Regenerating Our Community
Recently, our team visited one of our farm partners in Sevier County: Beech Grove Farm. While our farm partners differ in terms of size, methods, and products, they all share one key factor: undeniable dedication to food security in East Tennessee, especially throughout the cold winter months.
Grant Scalf, founder of Beech Grove Farm, holds eggs immediately after harvesting.
A first-generation farmer, Grant Scalf started Beech Grove Farm in 2019. “We had 10 laying hens in the beginning, and now we’ve had as many as 400,” he says. Using a regenerative method, Grant says that they “run all of our animals out on either pasture or through the woods.” So what is regenerative farming?
“Regenerative [farming]…for us it starts with sustainability,” Grant says. “We’ve tripled our organic matter in some of the pastures, we’ve replanted a lot of trees that would have been native in this area, [and] we’ve also removed some of the invasive species.”
“It can’t stop there — we also need to regenerate our communities,“ he says. “Small farms can be one way to revitalize that…but also regenerating our community in terms of health. The way that we raise animals and grow vegetables creates a really nutrient-dense product, and that nutrition will do a lot to help regenerate our community’s health.”
A former CrossFit gym owner, Grant says the two efforts are linked in terms of his drive to help the community. “I can sell eggs, chicken, pork, fruits, and vegetables to Second Harvest knowing that it’s going to a local food [pantry] in Seymour, and they [assist] 110 to 120 families right here in our area.”
Grant in front of the “egg-mobile,” which he uses to move his laying hens to new land when necessary.
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