How We Regenerate Our Land
Why Soil Health Matters: How Regenerative Farming Creates More Nutritious Food
At Wanderment Farms, we believe that truly nourishing food begins long before harvest—it begins in the soil. Healthy soil is a living ecosystem, rich with billions of microorganisms, fungi, worms, and organic matter working in harmony. When soil is alive, it’s able to cycle nutrients, store water, breathe, and regenerate itself naturally. And those biological processes translate directly into the nutrient density of the food grown in it.
Industrial agriculture has stripped soil of this vitality through tilling, fertilizers, and monocropping, leaving behind dirt—lifeless, compacted, depleted. But when we rebuild soil through regenerative practices like no-till, mulching, biodiversity, rotational grazing, and compost, we restore its ability to support vibrant plant life. As soil organic matter increases, plants gain access to a broader spectrum of minerals and micronutrients—exactly the elements that make fruits and vegetables deeply flavorful and deeply nourishing.
This is why our produce tastes different. Why our greens stay crisp longer. Why our roots are sweeter and cleaner. They’re grown in soil that’s alive.
Healthy soil = healthy plants = healthy humans. It’s a complete circle of nourishment, and it’s at the heart of everything we grow.
The Working Life of Livestock Guardian Dogs: Why They Need a Job on the Farm
Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) are born with an ancient and noble purpose: to protect the herd. At Wanderment Farms, our Great Pyrenees are more than companions—they’re full-time guardians, patrolling day and night to keep our vulnerable livestock safe from mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, and bears.
An LGD’s instinct is powerful. They bond deeply with their flock, read subtle cues in the land, and make independent decisions in the moment—a skillset thousands of years in the making. But here’s the truth every farmer learns quickly: if you don’t give an LGD a job, they will become self-employed. And you will not like the vocation they choose. Bored guardian dogs invent careers as excavators, escape artists, chicken-chasing security forces, or professional bark-at-nothing specialists.
By giving them meaningful work—protecting sheep, goats, cows, llamas, and chickens—they fulfill their natural calling. Their confidence grows. Their energy is grounded. Their loyalty becomes devotion.
Our LGDs live with the animals 24/7, forming tight knit family units. They sleep near the flock, walk the fence lines, listen to the night, and position themselves instinctively between danger and the animals in their care. Their presence alone deters predators, and their partnership allows us to graze regeneratively across landscapes that would otherwise be too risky.
They aren’t pets—they’re partners. And our farm is safer, calmer, and more resilient because of them..
Meet Our Valais Blacknose Sheep: A Rare Heritage Breed Helping Regenerate Our Land
If you’ve ever seen a Valais Blacknose sheep, you understand immediately why they’re known as “the cutest sheep in the world.” With their black faces, curly wool, and teddy-bear temperaments, they are irresistible—yet they’re far more than adorable. They’re a heritage breed from the Valais region of Switzerland, prized for their hardiness, long wool, and gentle personalities.
Very few Valais Blacknose sheep exist in the United States. Import restrictions mean that every animal here descends from an early, carefully managed breed-up program. That rarity makes them incredibly special—and preserving their genetics is an investment in biodiversity, which is a cornerstone of regenerative agriculture.
At Wanderment Farms, our Valais aren’t just beautiful—they’re working partners in our grazing system. Their temperament makes them wonderful for rotational grazing near visitors and children, and their wool is extraordinarily soft and high-quality, perfect for specialty yarns and artisan projects.
We breed them to strengthen the presence of this rare heritage animal on American soil while giving them a meaningful life on open pasture. With their role in soil regeneration, weed management, and carbon capture, they embody the harmony between beauty and function that drives our farm philosophy.
They make our land healthier—and our days brighter.
Why We Rotate Chickens After Sheep in Our Vineyards: Regenerative Grazing Explained
Regeneration is all about working with nature, not against it—and few systems embody this synergy better than our practice of rotating chickens after sheep through the vineyards. This sequence mirrors natural herd dynamics, where grazing animals move through an area followed by birds that clean up behind them.
Our sheep go in first, grazing the understory, eating weeds, and depositing organic matter in the form of manure. Their hooves gently press seeds into the soil and stimulate microbe activity. Once they move on, the chickens follow. This is where the magic happens.
Chickens scratch apart the sheep manure, breaking it down into a fine, soil-ready amendment that decomposes rapidly. As they dig for larvae, they interrupt pest cycles—especially harmful vineyard insects like leafhoppers. This natural pest control dramatically reduces the need for sprays, even organic ones.
Their manure adds a nitrogen boost, while their scratching aerates the topsoil, creating a perfect finishing pass of natural cultivation.
Together, this rotation builds soil structure, enhances fertility, reduces compaction, and increases biodiversity under the vines. It’s regenerative agriculture in motion—livestock working in sequence to create healthier vines, better grapes, and a more resilient ecosystem. And all of this happens without disturbing the soil or relying on outside inputs.
Nature already knows how to farm. We simply follow her choreography.
Why Our 2-Acre Pollinator Habitat Matters for Monarch Butterflies and Biodiversity
On the edge of Wanderment Farms, we’ve dedicated two full acres to something that doesn’t earn revenue but enriches everything we do: pollinator habitat. This vibrant wild space is planted with over 50 species of native plants, designed to support bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, and beneficial insects.
But at its heart, this sanctuary is for the monarch butterfly, a species now teetering on the edge of extinction. We sit directly on the Western monarch’s migration path—a journey so fragile and ancient that honoring it feels like a responsibility. Unlike many well-meaning gardeners, we do not plant milkweed. Milkweed can cause monarchs to stay and breed in the wrong season, interrupting their migratory rhythm. We want them to keep moving, just as they always have.
This habitat provides nectar, rest, safety, and seasonal forage, supporting monarchs and countless other pollinators that our farm relies on. In return, they pollinate our orchards, berries, flowers, and vegetable fields, increasing yields and strengthening plant health.
Pollination is partnership. And setting aside this land is our commitment to the creatures who make agriculture—and life—possible. Regeneration is not just about what we grow; it’s about what we protect.