UPDATE: Since we visited and recorded this episode Rucker Farms has since transitioned to Solistice Beef Company. Another example of how regenerative farms pivot quickly based on what’s working for their operations.
We spend the day at Rucker Farm with Garrett, walking fields, following animals, and letting the land explain itself. The conversation starts with hay as necessity for their operations. Garrett explains how rainfall dictates each cutting and why, once equipment, fuel, and storage are counted, hay is often the most expensive feed on the farm.
From there, we move through poultry and into cattle, tracing how management decisions ripple across the entire operation. Turkeys forage behind electric netting, raised longer and handled differently than their conventional counterparts, producing a bird more flavorful than anything you could find in the grocery store.
In the pastures, cattle rotate through paddocks with buried water lines, mineral access, and shade carefully planned around animal behavior and soil health. All of the infrastructure exists to reduce stress on both land and livestock, and to keep local waterways clean.
What ties everything together is Garrett’s approach to regenerative ag. There is no dogma. Grazing rotations change constantly adapting to grass growth, weather, and animal behavior. He makes the plans but the land and animals have the final say. At the end, Garrett reflects on fulfillment, on choosing land over cities, and on the belief that regeneration means more than sustaining what remains, it means rebuilding what’s been lost.
Follow Solistice Beef Company
Solstice Beef Company,
Central Virginia
Website: https://solsticebeef.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solsticebeefco/
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