This week, I traveled to Lochem, east of the Netherlands to meet with regenerative farmer Anne van Leeuwen. She recently moved to a new farm, which gave us a great perspective for the conversation. How to get access to land and how to plan a farm to create a beautiful complex farming system whose purpose is to grow abundant high quality foods while also increasing the amount of life on the farm. 

We sat outside, under a beautiful old beech tree, on a sunny late afternoon and you can clearly hear the sound of birds in the background. Anne is honestly one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met. I loved every bit of this conversation and I really hope you will too :) 

 🎧Listen to the full conversation: 

• Search for ‘Deep Seed’ on your streaming platform 

• (or) click the link in the comments below 

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Key topics:

🌍 Access to land

Farmland prices have soared, making it prohibitively expensive for young and beginning farmers to purchase land. Anne explains how she managed to acquire her new farm working in partnership with Lenteland. She also mentions other interesting initiatives in the Netherlands such as Herenboeren and Land Van Ons. 

🌳 Perennial crops

Focusing on perennial crops like fruit and nut trees is a strong farm strategy because they enhance soil health, reduce input costs, and offer long-term, reliable income. Their deep root systems prevent erosion, improve soil structure, and reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides. Additionally, perennials support biodiversity and contribute to a more resilient and sustainable farming system.

🦋 Radical Diversity 

Anne aims to maximize diversity on her farm by planting as many different fruit and nut tree varieties as possible throughout her agroforestry systems. She aims to market that diversity, for example selling boxes of plums of all kinds, each with different size, shape, color and taste. 

🙍‍♀️ More women in Farming

Women often bring unique perspectives and solutions to agricultural challenges, including a strong focus on family, community welfare, and environmental stewardship. 

🤝 European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture (EARA)

An alliance of farmers from across Europe has united behind a shared vision for the future of agriculture. Impressively, they have collaboratively drafted a proposal to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), advocating for the inclusion of total biomass production and soil life as key metrics in the subsidy system.

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This podcast was produced in partnership with Soil Capital, a company that supports #regenerativeagriculture by financially rewarding farmers who improve soil health.

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Useful links: 

Anne’s farm: ‘T Gagel - https://www.lente.land/lochem/

Lenteland: https://www.lente.land/

EARA: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earafarm/

Soil Capital: https://www.soilcapital.com/

References: 

[Documentary:] John D. Liu - Hope in a changing climate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLdNhZ6kAzo

[Book] Robin Wall Kimmerer - Braiding Sweetgrass 

https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass

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