One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture

Coined in 1957, agribusiness refers to the large-scale business operation that controls the production, processing, and distribution of farm products. Under this model, farms are businesses, with profit being their primary goal.

The AFSC are farmer-to-farmer training programs located all over the US. These programs “provide personal, hands-on training to beginning farmers for one year” (165). Through the program, participants learn about soil health, irrigation, harvesting, crop selection, food-handling techniques, and business and marketing skills. The program also provides economic assistance, such as seeds, tools, and equipment, to help participants get their farms up and running. Participants run their own organic farm upon program completion, but are able to still call their AFSC mentors. Fidel Gonzalez, a participant of the program, notes that the practical farming knowledge and his mentors were the two most valuable aspects of the program.

Gabe Brown and his wife, Shelly, manage Brown’s Ranch. Shelly’s parents originally owned the ranch, and Gabe and Shelly began working on it in the early 1980s. Originally, Gabe and Shelly “ran cattle and farmed cash grain crops conventionally” (189). They eventually bought the farm from Shelly’s parents and were able to run it as they wanted.