large irrigation systems. These types of methods deplete nutrients from the soil, waste water, and pollute the air and ground. Soil Friends' method of farming "increases the ecological activity in the soil," according to the statement. It holds more water and nutrients and gives the plants what they need at whatever stage they need it.

One of the newer innovations Soil Friends uses is a drip irrigation system which is a low pressure, low volume water system that delivers the water in a drip method. The main benefit of this system is it uses less water than traditional irrigation systems, and is easier to control what area the water is reaching.

The farm does not use harmful pesticides or weed killers on any of the produce to keep the food and the land healthy. Soil Friends plants grass wherever actual food is not being grown to reduce the number of weeds that pop up. They then pull all of the weeds that are actually in the food beds by hand. Furthermore, they have bee hives on the property to naturally pollinate the farm. Soil Friends stays away from harmful farming practices in order to produce quality food and preserve the land for years to come.

Soil Friends also uses community supported agriculture in order to provide fresh locally grown produce to members of their community. The program allows members of the community to purchase a package for the season. They pay up front and then depending on the package purchased, customers get a box of fresh vegetables once every week or two. This way the farm can give local residents food the freshest, best tasting vegetables possible. If the member does not pick up their food, it is donated to the local food bank.

Inspiration

Ben Martin, the entrepreneur and owner of Soil friends, said that he was first inspired to start the business when he joined the food marketing program at Western Michigan University. He grew up in a family that ran the local meat market, so he had been around the food industry for a long time. Martin never had an interest in the meat industry but while in school he decided that growing his own food could be very beneficial.

While at WMU, he tried maintaining a healthy lifestyle. After working out at the gym he would try to eat healthy because he realized that the main source for maintaining a healthy life was eating healthy food. But he noticed that there were not many quality foods offered. This is when he decided that he would start a garden and produce some of his own food.

Martin was fortunate enough to have met a group of Amish at his family's meat market. Passionate to learn about their natural farming methods, he spent two years going to Amish farms in order to learn about some of the different techniques they used to produce healthy, nutrient-dense food. The Amish believed they could fight illness with good nutrition. This inspired him to feed his family a healthier diet.

Armed with this knowledge, Martin and his partner Sarah began to grow their own vegetables and fruits on a quarter acre plot, selling them at their roadside stand. Once he graduated with his college degree, the two of them grew their garden into a 23-acre produce farm.

Overall impact

Soil Friends focuses on feeding local consumers nutrient-dense food while using a sustainable and regenerative agriculture system in order to give back to both the land and the community. Their healthy farming practices enable them to provide consumers with a healthy food option. Last year, their second in business, they sold over $250,000 worth of produce, and they now have 36 people signed up to get weekly veggie boxes.

Their agricultural techniques make their farmland healthier than it was before they started growing food. They pay close attention to each set up crops and make sure that they have exactly what they need at each stage of growth. That combined with the lack of chemicals, increases the ecological activity in the soil which, in turn, allows the soil to hold more water and nutrients.

Soil Friends also impacts the local area by donating food to local food banks. The innovations and practices that Soil Friends uses could help other farms to produce a healthier product while also preserving the land for future generations of farmers.

Business benefit

The sustainable innovations Soil Friends uses to grow food enables them to continue to grow local healthy food on the same land in the future. The regenerative agricultural program makes the soil healthier which means they will be able to use the land longer, and they will not have to buy new land or spend money regenerating the soil, unless they want to increase their acreage in the future. The drip irrigation system also allows them to use less water than traditional broadcast irrigation systems. This means that they are saving money on utilities.

Soil Friends sells everything within 100 miles. Some of their products are found at local health food or grocery stores and some can be purchased directly at the farm. This means they are able to pick everything at its peak maturity, which increases the flavor of the food, and the value. They also sell their produce using a community supported agriculture program. This program enables them to create long term relationships with members of the community.

Social and environmental benefit

Soil Friends uses a regenerative agricultural system in order to create healthier soil for the future. Most farmers today use farming practices that deplete the soil. When farmers use fertilizers, weed killers, pesticides, tractors and other technologies, they end up taking nutrients out of the soil and compromising the soil for future generations. Soil Friends does not use weed killers, pesticides or fertilizers when growing their food. They do use tractors for tilling the land and hauling food. If they did not use the available technology for at least these purposes it would not be scalable. However, they pick the weeds out of the actual plant areas by hand. They also plant grass in any of the areas that do not have actual food, in order to keep weeds from growing rapidly.

Soil Friends also uses a drip irrigation system, which puts water directly into the ground. This makes it so the water goes directly where is needs to go and does not evaporate. This innovation saves on water usage.

This community farm’s food is only sold within 100 miles of the farm. Everything is fresh and local. They use a community supported agriculture program to sell some produce to members of the community. They say this program helps them form relationships within their communities, and then “this relationship creates powerful opportunities between community members and the farm to secure access to nutrient-dense foods by working through the risk and sharing the benefits, building a better farm for the future," Martin said. Soil Friends also donates thousands of pounds of food to the local food bank. Their goal is to use their sustainable practices to give back to both the land and the community.

Interview

Ben Martin, Owner